Category Archives: Uncategorized

When a judge misuses the power and trust that we’ve given them, bad things happen. The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission is a part of the process that polices our bad judges. This week, the Michigan Supreme Court made a decision about Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree. The court ruled that McCree (a) had a […]

In Rosemond v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that to convict of a federal crime of firearm use during drug trafficking, the government must show that the defendant knew beforehand that another party would use a gun — and this must occur far enough in advance that the defendant can abort commission of […]

Early in March a PNC branch bank on West Mount Hope Avenue in Lansing, Michigan was robbed at gunpoint. The suspect approached a teller and indicated that he had a weapon. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the man fled the premises on foot. Lansing Police officers attempted to track him […]

St Patrick’s day – for most Americans it’s a celebration synonymous with Leprechauns, wearing green and drinking beer.  And not so surprisingly, also bar fights. Notable among the most recent St Patty’s day bar scuffles was one involving the arrest of an Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy at O’Malley’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Hartland Township. […]

A divided U.S. Supreme Court has determined that there is no right to challenge probable cause allowing the freezing of assets, even to pay for legal representation of choice.  Restraining Orders to preserve forfeitable property are constitutionally permissible when probable cause exists and such assets can be traced or linked to the charged offense. In […]

Mexican citizen Francisco Romero-Caspeta certainly did nothing to make things better for himself by crossing the border not once, but twice, illegally. Romero-Caspeta first attempted to cross the border from Mexico into Texas in 1999. Using a border pass belonging to another person, he was apprehended. Romero-Caspeta was given a suspended sentence of 90 days […]

10-Year-Old Charged With ‘Careless Driving’ It was just another ordinary day at the DMV office in Parker, Colorado when a strange turn of events left bystanders stunned. As the small number of customers and staff went about their business, a GMC Envoy crashed into the office’s waiting room. If the irony of having an SUV […]

Two Metro Detroit police officers will stand trial for armed robbery.  The incident in question occurred back in July when police sergeants Michael Notoriano and David Pomeroy attempted to retrieve the iPhone of Notoriano’s daughter while off-duty.  The iPhone had been stolen the day before when his daughter was attacked while riding her bike near […]

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 […]

As a Michigan criminal defense attorney, I hear about some of the latest designer drugs that are out on the streets. One such designer drug is called “bath salts.” Generally, people who hear that term imagine the fragrant granules that are used for bubble baths. However, the bath salts drug is different than that. It […]