Aunt’s Adoption Request “Arbitrarily & Capriciously” Denied By State Agency
The trial court correctly ruled that the superintendent of the Michigan Children’s Institute “arbitrarily and capriciously” denied consent for the petitioner to adopt her niece.
Petitioners’ Due Process Rights Were Violated at Adoption Subsidy Hearing
An administrative law judge violated the petitioners’ due process rights by not letting them present their arguments at a hearing on the denial of a support subsidy for their adopted child.
Fire Battalion Chiefs Not Entitled To Overtime Pay For “Standby” Duty
The City of Battle Creek is not required to pay its fire department battalion chiefs for the hours they are required to be on “standby” duty, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The Michigan Supreme Court Weighs in on How Courts Should Handle Proposed QDROs
The court awarded Defendant-Wife half of the marital interest in Plaintiff-Husband’s retirement benefits and pension via a QDRO through his employment with General Motors.
The Proper Way to Perform a Child Interview During Child Protective Proceedings
The Michigan Supreme Court decided on the propriety of a trial court in conducting an in camera interview of a subject child in the context of child protective proceedings.
Appeals Court: Laid-Off Employee’s Retaliation Claim Should’ve Been Dismissed
An employee who was laid-off after 1) reported a co-worker’s conduct to supervisors & 2) considered notifying the police of the conduct didn’t offer enough evidence to proceed with a retaliation claim.
Job Offer Properly Withdrawn After Candidate Tested Positive For THC
A company properly withdrew its offer of employment to a job candidate who tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) during a pre-employment drug screening.
Supreme Court Removes Judge from Bench Due to Misconduct While in Office
In addition to her removal, the Supreme Court also imposed a six-year suspension without pay should Brennan be re-elected to office during the suspension.
Driver Voluntarily Consented To Blood Draw: Evidence Wrongly Suppressed
A trial court improperly held that a driver’s consent to a blood draw was involuntary and, as a result, wrongly suppressed the blood-draw evidence at his drunk-driving hearing.
Will WICA Soon be Modified? Michigan’s Supreme Court Set to Weigh in on Tomasik Appeal.
No criminal justice system is perfect: although our state’s criminal justice system is a great regulatory strong-arm, sometimes innocent people are convicted by mistake.
Officer Needed Vehicle Passenger’s Consent Before Searching His Backpack
A police officer did not have the authority to search a backpack belonging to the passenger in a vehicle because the officer did not first obtain the passenger’s consent.
Court Of Appeals Reaffirms That Defendants May Reject Probation
The 2-1 published decision in Bensch upholds the rule first set forth in People v Peterson, 62 Mich App 258 (1975), allowing criminal defendants to reject probation for jail time.
U.S. District Court Rules that Michigan Gerrymandering Scheme was Unconstitutional
According to the Michigan Constitution, congressional districts must be redrawn every ten years based on the state census results and by using what is called “Apol criteria”.
Defendant Was Confused About Plea Deal, Motion To Withdraw Improperly Denied
The Court of Appeals explained it is “axiomatic” that there be an “actual agreement on the essential features of the plea” for a plea agreement to be valid.
Injunction Properly Issued to Prevent Transfer of Protected Individual
The probate court properly issued a permanent injunction to prevent the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority from transferring a protected individual to another facility.
Woman’s Daughters - Not Husband - Were Properly Appointed As Co-Conservators
A probate court did not err in appointing the daughters of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as her co-conservators rather than appointing her husband.
Elderly Woman Not Mentally Deficient: Conservator Wrongly Appointed
A probate court should not have appointed a conservator for a 74-year-old woman who suffered some minor memory problems and math difficulties.
Michigan Supreme Court: Assets In “Solely For The Benefit” Trust Not Necessarily Countable For Medicaid Eligibility
In Hegadorn v Dep’t of Human Services Director, the SCT reversed and remanded the MI COA decision that said SBO trust assets are automatically countable for Medicaid eligibility.