Articles Posted in Legal

The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that the criminal defendant is entitled to a speedy trial. Without this right, criminal defendants could be held indefinitely under a cloud of unproven criminal accusations. The right to a speedy trial also is crucial to ensuring that a criminal defendant receives a fair trial. If too much time elapses between the charge and the trial, witnesses may die or leave the area, their memories may fade, and physical evidence may be lost. When our founding fathers came up with this concept, it is safe to say that they did not anticipate a national pandemic such as COVID-19. The battle of judicial economy and the factors of a speedy trial are on a collision course. The four factors that a court will examine when examining if the right to a speedy trial include: The length of the delay; the reason for the delay; the defendant bringing the assertion of the delay, and the defendant’s prejudice. To discuss these factors, we spoke to several of the top criminal defense lawyers in the state of Michigan and gathered their insight.

Scott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates, which is known as the top criminal defense firm in Michigan. Grabel spoke of the length of delay when he said, “The jail can only hold a defendant in their facility for 180 days. If we are following this rule by the book, the 180 days can work to the defendant’s favor, but the rule is not always black and white.”

Joe Brugnoli is a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates and is known as the top criminal defense attorney in Kent County, Michigan. Brugnoli spoke of the reason for the delay, which is factor number two. Brugnoli stated, “As a defense counsel, you cannot have adjournments attributed to the defendant and then argue for a speedy trial. It would help if you strategized about this when you have a client charged with a capital case and cannot afford or has been denied a bond. Denial of bond does not mean the case is not winnable. The politics of bond arguments can play a large factor.”

Original Case Details

Our blog has covered the multiple corruption charges and cases relating to former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith since its inception, and as of this writing, the federal case against him is still pending an official plea. Smith was originally arrested and charged with 10 different state public corruption charges as discussed in a previous blog here. He was later charged federally with a single count of obstruction of justice. His federal obstruction of justice charge is related to the allegations that Smith set up an illegal kickback scheme to funnel $70,000 from his reelection campaign account. The federal and state charges are unrelated and operate independently of one another. Back in September, Smith agreed to plead guilty to the count of obstruction of justice. The actual in-court plea has not happened yet and is being delayed due to Smith being diagnosed with COVID-19. It has been reported that Smith was released from the hospital on November 9th and remains quarantined in his home. He is reportedly still suffering extreme symptoms related to the virus. As such, his attorneys submitted a motion to the court asking for the plea date to be moved due to Smith’s COVID-19 diagnosis and continued health concerns. 

Pending Plea

The Michigan Citizen’s Arrest Law Explained

A number of cases have arisen recently in the state of Michigan that have raised questions about the existence and legitimacy of the ability for private citizens to be able to make a “citizen’s arrest.” In general, private citizens are not allowed to act like police and arrest people they believe need to be arrested. Michigan law, does however allow for a private citizen to make a citizen’s arrest in certain circumstances, they include:

• The ability to make an arrest for a felony committed in the person’s presence;

Expungements in Michigan

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently signed into law an expansion of the state expungement statute making more people eligible for expungement as well as making some expungements automatic. An expungement is a legal process where a court will remove one or more criminal convictions from your permanent record. You are not able to expunge every type of criminal conviction, so it is important to understand the new law as it applies to you. A 2019 University of Michigan study found that only 6.5% of people who are eligible for an expungement get their records cleared within five years. So, 93.5% of people who have a criminal record and are eligible for an expungement to remove the criminal conviction don’t get it done within the first five years they are eligible to do so. These convictions can hurt your ability to find good employment, can limit where you are able to live, and can otherwise be a black mark on you that limits your opportunities. These startling statistics symbolized the need for an expansive change in the expungement process leading to new Michigan expungement laws.

Major Changes in New Expungement Laws

Courts During the Pandemic

Courthouses across the state of Michigan are slowly trying to phase in the remainder of regular courtroom activity. Courts have been reopening different departments as they follow social distancing guidelines and the reopening plan set by the State Court Administrators Office (SCAO). Courts will not truly be open, however, until they are able to conduct in-person jury trials. Once this occurs, then it can be said that Michigan courts are really back to work as they were before the pandemic. Jury trials have been backed up in all courts across the state as they are the last thing on the list that courts will be able to do once open. In St. Clair County, trials have been postponed since April because of the pandemic. It looks as if that will soon change if a Circuit Court judge’s ruling denying a motion to adjourn jury trials stands. If your case has been delayed due to a court closure, or you do not have information about your case, then it is important to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney who can best help guide you.

Judge Decides to Move Forward with Jury Trials

Social Justice Group Study

A social justice group known as Citizens for Racial Equity in Washtenaw (CREW) County has found that black defendants in Washtenaw County are more likely to get harsher punishments and more likely to see additional criminal charges than similarly situated white defendants. CREW examined case data from the Washtenaw County Circuit Court relating to criminal felony cases and released its findings on August 27th. The data examined spanned a 6-year period from 2013-2019 and found that black defendants were exponentially more likely than whites to be charged with felonies such as:

• Resisting or obstructing an officer,

COVID-19 Court Closures

The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously had its effects on pretty much everything in society today. Michigan courtrooms are no different; the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the operation of Michigan courtrooms. Most courtroom business is now conducted over Zoom, changing a historic tradition of requiring defendants in appear in court, and in person for criminal matters. Along with these closures came significant reductions in the jail and prison populations in an effort to keep inmates safe from COVID-19. Michigan courts are now looking to continue the process of reopening safely under guidance from the state. Courts have been reopening different departments as they follow social distancing guidelines. Courts will not truly be open, however, until they are able to conduct in-person jury trials. Once this occurs, then it can be said that Michigan courts are really back to work as they were before the pandemic. Jury trials have been backed up in all courts across the state as they are the last thing on the list that courts will be able to do once open. If your case has been delayed due to a court closure, or you do not have information about your case, then it is important to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney who can best help guide you.

Phased Reopening Plan

Qualified Immunity Generally

Qualified Immunity is a legal doctrine that makes it extremely difficult to sue a police officer or his or her department for wrong and usually illegal conduct by their officers. Unless you are able to show that the government official in question violated a “clearly established” law, then you will not be able to hold an officer or department financially responsible for their actions. This would include both constitutional and statutory rights. It is important to note that qualified immunity is not just immunity from having to pay money damages, it’s actually immunity from having to face any sort of trial at all. One of the biggest chants coming from civil rights protestors is that of ending qualified immunity so officers are held accountable for their actions. The incredible power of police unions and police departments has been a focus of public anger in recent months, leading to calls for police reforms of all kinds, including that of ending qualified immunity.

Mississippi Federal Judge’s Statement

Oakland County Primary Results

The race for Oakland County Prosecutor has already marked a big change on the horizon. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Oakland County have allowed two candidates to emerge to go head to head in the general election in November. The Oakland County Prosecutor race came down to two candidates on the Democrats side, and one candidate running on the Republican side. They are listed below with their respective backgrounds and percentage of the vote they received:

1) Karen McDonald (D), a former Oakland County Circuit Court Judge. She was first elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court in 2012 and served until 2019 when she resigned to seek the position of Oakland County Prosecutor. She received nearly 66% of the vote, soundly defeating current Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper.

Results of Primary Elections

The results of the August primaries are in, and Macomb County will be voting for a new prosecutor in November. Well, technically voters were already voting for a new prosecutor in the primary as previous Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith resigned this past March due to criminal corruption charges. The field to replace Smith was crowded, with five candidates on the Democrats side along with two candidates running from the GOP. Retired Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mary Chrzanowski edged out former Waterford District Judge Jodi Debbrecht Switalski by just over 2,000 votes in the unofficial results to claim the right to run on the Democratic ticket in November. Chrzanowski, nicknamed “Scary Mary” by defense attorneys for her heavy sentences will face Republican challenger and former Michigan State Senator Peter Lucido. Lucido more than doubled the vote of his challenger, former Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor John Goodman, winning by over 35,000 votes. This is the first time since 2004 that former Prosecutor Eric Smith will not be on the ballot in November for Macomb County Prosecutor.

Previous Macomb County Prosecutor Scandal

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