Category Archives: For Your Information

Virginia Man Offered Unusual Deal A recent case in Virginia has received much press and public debate, as it is the first of its kind in decades, recalling a less-than-lovely aspect of the country’s legal past.  A Prosecutor in the state of Virginia has offered a man the chance to have his sentence reduced in […]

Many Michigan Cities Reviewing Current Marijuana Laws In February of this year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled unanimously that local officials are forbidden to outlaw the use of medical marijuana within their municipalities. Many cities and townships had already legalized medical marijuana use within their communities. Those that have not will need to look again […]

As the debate over illegal immigrants continues on, more Michigan youths face deportation, even though they have no criminal history and have lived in the United States for several years.

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. […]

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 […]

In general, the prosecutor’s office receives its cases from the various police departments within its jurisdiction. The police receive a complaint from a citizen and are put into action to investigate. Sometimes it requires an immediate response, such as an armed robbery in progress. Other times a citizen may report an incident that occurred months […]

In December, we wrote an article regarding the entrapment defense as it relates specifically to sex crimes under Michigan law. In this article, I will discuss the general differences of entrapment under Michigan law compared to federal law as it relates to all crimes. In general, the federal courts use what is called a “subjective […]

Ramona Fricosu, a Colorado woman, was charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering for her part in an alleged mortgage scam. During a raid on her home, law enforcement officers seized a laptop computer. Detectives want access to documents on that computer, but the data is encrypted by a password. Prosecutors took the […]

With the passing of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act in 2008, people in Michigan who use medical marijuana within the bounds of that law are protected from prosecution in Michigan courts. The same does not hold true for the federal courts, however. Marijuana use—even for medical purposes—is still completely illegal under federal law. As one […]