Aggressive Criminal Defense Blog

Michigan criminal defense and embezzlement attorneys have been busy lately. White collar theft crime was prominent in the local news headlines this week. Several embezzlement cases cropped up around the state Bay County Criminal charges were filed against a Saginaw man, Joel Wilson, for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme. Three victims were allegedly fleeced of […]

This month the United States Supreme Court released Smith v. United States Unanimously, the Court held a defendant bears the burden of proving a defense of withdrawal in a criminal conspiracy. Moreover, shifting the burden to the defendant does not violate the Due Process Clause. Only if an affirmative defense negates an element of the […]

In People v. Agro, the Court of Appeals addressed another affirmative defense case under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). The unpublished decision was released January 22, 2013. Last year, the Michigan Supreme Court released Kolanek, which clarified the nature and scope of the MMMA. Section 4 of the act gives broad immunity to arrest, […]

In People v. Needham, a defendant who pleaded no contest to possession of child sexually abusive material challenged his prison sentence of one to four years, objecting to offense variable (OV) 10 being scored (exploitation of a vulnerable victim) since he had no direct contact with the children featured in the pornography. Generally, the Michigan […]

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently decided a case which clearly explains the status of Michigan law related to the deportation option for citizens of foreign countries who are serving prison sentences. In Chico-Polo v. Department of Corrections, the court clarified a statute applicable to prisoners whom received orders of deportation. Plaintiff requested mandamus for […]

As a criminal defense attorney, I have seen first-hand how passionate people are about their firearms rights. Gun enthusiasts believe strongly in their Second Amendment rights, and I can’t say that I blame them. The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan has recently been the site of a political controversy regarding the right to carry firearms. […]

The Michigan Supreme Court addressed an interesting issue related to the constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel in the case of People v Trakhtenberg. This case was released by the Court on December 21, 2012. An understanding of this case and its implications requires some explanation of the concept of collateral estoppel. Collateral […]

In People v Minch, the Michigan Supreme court created a new rule that will be important to felons who own guns which were lawfully seized by police during the investigation of their case.  In this Muskegon County case, Mr. Minch was in lawful possession of 86 firearms at his home in the Fruitport area.  At […]

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed into law a bill referred to as “VO-4,” or the “Four Strikes Law.” The law allows for certain repeat felony offenders in Michigan to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. Governor Snyder said, “By holding chronic offenders accountable we can keep our communities safe, […]

Last month I spoke of the prosecutor’s discretion to charge a case.  This month I would like to discuss the process of plea bargaining.  No one will admit it on the record, but the criminal justice system is simply not set up to have every case go to trial.  Each judge may have hundreds of […]