100th Post - Thank You Readers!

We here at the Law Blogger would like to thank the Oakland Press, and our readers for the opportunity to disseminate our posts on the developing legal issues of our day, as they occur. On average, this blogs receives 75 daily page views.  Sometimes, readers are motivated to comment.  The comments tendered often provide a fresh look at the subject from a completely different point of view.  They also provide insight into how we've treated a subject. We value your comments.  Please keep them coming.Interestingly, in our two-year history of 100-posts, the one about Cooley Law School's sponsorship of the former Oldsmobile Stadium received the most comment from readers.  Although posted back in February, we still receive...

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Posted in: attorney,Cooley Law School,Kevin O'Keefe,law blogs,lawyer,legal issues,Michigan Court of Appeals,Michigan Supreme Court,Oakland County Circuit Court,Oakland Press,SCOTUS

Michigan Supreme Court Affirms Father's Child Support Obligation Even When Parental Rights Terminated

There has been some buzz among family law practitioners this week concerning the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in the DHS vs Beck case. Earlier this year, we posted on the Michigan Court of Appeals decision that held a father, whose chronic drugging resulted in the complete neglect of his children and termination of his parental rights, nevertheless remained obligated to pay child support for his two children.  The published Court of Appeals decision was just affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court. This case arose from the Oakland County Family Court; it was Judge Martha Anderson that initially terminated Mr. Beck's parental rights while also affirming his obligation to pay child support.  Both parents had been abusing drugs...

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Posted in: Child Custody Act,child neglect,child support,family law,Judge Martha Anderson,juvenile code,Michigan Court of Appeals,Michigan Supreme Court

Bloomfield Hills' Medical Marijuana Ordinance Challenged in Lawsuit

Bloomfield Hills passed an ordinance in October requiring card-carrying certified medical marijuana users to register with the Bloomfield Township Police Department. The ordinance also requires the submission of a form to the police disclosing the “patient’s” drivers license number and date of birth, whether the patient owns or rents their home, and identifying how many other patients share their home.In addition, the ordinance limits the number of medical marijuana patients that can live at one address and prohibits growing medical marijuana anywhere in Bloomfield Township. Violation of the ordinance is a 93-day misdemeanor carrying a $500 fine.Bloomfield Hills is among several municipalities that have passed ordinances that restrict...

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Posted in: appeal,attorney,criminal,criminal defense attorney,marihuana,marijuana,Michigan Medical Marihuana Act,Michigan Supreme Court,Neil Rockind,ordinance,Royal Oak,Tom Loeb

California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Grinds Along in the Ninth Circuit

This Law Blog has been tracking the same-sex marriage case out of California.  We covered Perry vs Schwarzenegger in an earlier post detailing the players and the issue framed in the constitutional law suit that originated in a federal court in San Fransisco.Since our last post on this topic, the trial court judge issued a lengthily opinion last August, ruling that California’s Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, enjoining further enforcement.  Proponents of the marriage ban appealed to the Ninth Circuit.The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the trial court ruling, however,  while the appeal is pending.  Recently, televised oral arguments were conducted on the case before a 3-judge appellate panel.  Federal...

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Posted in: constitutional law,Judge Vaughn Walker,Lyle Denniston,Perry v Schwarzenegger,same-sex marriage,SCOTUS

Felony Child Support Cases Get Review by Michigan Supreme Court

Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court granted leave on three cases challenging the constitutionality of the Felony Non-support Act; the statute criminalizing the failure to pay timely child support to the custodial parent.This blog has covered the felony child support issue relative to the People v Likine case from Oakland County Circuit Court.  That case, along with People v Harris (from the Muskegon Circuit Court) and People v Parks (Ingham County), were granted leave for further appeal.  A decision from the Supreme Court is expected sometime in 2011. In Harris, Justice Robert Young, Jr. dissented from the majority of his colleagues in granting leave on the grounds that the appellant pled guilty in the trial court, cutting...

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Posted in: attorney,family court,family law,felony child support,Justice Robert P. Young,Michigan Court of Appeals,Michigan Supreme Court,Selesa Likine

Nun Indicted in Gotham for Embezzling Nearly Million From Catholic College

Nunsense!  Earlier this week, Marie Thornton, a nun known around Westchester County, New York's Iona College as "Sister Susie" was indicted for embezzlement in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.  She was charged with stealing nearly a million dollars over a decade from the private Catholic college which she served as a vice president for financial affairs.   Thornton pled not guilty to the charges.  Apparently, the college found out about their CFO's sticky fingers some time ago, but declined to report the crime or press charges. The missing funds were only recently disclosed on the college's 2008 tax forms which indicated that an unnamed employee misappropriated $80,000 each year in small amounts over a ten-year period....

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Posted in: Brother Rice High School,Christian Brothers of Ireland,embezzlement,lawyer,Marie Thornton,U.S. District Court

Lake County to Absorb 2500 California Felons

In 1998, the Michigan Department of Corrections opened the Michigan Youth Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan; right smack in the middle of the Manistee National Forest in Lake County.  The facility, known as the “punk prison”, closed in 2005 and was subsequently sold to GEO Group, Inc., a Texas-based conglomerate.Lake County has suffered unemployment as high as 20% as a direct result of mothballing the youth facility.  The situation is about to change, however, due to California’s chronic prison overcrowding.This blog has been tracking the landmark prison overcrowding case recently argued before the SCOTUS.  In a proactive effort to alleviate the situation, California recently contracted with the GEO Group to house more...

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Posted in: Baldwin,California,GEO Group,inmate,Lake County,law enforcement,MDOC,Michigan Department of Corrections,overcrowding,prison,SCOTUS

Child's Aging Held to be Sufficient Change of Circumstance to Justify Parenting-Time Modification

Very recently, the Michigan Court of Appeals published their decision in the parenting time modification case of Shade v Wright.  That case, and its effect on our "family law" jurisprudence, is the subject of our fellow Oakland County law blogger, Cameron Goulding, Esq.Cameron produces the North Oakland Divorce Blog.  This post is his original content; thanks Cam.Altering child visitation time (technically parenting time modification) just became easier in Michigan. Many judges and friend of the court referees believed that in order for a person to obtain more parenting time with their child or to limit the parenting time of the other party, one had to provide proof equal to that which would be required to change custody. I have long...

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Posted in: Cameron Goulding,custody,divorce,lawyer,Michigan Court of Appeals,North Oakland Divorce Blog,parenting time,Wright v Shade

Bankrolling the Divorce Settlement

We've all heard about lenders that specialize in loaning to personal injury plaintiffs in advance of their settlement. These firms front the money to the plaintiff, at a significant discount from the amount expected to be realized in the ultimate settlement.This same principle is being applied to divorce judgments. Get your money now and your divorce later.Mind you, this is not for folks with middle-class marital estates. Rather, this brand new industry is developing on the left and now the right coasts for married couples that have estates north of 2 or 3 million.For example, Balance Point Divorce Funding of Beverly Hills, CA was started last year by an attorney, Stacey Napp, with funds she obtained from her own divorce.In New York City, it...

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Posted in: attorney,Balance Point Divorce Funding,Churchill Divorce Finance,divorce,Stacey Napp

Satelite Tracking Devices May Constitute a Fourth Amendment "Search"

At the Law Blogger, we often see the use of GPS tracking devices in the divorce context.  What happens when the police use such devices to gather evidence of crime?  Are your movements constitutionally protected? Two cases percolating their way to the SCOTUS (a petition for certiorari already filed in one) involve police use of high-technology tracking devices.  The High Court will be asked to decide: a) whether the prolonged monitoring of a suspect via GPS technology is a "search" under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment; and b) whether police entry onto private property to plant the device invalidates such a search.If the petitions are granted, these questions could be briefed, argued and decided in the 2011 term of the Court;...

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Posted in: attorney,Fourth Amendment,GPS,medical marijuana,SCOTUS,search and seizure,surveillance

Comic Book Explains Arrests and Lawyers to Teenage Children

In New York City, anyone arrested under the age of 16 is now provided an informational pamphlet (four pages) explaining the criminal process from the booking stage right through sentencing.Is it me, or do others find this one of the latest signs of the apocalypse?  This is a sad commentary.This comic book does not mention the presumption of innocence or the specific charges facing the youth (although it has the feel of a possession rap).  There is an assumption that the arrest was valid.  Defenses are not referenced. In the end, the judge finds the urban youth guilty.  Sad but realistic. [This link will download a PDF of the entire comic.]The concept of this instructional graphic pamphlet was hatched by the Youth Justice...

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Posted in: attorney,Center for Court Innovation,criminal defense attorney,Francis Lewis High School,Gotham,Khaair,New York City

SCOTUS Grills California's Hired Appellate Counsel in Landmark Prison Case

Justice Sonia SotomayorOk, we've seen this one coming down the tracks.  The ABA Journal is reporting that Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the managing partner of Sydney Austin's Washington, D.C. office, Carter Phillips, to "slow down from the rhetoric", as Phillips began his argument before the High Court on behalf of the State of California in the Schwarznegger -v- Plata  prison overcrowding case.Justice Sotomayor also had a series of hard questions for California's appellate attorney such as how his client could possibly explain recent prison deaths and why these prisons are choking with dazed, deranged inmates sitting in their own feces.  She wanted to know what California's plan will be. As you can imagine, the present...

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Posted in: Arnold Schwarzenegger,attorney,Attorney Carter Phillips,Chief Justice John Roberts,Justice Anthony Kennedy,Justice Samuel Alito,Justice Sonia Sotomayor,lawyer,prison,SCOTUS

Prison Overcrowding Case to Get Extended Argument at SCOTUS

Did you know that at any given moment, up to 2.3 million citizens are confined in our prisons in the United States?  Unfortunately, we lead the world in the incarceration industry.This week, the Supreme Court will hear extended oral argument (80-minutes) in the case of Schwarzenegger v Plata.  You may recall that the governor of our largest state, Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared in 2006 that acute prison overcrowding had reached a crisis stage, "that gets worse with each passing day."In California, there are approximately 160,000 men and women behind bars.  The prisons in that state are operating at 195% capacity meaning that two inmates occupy a space designed for one.If petitioners are successful, a favorable ruling from...

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Posted in: Attorney General Mike Cox,constitutional law,convicted convicts,criminal defense,habeas corpus,prison,prisoners,Schwarzenegger,SCOTUS

Oakland County's Ax-Murdering Teacher-Housewife Receives Habeas Relief

Sorry about that headline.  But this case was all-over your evening news back in 2004, when kindergarten teacher Nancy Ann Seaman axed her long-time husband to death on Mother's Day.Earlier this month, a federal judge granted Seaman's petition for Habeas Corpus.  Habeas relief is considered when a convicted inmate, having exhausted her state court appeals, sues the warden of her prison in federal court on the theory she is being illegally detained by the State of Michigan in light of constitutional errors in a state court criminal proceeding. Ms. Seaman was jury convicted of first degree murder before soon-retiring Oakland Circuit Judge John McDonald.  Seven-months after her trial, Judge McDonald reduced Seaman's conviction...

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Posted in: Attorney General Mike Cox,battered spouse syndrome,defense attorney,habeas corpus,homicide,Judge John McDonald,Lawrence Kaluzny,murder,Nancy Ann Seaman,Oakland County Prosecutor

Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation: SCOTUS Style

LawBlogger Editor's Note: This post is from Andrew Cohen, the Legal Analyst of the excellent blog Politics Daily. This is a fantasy recounting of a potential conversation between the Justices of the United States Supreme Court on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, 2010. Cohen's humorous and tastefully irreverent insight is spot on; he also mentions several of the cases and issues covered by this Blog over the past year. Having stood before this august body of jurists last June, this blogger could actually see this conversation taking place. Enjoy: The nine learned Americans, six men and three women, six Catholics and three Jews, all of them over 50 and one of them black, sat down for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. They said their prayers,...

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Posted in: Andrew Cohen,Chief Justice John Roberts,Elena Kagan,Law Blogger,Michigan Supreme Court,SCOTUS

Spending Her First Years in Prison

Law Blogger Editor's Note:  From time to time, this blogger visits clients in Michigan's prisons as a roster attorney for the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System.  This blog post is the original content of the CorrectionsOne web site.  It is an interview with Deborah Jiang Stein who was born heroin-addicted in a federal prison in West Virginia and spent the first year of her life there.  Today, she tours women's prisons to speak of hope and rehabilitation to both inmates and prison staff.What can you say about spending your first year of life in prison? How did that shape you?I was born and lived my first year in the Federal Women’s Prison in Alderson, West Virginia. I embrace that year as a primal sensory memory,...

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Posted in: corrections,Deborah Jiang Stein,MAACS,Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System,prison

Overreaching, Post-Divorce Style: Michael Douglas' Ex Demonstrates "Greed is Good"

Michael Douglas divorced his ex-wife, Diandra, in California back at the turn of the century.  She reportedly received $45 million as well as rights to half Douglas' earnings from the "spinoffs" of his completed movie work.Demonstrating the chief principle from Douglas' hit movie Wall Street, that "greed is good", Diandra filed suit in Manhattan last summer seeking half the actor's royalties from the reprise of Douglas' character, Gordon Geckko. A Manhattan Supreme Court Judge dismissed the case on procedural grounds, finding that venue was improperly laid.The judge got it right.  Diandra's rights to Douglas' earnings would come from the terms of their divorce decree or prenuptial agreement rather than a separate cause of action filed...

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Posted in: attorney,Diandra Douglas,divorce,family law,Michael Douglas,Wall Street

Macomb Woman Obtains Divorce From the Grave

In a recent case originating from Macomb County, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a woman, scorned by her long-time but absentee husband, could effectively divorce him from her grave. The case, Tkachik v Mandeville, reversed the Court of Appeals' decision that ruled she could not do so.In this case, the wife became ill and died of breast cancer after nearly three decades of marriage. Although the long-married couple was estranged at the time of wife’s death, they never filed for divorce or legal separation (known as separate maintenance in Michigan).Because her husband had abandoned her during the 18-months she battled breast cancer, the wife executed a trust and will which left him nothing and appointed her sister as personal representative...

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Posted in: abandonment,attorney,decedent,equitable contribution,Macomb Probate Court,Michigan Court of Appeals,Michigan Supreme Court,Surviving Spouse,trust,unjust enrichment,will

Privacy & Intellectual Property on Facebook

This post is the original content of Geoff Livingston, a blogger from the Washington D.C. area recognized as a social media and blogging "expert" by the Washington Post.  His 2007 book, Now is Gone was hailed by the WSJ as a valuable resource for those interested in mining social media.The topics of privacy and intellectual property relative to Facebook are intertwined and receive recurring attention.  Here is Geoff's recent post:Have you read Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities? I decided to after talking to a Facebook IP lawyer. There are some serious dangers for content marketers on Facebook:“For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (“IP content”), you specifically...

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Posted in: attorney,electronic criminal lawyer,Facebook,Geoff Livingston,intellectual property,Now is Gone,privacy rights,social media

Michigan Supreme Court May Adjourn Oral Arguments as it "Resets" After Election

Soon-to-be-Former Justice Alton DavisThe Michigan Supreme Court has nearly 20 oral arguments scheduled for December on a wide-variety of important cases.  Whether those arguments will be heard as scheduled is now in question due to circumstances arising from the mid-term election results.Some background is needed here.  When I clerked for the Michigan Court of Appeals back in the late 1980s, recently-elected Court of Appeals Judge Betty Weaver was one of the few judges that took the time to stop by and discuss issues with us lowly clerks.  She made no secret of the fact that she was Supreme Court-bound; she was elected to the court in 1995.After 15-years on the high court, Justice Weaver, a "moderate" Republican, abruptly resigned...

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Posted in: Governor Granholm,Justice Alton Davis,Justice Diane Hathaway,Justice Elizabeth Weaver,Justice Robert Young,Michigan Supreme Court

Progressive Marijuana Initiatives Lose Ground

California's Proposition 19 lost by a vote of 56% to 44%.  If successful, the proposed law would have been the first in the country to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.In Arizona, the medical marijuana proposition was too close to call as of Thursday, with the nays leading by less than one half of one percentage point.  That contest will most likely be called sometime today; looks like Arizonans will reject medicinal marijuana after all.In California, the pot initiative lost because too few voters under age 26 turned out and moderate voters rejected the initiative.  Recent violence with Mexican drug gangs in both California and Arizona did not help either initiative.Mixed messages float around the issue here in Michigan. ...

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Posted in: Arizona,California,marijuana,medical marijuana,Michigan Medical Marihuana Act,Nolan Finley,Proposition 19