Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

What is Expungement?

An Expungement is a legal process where you are able to remove one or more criminal convictions from your record. Not all convictions are eligible for expungement, and surprisingly, most people never seek an expungement when they are eligible. A 2019 University of Michigan study found than less than 10% of those eligible for expungements even apply for one in the first place. If you are eligible for an expungement, you have to file a motion and request that a Circuit Judge remove your conviction from your record. The prosecutor has a right to be present and be heard at an expungement hearing, as do any victims related to the original conviction. If the judge agrees to expunge your conviction, then your fingerprint card is destroyed, and the conviction is removed from your permanent criminal record. Once that happens, you will never have to check the box on a job application ever again stating that you have a criminal conviction. This process may seem daunting, but an experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to help guide you without too much of an issue.

Current Rules

The System of Judges Typically

Most people don’t really know that much about the judges that preside in their hometowns and federal courts. Most time, the only interaction people have with a judge is to appear in front of him or her to pay a fine for a traffic ticket or something similar. All judges in those situations are generally fair and nice, as the people on the traffic docket in front of them are not there for criminal offenses. Other than, “the judge was nice to me,” what did you actually learn about that judge and his or her beliefs or policies? Many times, judges simply get elected on name recognition, and re-elected because they get to run as an incumbent. Incumbents generally win judicial elections unless there is some sort of scandal or issue that marks a sitting judge. Judicial appointments, nominations, and endorsements are just as political as the rest of our process, it’s just hidden a little better. If a judicial seat opens up in the middle of that seat’s term, then the governor or the president will appoint judges to fill those roles for the remainder of their terms. Once they run in the next election, they get to run as in incumbent, a huge advantage.

There are about 1,700 federal judges and about 30,000 state judges nationwide. Federal court is home to about 400,000 cases per year, while state courts account for over 100 million cases each year. From a traffic ticket, to a divorce, to a criminal case, these sitting judges have a huge say in how you live your lives. It is important to know who your judges are, what they stand for, and what kinds of misconduct they have committed, if any.

What is a Diversion Program?

A diversion program is a type of probation for people who are first time offenders for various crimes. When people enter a diversion program, they are typically expected to complete a specific style of probation that is tailored to their specific situation and crime. If they are successful in completing the diversion program probation, then the case is dismissed or made non-public in some way. Many diversion programs are centered around cases that involve drugs and alcohol. But did you know there are diversion programs that help veterans and people with mental health issues? There is even a diversion program for first time domestic violence offenders and for youths under the age of 21 who accused of committing a wide range of crimes.

A list of diversionary programs in Michigan includes the following:

Michigan Courts Before Pandemic

The tradition and way of doing things within courthouses across the state of Michigan before the COVID-19 has always been slow and resistant to change. While some courts and jurisdictions have embraced technology and made their courts more efficient, this was hardly the norm. Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack recently testified to a U.S. Congressional panel about the typical operation of courts pre-pandemic stating that technology has brought “much-needed change” to the justice system. Chief Justice McCormack stated that the pandemic drove more change in three months than has occurred in in the past three decades in the state of Michigan. She noted that even though this pandemic was not the disruption anyone was looking for, it was the catalyst to transform the Michigan judiciary into a “more accessible, transparent, efficient, and customer-friendly branch of government.”

Changes in Michigan Courts

Original Case Details

A teenage man from Muskegon has been given a second chance by the Michigan Court of Appeals. Carvin Bailey was convicted by a jury back in 2018 of assault with intent to do great body harm, as well as felony firearm. Bailey was sentenced to prison, where he currently resides. The Michigan Court of Appeals, however, has recently ruled to give him a new trial. The Court found that the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury on self-defense when before they started deliberations. Bailey shot another teen who had been harassing him, threatened him, and showed up to his house where a confrontation occurred. There were allegedly several witnesses who watched the men confront each other. Bailey claimed self-defense, but the judge only gave the self-defense instruction for one of his charges, failing to instruct that self-defense also applied to other counts. Bailey was convicted and sentenced to a 3-year minimum prison sentence, which had a consecutive 2-year prison sentence tacked on for the felony firearm charge.

The maximum Bailey can face is 12 years in prison for these convictions. His maximum sentence on his assault charge is 10 years, plus an extra two years added on to whenever he is paroled on his assault charge. Once Bailey serves his minimum three-year sentence, he will then be eligible for parole where he will either be released, or “flopped” for another year before going in front of the parole board again. He will again either be released or flopped and will continue this cycle each year until he is either paroled or serves the maximum of his sentence. A felony firearm conviction simply adds two years to any prison sentence. If you are sentenced to probation for a felony, but get convicted of felony firearm, then you will spend two years in prison for the felony firearm conviction.

Military Gear Program

Did you ever wonder how and why police departments have so much military gear? Aren’t tanks, rubber bullets, and tear gas actually military weapons that are reserved for warfare against other countries and not to be used against your own people? Well the reason that police forces have so much military hear is due to the federal Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program. This program gives excess military equipment that might otherwise be destroyed to law enforcement agencies across the country for FREE. All of this equipment is simply given, not sold, to law enforcement agencies. The military equipment that is donated would include clothing, office supplies, tools, vehicles, and guns etc. Since the beginning of the program, LESO has transferred more than $7 billion worth of military gear to law enforcement agencies nationwide. That is $7 billion in tax-payer money that could be used on items that aren’t directed at your citizens. Items that are obtained through LESO can be sold off after one year as long as the money is then put back into the police department for improvements. The LESO program has contributed to police departments nationwide acting more as a militarized unit of control, as opposed to a community service-oriented agency aimed at protecting its people. A bipartisan group of congressmen are making a push to change or shut down the LESO program because of the way these military weapons are being used against Americans.

Michigan Program