Articles Posted in Legal

Original Case Details

This case arises from a 2016 incident where the Defendant, Laricca Mathews of Wixom, called 911 to report the shooting of her boyfriend, Gabriel Dumas. Mathews was arrested for his murder and taken in for questioning without an attorney present. Before the interrogation began, the police gave Mathews a document that informed her of her constitutional rights. Mathews was interviewed twice and was told that she had a “right to a lawyer.” The police failed to mention specifically that she could have a lawyer present during police questioning, so Mathews spoke to the police without a lawyer present in both interviews. During the first interview, Mathews claimed that she shot her boyfriend Dumas in self-defense. In the second interview she claimed that the shooting took place face to face. Police confronted her statements by telling Mathews that Dumas was shot in the back of the head. Mathews responded by saying that the bullet may have ricocheted before hitting Dumas. Mathews was charged with murder and later filed a motion to suppress the statements made as they were in violation of her right to have a lawyer present during both interviews conducted by the police. Both the Oakland County Circuit Court and The Michigan Court of Appeals sided with Mathews, agreeing that the police violated her Constitutional right to an attorney.

The Fifth and Sixth Amendment

Original Case Details

A Southfield Woman, Crystal White, was confronted by police when a concerned relative of White had called the Southfield Police Department due to White allegedly acting aggressively while holding a knife. White was attempting to take her daughter, who is six years old, even though her parental rights had been terminated previously. White was 12-weeks pregnant at the time of the incident. The relative who called the police informed them that White suffers from multiple mental illnesses. White did not have a knife in her possession when the police arrived, but apparently did not listen to directions from the police about advancing on them. White’s version of events differs from the police, as she claims that an officer lunged forward to punch her in the face, while another officer pulled his taser and hit her in the stomach. White was tasered two times during the struggle, once in the arm and once in the leg. She was taken into custody after the taser was deployed. About six weeks after the taser was used on White, she miscarried, losing her unborn child. White also suffered cuts and bruises, along with broken and damaged teeth from the incident. White’s lawsuit alleges that she would have been treated differently if she were not black and lived in an affluent area.

George Floyd Fallout

Original Case Details

A 56-year man from Pickford in the upper peninsula has been charged with 125 wildlife crimes after investigators uncovered that the man had both harvested and killed endangered and protected species of animals. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced the charges after an investigation done by their Law Enforcement Division. The man is accused of illegally harvesting as many as 18 wolves. Wolves are on the federal endangered species list and are also protected under Michigan state law. The man is also accused of killing and dumping three American bald eagles. Bald eagles are protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act as well as state law. He is also accused of illegal conduct involving deer, turkeys, bears, and bobcats. It appears that there are other suspects with similar conduct that will be charged in the near future as well. Since the animals that he allegedly harvested and killed are also protected under federal law, the man may also face federal charges which would be a separate proceeding from the state cases.

Criminal Charges Involved

Pandemic Closures

Back on March 11, 2020, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack issued a memo recommending adjournments to all state trial courts. This recommendation to adjourn was later extended to recommend delaying all jury trials until at least June 22, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many courts have closed to the general public, and are only partially open for specific reasons, usually requiring an appointment. Certain services such as court marriage ceremonies have remained suspended throughout the pandemic, while other services such as the city assessor require an appointment to access and file real estate paperwork. The Michigan Supreme Court has already resumed activity, participating in some of the first oral arguments via Zoom with attorneys for a handful of cases. There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel as the two busiest courts in the city of Detroit appear to be on the path towards reopening.

Current Operations

Original Case Details

East Lansing Police Officer Andy Stephenson will be reinstated after the Michigan State Police have cleared him after a review of his actions during two different arrests. He was initially suspended for allegations of excessive use of force during multiple specific arrests. While he has had five separate complaints by citizens of excessive use of force since January 2018, none of these complaints have been sustained against him. Stephenson was alleged to have used excessive force on two black men in these incidents by using a “head stabilization” technique that is now up for review and retraining by the East Lansing Police Department. A city news release stated that while the technique has been deemed appropriate, it has been shown to cause harm to arrestees and should only be used in extreme circumstances. All East Lansing police officers will now be retrained on the technique with more of a focus on the arrestee and his or her physical well-being.

The Incidents In Question

History Of The Rule In Michigan Courts

Michigan courthouses have historically only allowed attorneys and court personnel to take their cell phones, tablets etc. inside courthouses past the metal detectors. All other people would not be allowed to bring phones inside. Some courts have small lockers that you can use to lock up your phones, while other courts simply tell you to leave your phone in the car. Leaving your phone in the car is a problem if you don’t have a car or didn’t drive to court. People who take public transportation, bike, or uber to court are often left wondering where they can put their phone since they aren’t allowed to take them inside. Some people even resort to hiding their devices in bushes outside of courthouses. That all changed on January 8th of this year when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled to allow cell phones, laptops, and other communication devices inside Michigan courthouses.

How We Got Here

Conducting jury trials amid the COVID-19 pandemic has so far proved to be extremely difficult. Even day to day operations at courts have been severely limited amid this crisis. The Michigan Supreme Court has limited access to all state courts and given the judges more authority to handle court proceedings remotely. Wayne County Circuit Court has already suspended jury service through mid-August through emergency orders related to the pandemic. The state of Michigan is reporting nearly 3,000 deaths due to COVID-19 as of this writing.

Details Surrounding Delay Of Jury Trials

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack had previously issued a memo on March 11, 2020 to all state trial courts recommending adjournments. The aim of that memo was to adjourn all jury trials, whether they were civil or criminal unless there was some special reason in a specific case such as a defendant being held in custody for an extended amount of time awaiting trial. This memo coincided with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer State of Emergency declaration due to the coronavirus outbreak. That recommendation to adjourn all trials has continued to the present where the Michigan Supreme Court has now delayed all jury trials until at least June 22, 2020. McCormack stated that emergency action to protect the public takes precedence over day to day operations inside state courtrooms. The Court is also looking into ways to be able to handle proceedings remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, having already used Zoom conferencing to hear oral arguments on four different cases over the course of two separate court dates. The justices participated in the oral argument via Zoom, while the attorneys for all parties had also agreed to argue their cases using Zoom.

Original Case Details

A Farmington Hills, MI teenager stands charged with killing his mother back in 2017 while he was only 16 years old. He was bound over for trial back in December of 2017 on a charge of open murder. His 35-year-old mother was found dead on a lower patio of their home on August 21, 2017. The victim had been separated from the teen’s father when this incident occurred. Police and prosecutors believe that the teen actually staged the scene to make it look like she died from an accidental fall from the upper story window. An autopsy showed that the cause of death was not the fall, but from being suffocated beforehand. Investigators believe the evidence shows that she was smothered to death and pushed out of the window by the teen. Investigators also pointed to the fact that there was little blood underneath the woman’s body, which indicated that she was dead prior to the fall. A home surveillance DVR supposedly shows shadows that make it look like the woman was pushed out the window. The DVR was turned over to the police by the teen’s father, but defense attorneys argue that the evidence was not obtained properly and that the teen was not properly read his Miranda rights when police talked to him while investigating the woman’s death.

Evidence Issues In Case

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) along with lawyers from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and By Any Means Necessary Detroit have all joined the call for the release of the most vulnerable immigrant detainees currently held in ICE lockups. The lawyers have all focused their efforts on helping immigrants housed in four specific ICE lockups in Monroe, St. Clair, Chippewa, and Calhoun Counties. They argue that detainees are simply unable to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leaving the vulnerable detainees even more vulnerable to sickness and death. A senior ACLU staff attorney stated simply, “civil immigration detention should not be a death sentence.” As of this writing, 38 inmates have died due to COVID-19 in the state prison system run by the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Current State Of Ice Detention Centers

Currently only one of the four jails have had positive COVID-19 tests so far. St. Clair County Jail has seen positive tests for COVID-19 for both inmates and staff. The other three county jails listed have not had any positive tests for COVID-19 yet. The argument from immigration attorneys is that the question is not if an outbreak it going to occur, the question is when will an outbreak occur. When an outbreak does occur, what will the jails have done to protect the most vulnerable and prevent the further spread of the disease. More than 700 ICE detainees have already been released due to the pandemic, but immigration attorneys argue that there are still many more that are being left behind.