Court Rules – Amendments proposed to MCR 6.302 and 6.310
The Court has proposed amendments to MCR 6.302 and 6.310. According to the staff comment accompanying the proposal, the proposed amendments “would eliminate the ability of a defendant to withdraw a...
View ArticleJudgment Reversed – New trial under ‘Cress’
“On July 31, 2012, the Court issued an opinion reversing the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanding this case to the St. Clair Circuit Court for application of People v Cress, 468 Mich 678...
View ArticleJudgment Reversed In Part – Trial court correctly admitted defendant’s...
“On October 11, 2012, the Court heard oral argument on the application for leave to appeal the October 25, 2011 judgment of the Court of Appeals. “On order of the Court, the motion to expand the record...
View ArticleCriminal Law: No right to appointed counsel in prosecutor’s parole challenge
A parole had no constitutional right to appointed counsel at any time during his parole proceeding or during the prosecutor’s appeal of the parole order. However, the trial court properly exercised its...
View ArticleRemedies – Expert liable for creating child pornography
An expert witness who digitally manipulated photographs of two young children to make it appear they were engaged in sex acts was properly found liable under 18 U.S.C. § 2255, which provides a minimum...
View ArticleCriminal Law – OV scoring error requires resentencing
Where defendant was convicted of first-degree child abuse and second-degree murder after self-delivering a live child at home and then tightly wrapping the child with a towel and placing the child in a...
View ArticleForfeiture – Court properly ordered interlocutory sale of yacht
The federal district court correctly ordered the interlocutory sale of the claimants’ yacht under Rule G(7)(b)(i) of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Juvenile sentencing in light of ‘Miller’
A juvenile sentenced to life in prison without parole is not entitled to resentencing in light of Miller v Alabama, ___ US ___; 132 S Ct 2455; 183 L Ed 2d 407 (2012), the Court of Appeals has...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Heroin delivery conviction reversed
Defendant’s conviction of delivering 50 to 450 grams of heroin is vacated “because the trial court improperly allowed the prosecution to aggregate numerous smaller deliveries into one charge,” the...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Indecent exposure conviction violated double jeopardy
Defendant’s convictions of indecent exposure and aggravated indecent exposure violated his constitutional guarantee against being placed in double jeopardy. Defendant pleaded nolo contendere to...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Assistance of counsel claim resolved by credibility...
Defendant received effective assistance of counsel at his trial for assault with intent to commit murder. The trial court, after hearing competing claims from defendant and defense counsel about their...
View ArticleHabeas Corpus – Relief granted on 5th and 14th Amendment claims
Petitioner is entitled to habeas relief from his Michigan murder conviction because the police interrogation following his request for counsel violated his Fifth and 14th Amendment rights to counsel....
View ArticleMCR 6.302 – Lifetime monitoring advice requirement retained
“By order dated June 20, 2012, this Court amended MCR 6.302, effective immediately, to require a trial court to advise the defendant if a guilty plea will result in a requirement for lifetime...
View ArticleCriminal Procedure – Defendant entitled to withdraw plea
“On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the July 11, 2012 order of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we...
View ArticleOral Argument Ordered – Does no-contest plea to resisting arrest bar claims...
“On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the July 3, 2012 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered. “We direct the Clerk to schedule oral argument on whether to grant the...
View ArticleRemand – Restitution cannot be parole condition
“On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the April 17, 2012 order of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we...
View ArticleCriminal Law –‘Moreno’ applies to cases where resisting issue properly...
Where defendant was convicted of resisting arrest, he is not entitled to the retroactive application of People v Moreno, 491 Mich 38; 814 NW2d 624 (2012). Moreno held that a necessary element of...
View ArticleCriminal Law – No blood relationship requires reversal of CSC I conviction
Where there was no biological relationship between defendant and the victim, defendant cannot be convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct under MCL 750.520b(1)(b)(ii), which requires that...
View ArticleCriminal Law – MMMA § 8 defense available even if § 4 immunity is not
A registered primary caregiver under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act was not entitled to § 4 immunity because he possessed and cultivated more marijuana plants than what the MMMA permitted. However,...
View ArticleConstitutional Law – Legislature had authority to enact domestic-violence...
MCL 768.27b, which in certain instances expands the admissibility of domestic-violence other-acts evidence beyond the scope permitted by MRE 404(b)(1), does not infringe on the Supreme Court’s...
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