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Posted: Jun 24, 2019, 12:30 PM
No criminal justice system is perfect: although our state’s criminal justice system is a great regulatory strong-arm, providing citizens’ protection by locking wrongdoers away, sometimes innocent people are convicted by mistake. When this happens, lives are destroyed.
Posted: Jun 19, 2019, 9:10 AM
The defendant, Larry Mead, was a passenger in a vehicle that had been pulled over by Jackson Police Officer Richard Burkart for an expired license plate. Officer Burkart observed the defendant clutching a backpack on his lap. Both the defendant and the driver of the car told Officer Burkart the two had just met and that the driver was giving him (Mead) a ride.
Posted: Jun 12, 2019, 11:20 AM
A criminal defendant can decline probation and be sentenced to incarceration instead, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in People v Bensch, reaffirming four decades of case precedent.
Posted: Jun 10, 2019, 2:05 PM
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”. Apol is a set of hierarchical requirements including such things as the districts being contiguous, districts must contain a population within 5% of the ideal district size, and that county and municipal breaks are minimized.
Posted: Jun 5, 2019, 9:40 AM
In People v Brinkey (Docket No. 342419), 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.
Posted: May 31, 2019, 1:50 PM
The probate court properly issued a permanent injunction to prevent the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority from transferring a protected individual to another facility because the transfer would be detrimental to the protected individual’s well-being, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: May 29, 2019, 9:30 AM
In In re Conservatorship of Elaine Straith (Docket No. 346103), the Court of Appeals also held the probate court properly revoked the husband’s appointment as his wife’s durable power of attorney.
Posted: May 22, 2019, 1:00 PM
The Bittner case began in 2013 when 74-year-old Shirley Bittner petitioned the Macomb County Probate Court for an accounting and a protective order. Shirley claimed that her daughter, Suzanne, who was her designated power of attorney, had converted several accounts to joint tenancies and had withdrawn funds without her approval. When she demanded an accounting and the restoration of her assets, the probate court issued a temporary restraining order.
Posted: May 15, 2019, 4:06 PM
The fact that a “Solely for the Benefit” (SBO) trust (1) includes former assets of a spouse who is now institutionalized and (2) allows the trustee to make payments to the non-institutionalized spouse does not automatically make the SBO trust assets countable for purposes of determining the institutionalized spouse’s Medicaid eligibility, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.
Posted: May 8, 2019, 4:02 PM
Unless the Probate Court finds that an elderly woman’s son cannot provide for her care, custody and control, the son should be appointed her permanent guardian – especially since the woman had clearly expressed a desire that her son be her guardian, according to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Posted: May 1, 2019, 3:59 PM
Thirty-seven years after parties were divorced, Oakland Circuit Court Judge Valentine issued a post-judgment order requiring the defendant to pay $2,500 in monthly spousal support to the plaintiff.
Posted: Apr 24, 2019, 3:55 PM
In this custody/change of domicile appeal, the trial court committed “clear legal error” by considering whether the children’s mother would be able to maintain her existing parenting-time schedule if the children moved with their father to Indiana, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Apr 17, 2019, 3:51 PM
In this action involving a mother’s motion to relocate the parties’ child to Sault Ste. Marie, the trial court erred by failing to properly address whether an established custodial environment existed and, if it did, whether the relocation would alter that environment, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Apr 10, 2019, 3:47 PM
A trial court correctly rejected a mother’s motion to change the domicile of the parties’ minor child to Pakistan because Pakistan is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Apr 8, 2019, 3:42 PM
In Sherbow v. Fieger (Docket No. 338997), a complicated legal representation situation arose following an unfortunate car accident in Ohio in July 2012. Charles Rice did not survive the accident, and three of the passengers—Mervie Rice, Dorothy Dixon, and Philip Hill—were seriously injured.
Posted: Apr 4, 2019, 3:38 PM
When issuing its custody order, the trial court improperly refused to consider new evidence about the minor child’s speech development and, as a result, the custody order must be vacated and the case remanded for a de novo hearing, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Mar 27, 2019, 3:25 PM
Although a trial court properly terminated the parental rights of a mother and a father under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i) and (g), the termination of the mother’s rights under a best interests analysis must be vacated because the trial court did not address the child’s placement with a relative, the Michigan Court of Appeals recently ruled.
Posted: Mar 25, 2019, 3:00 PM
In People v. Mullins, the Court of Appeals held that while the defendant was neither a mandatory reporter of child abuse nor did she actually make the report of child abuse herself, she was still criminally liable for the false report. People v Mullins, 322 Mich App 151 (2017).
Posted: Mar 20, 2019, 2:11 PM
A trial court properly dismissed defamation and tortious interference claims brought by an attorney who had represented indigent mothers in Genesee County child-protective proceedings, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Mar 19, 2019, 1:31 PM
A trial court erred by exercising jurisdiction over a juvenile under MCL 712A.2(b) and, therefore, the order terminating the respondent-father’s parental rights to the child had to be vacated, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
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