Category Archives: News on Crime

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 The unpublished decision was released January 22, 2013.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 […]

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, […]

Previously, The Kronzek Firm wrote about the immigration consequences  of a criminal conviction. In that blog entry, we discussed the fact that non-US citizens may be deported after a guilty plea or a finding of guilt for certain crimes. A landmark United States Supreme Court case called Padilla v. Kentucky held that defense attorneys have […]

Confusing Law Being Defined By Michigan Supreme Court Since the moment Michigan voters passed the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act in 2008, it has been known as a confusing and unclear law. When a statute is not specific, judges must rely on their own wisdom and understanding. That is why some medical marijuana cases have been […]

Stories about teachers having sex with students are plentiful in the news. In many states, most instances of sex between a teacher or administrator and a student are illegal. In Michigan, teachers accused of having sexual relationships with students are often charged under Michigan’s criminal sexual conduct (CSC) laws. The consent of the student is […]

Police in Lansing, Michigan recently seized nearly one kilogram of heroin from an apartment on Forest Road. The heroin has a street value of around $75,000. Timothy Gill, supervisor of the Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad, said that this was the largest seizure of heroin by the Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad he has seen in his […]

On Tuesday, January 17, 2012, two male students at Hastings High School in Hastings, Michigan (Barry County) were arguing over text messages about a girl. The students met in a school hallway and began tussling. A teacher walked up and demanded the boys stop fighting, threatening to throw her hot tea on them if they […]

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently decided the case of People vs. Minch. In the case, the Fruitport Police Department seized over 80 firearms from the home of Kurtis Minch. The police never instituted a civil forfeiture action to keep the firearms, so Minch filed a motion to order the release of the firearms. Because […]