On Tuesday August 6, Michigan Court of Appeals judges heard arguments presented by attorneys for 19-year-old Davontae Sanford, a developmentally disabled man who claims he was wrongly convicted of killing four people when he was 14 years old. Sanford allegedly murdered the four individuals at an east-side drug house in…
In a recent case involving the murder of Othell Lightfoot, the defendant, Deon Crawford, claimed that he shot Lightfoot in the face in self-defense, that he believed Lightfoot was reaching for a weapon. Crawford was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, however the jury acquitted him of this offense and convicted…
On July 16, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a final opinion in the case of Elijah Dujuan Key who was convicted of murder, home invasion, and other criminal charges in connection with the death of Melisa Ann Robinson. Key was sentenced to life in prison for felony murder, 25…
In February of this year, Terry Neil Bowling’s argument that the sentence he received for his conviction of second-degree murder was cruel or unusual punishment was denied by the Michigan Court of Appeals. However, the appeals court did find that a mistake had been made in calculating the amount of…
Michigan sex crime appeals attorneys know that there are many innocent people sitting behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Unfortunately, rape, child molestation, and sexual assault are some of the easiest crimes someone can be accused of committing, regardless of whether the allegations are true. However, disproving the…
In a ruling issued two weeks ago, the conviction of a medical marijuana patient was vacated by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The appeals court found that an “edible” (brownies) containing THC extract from marijuana resin is not, under the MMMA (Michigan Medical Marijuana Act), usable marihuana. The court vacated…
Whether you have been wrongly convicted of a sex or drug crime, robbery, or any serious criminal offense, it does not always mean that it is the end of the road. Additionally, there are times when the sentence given an individual by a judge is harsher than usual and you…
In May of 2012, Bradford S. Mitchell was convicted of second-degree murder in the January 2011 beating death of Jay Kolhoff. Now, the Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed Mitchell’s conviction, clearing the way for a new trial. Mitchell, a Saginaw resident, was charged by prosecutors with open murder after…
In September of 2011, 45-year-old Rodney A. Slayton was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in the 1992 strangulation death of Lynette Gibson, a mother of five children who was 39 years old at the time of her death. It was 18 years after the murder, which had become a…
40-year-old Tracy Russell was convicted in March of 2012 of aggravated stalking and larceny from a building in connection with allegedly stalking his former girlfriend and stealing her heirloom jewelry as she was recovering from cancer surgery. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison by Jackson County…