Michigan Supreme Court Blog

I am re-posting an interesting blog authored by Roy Ginsburg, a lawyer coach in the areas of business development, practice management and career development/transitions.  Mr Ginsburg highlights some areas of which to be aware when utilizing referral sources to obtain clients, in a guest blog for Solo Practice University. Read the blog by clicking here .

I have often had many questions regarding the parole process at the Michigan Department of Corrections, as I am sure many others have.  Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals released their opinion in the case of People v Raymond Haeger , ____ Mich App _____ (Docket No. 297099, November 1, 2011), and the opinion provides a very detailed look and the Michigan Parole Board's responsibilities in making parole decisions and the steps the Board must take in order to render a parole decision.  In particular, the Court stated, "The MDOC recently implemented the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI), which is 'designed to promote public safety and to reduce the likelihood of parolee recidivism,' and to  'improve decision making  at critical decision points,' such as when the Board is considering whether to release a prisoner from incarceration on parole.  Under the MPRI, the MDOC and Board are now required to prepare and consider ...

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently found that a defendant’s claim that the Ketamine he possessed was too diluted to satisfy a violation of the law was an affirmative defense, not an element of the crime that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.   In People v Hartuniewicz , Docket No. 298163 (September 29, 2011), the Court analyzed the basis for the exception found in the statute and concluded the defendant must establish the defense. The Public Health Code proscribes the possession of Ketamine, a schedule III controlled substance.   However, the PHC excludes controlled substances if the controlled substances are in a proportion or concentration to vitiate the potential for abuse.   Hartuniewicz argued that the burden of establishing that a substance was in a proportion or concentration that did not vitiate the potential for abuse was on the prosecution.   Therefore, because no evidence was established at the trial that the substance found was i...

Benton Tumura, a Genesee County elementary school teacher, was convicted in 2010 of having sexual intercourse with a former 6th grade student of hers.  Pursuant to the 2006 amendments to  MCL 750.520b(2)(b) , anyone convicted of CSC, First Degree, where the victim is under the age of thirteen and the defendant is 17 years of age or older, shall be "imprisonment for life or any term of years, but not less than 25 years."  The defendant, represented by Lansing attorney Michael Faraone , in People v Tumura , Docket No. 296721 (September 22, 2011), challenged her 25-year mandatory minimum sentence as being cruel and unusual, at least as the sentence was applied to her case.  The Court of Appeals, in an opinion written by Judge Jane Markey , and joined by Judges Deborah Servitto and Kirsten Frank Kelly , affirmed the sentence. The Court reviewed the factors set forth by the Michigan Supreme Court in People v Bullock : one, the severity of the sentence impos...

A couple of weeks ago, the Court of Appeals published an opinion discussing what has become a common method of law enforcement – pulling drivers over based upon the anonymous tip of another driver or drivers observations of erratic driving. In this day of ubiquitous cell phone use, it is not uncommon for motorists to anonymously pick up their phone and dial 911 because they believe another driver, based upon their untrained eye, may be intoxicated. In People v Barbarich , ____ Mich App ____; ____ NW2d _____ ( Docket No. 290772 , February 1, 2011), a state trooper was conducting what he called a “property inspection” at Malarkey’s Pub in Southgate on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. The parking lot was full and the pub had erected a large “party tent” on the premises. Finding nothing amiss, he pulled out onto Dix Road and headed south. Immediately after he pulled out, a woman in a red pickup truck headed in the opposite direction made eye contact with him and mouthed the words, “Almost ...

An interesting article in today's Detroit News for those of you interested in the current state of the numerous medical marijuana cases currently pending in southeast Michigan: Enforcement of state law leaves cities, defendants confused Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News Several showdowns over Michigan's medical marijuana law are slated for courtrooms across the state this year as users and law enforcement officials clash over the drug's legality. Oakland County prosecutors have until Friday to file legal arguments stating why nine people arrested in a medical marijuana raid should be tried on felony drug charges in a Ferndale court. In a Wayne County courtroom Jan. 21, attorneys for Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills will ask to have a lawsuit against their cities moved to Oakland County, where prosecutors and law enforcement have declared medical marijuana dispensaries illegal. And a Madison Heights couple, certified under Michigan law to use, possess and grow medic...