Articles Posted in Criminal Appeals

In October of 2011, 61-year-old Bruno Joseph Perino of Powers was found guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after being accused of sexual involvement with a girl under the age of 13. Perino was employed as a bus driver at the time for the Nah Tah Wahsh PSA in Wilson, Michigan. News reports indicate the incidents took place in Brampton Township on February 1 and 28 of 2011.

Perino was found guilty of the 15-year felony in a circuit court trial in October. After posting a $1,000 bond (10% of the $10,000 bond set for Perino), he remained free until his sentencing date of December 1st. Perino was found guilty after evidence was presented that allegedly proved inappropriate touching between Perino and the child.

Perino was ultimately sentenced in December to nine months in the Delta County jail, five years probation and required to register as a sex offender. Claiming insufficient evidence, Perino appealed the conviction; however it was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Michigan sex crime appeals lawyers understand that accusing someone of a sex-related crime is easy, even when the accusations are unfounded. Individuals who are accused of any type of sex offense are often viewed as guilty in the eyes of the public, regardless of their guilt or innocence. Unfortunately, this includes jurors who may often convict an individual of an offense he or she did not commit, resulting in harsh penalties.

Continue reading

In 2004, Nancy Seaman killed her husband who had, according to Seaman, battered her; she reportedly killed Robert Seaman one morning before going to school where she was a teacher. Seaman allegedly stabbed her husband 21 times and struck him with a hatchet 16 times in the garage of their Farmington Hills home. She is currently serving a life sentence after jurors in her 2005 trial found Seaman guilty of first-degree murder.

According to news reports Seaman never denied killing her husband, but said that she was a victim of both physical and emotional abuse, and that her husband had threatened her the day of the murder. When Seaman could not find a substitute to take her place that day, she went on to school, returning later in the day to get rid of the blood stains in the garage with bleach, and to wrap her husband’s body in a tarp, which she then placed in the trunk of her car.

In October of 2010, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman stated that Seaman’s defense attorney did not do enough to fully develop Seaman’s claim that she was a battered spouse. Seaman was granted a new trial at that time, however an appeals court panel determined last week that Friedman’s view of the case was too broad. The decision to grant her a new trial was overturned by a federal appeals court last week.

It was noted by the appeals court panel that in the initial trial, Seaman’s attorney did bring forth expert witnesses who talked about BSS (battered spouse syndrome), and that BSS was presented as a defense. However, the court stated that under Michigan law, battered spouse syndrome is not a viable defense. When the decision to grant Seaman a new trial was overturned last week, the ruling said that, “Even if the jurors believed that Seaman was a battered spouse, they still could have rejected her claim of self-defense.”

Michigan murder appeals attorneys understand that cases such as this are quick to be picked up by the media. It is a prosecutor’s job to get a conviction; this is first priority. However, there are mitigating circumstances in which even an individual who has already been convicted deserves another chance.

Continue reading