SCOTUS' Judicial Review of Federal Health Care Legislation

This is a guest blog post on SCOTUS' historic and extensive judicial review of the health care legislation.  Now that the dust is settling after oral arguments in March, we here at the Law Blogger have enlisted Wayne State University Law Professor Robert Sedler, who teaches Constitutional Law, to provide his expert analysis on this topic.  Professor Sedler has commented widely on this issue currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.The constitutional challenge made to the health care statutes has been to the so-called “individual mandate” in PPACA as being beyond the constitutional power of Congress under the commerce clause. The opponents contend that this provision is unconstitutional and that the rest of the act cannot be...

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Posted in: health care,individual mandate,judicial review,Law Blogger,Law Professor Robert Sedler,lawyer,SCOTUS,Solicitor General,Wayne State University Law School

Bankruptcy: What will I lose? What can I keep?

Our good friend and colleague out here in Clarkston, David Shook, provides another bankruptcy-related guest blog post. Many debtors imagine repo men descending on their homes to loot and pillage their estate seconds after the bankruptcy papers are filed in federal bankruptcy court. While this makes for great television, the facts could not be further from the truth.  While there are cases where assets need to be sold for the benefit of creditors, there is a process to be followed, and the opportunity for hearing before a judge, prior to the sale of anything in a case.Debtors are allowed to retain up to fixed amount of value in assets through a process of exemptions, which are written into the Bankruptcy Code.  Exemptions allow for...

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Posted in: bankruptcy,Clarkston,Clarkston Legal,David Shook,lawyer

Privacy and Tracking Cell Phone Use

Our cell phones have been described as the biographer of our daily lives.  If deconstructed, a cell phone can tell an awful lot about its owner.Increasingly, cell phone carriers are being subpoenaed in high-conflict, or fault-based divorce cases.  The cell phone records identify the persons with whom an individual communicates throughout the day, and where that communication occurred.The information contained in cell phones is also important in the law enforcement context.  Formerly reserved for federal agents, local law enforcement is now getting in on this information bonanza thanks to a smorgasboard of services provided by cell phone carriers. The legal question posed by the practice is whether local police departments must...

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Posted in: cell phone,cloning,criminal law,divorce,GPS,lawyer,privacy law,SCOTUS

Electronic Service of Process

Well, the day is here; or, at least it's getting here.  Lexis/Nexis, the huge legal data base firm [and a charter member of the "Big Data" club], reports that some courts in several Commonwealth countries are allowing alternative service of legal papers via, well, er, Facebook, and other electronic means designed to achieve delivery -in fact- of legal papers.In the UK, the High Court allowed an injunction to be served via Facebook on an anonymous [and abusive] commenter to Donal Blaney's conservative blog.  Imagine that...In Australia, a foreclosure notice was ordered to be sent to the delinquent homeowners via Facebook.  Under Canada's rules of alternate service, notice of a claim was sent to the defendant both through his employer,...

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Posted in: alternate service,Attorney John G. Browning,Donal Blaney,Facebook,lawyer,legal process,State Bar of Michigan

Spice Kills

Waterford Judge Jodi DebbrechtThis is a guest blog post from 51st District Judge Jodi Debbrecht in Waterford, MI. Dickie Sanders was a relatively normal teenager – interested in BMX bikes, student, goals, dreams. However, Dickie died from using bath salts. While at home he had a psychotic episode as a result of using bath salts and was “seeing” fire engines and police cars in multitude arrive at his home.  He was screaming to his father who was in the kitchen of their home with Dickie. Suddenly, as Dickie was counting cars, he reached down and grabbed a butcher knife and slit his throat open.Dickie’s parents are both doctors; doctors who knew nothing about Spice, K2 or bath salts. They rushed him to the hospital after triaging...

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Posted in: 51st District Court,bath salts,drug abuse,Judge Jodi Debbrecht,K2,spice,Waterford

What Makes a Good Family Court Judge?

Attorney Henry S. GornbeinThis post is from the Huffington Post's Divorce Blog.  The author is Henry S. Gornbein, a colleague of ours from Oakland County that specializes in divorce and family law and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.  In this post, Henry really captures the critical elements of a good family court judge.Here is what Henry had to say on the subject:In over forty years of practicing family law, I have appeared before hundreds of different judges. I have found that some are rude, arrogant, and suffer from what is known as black robe syndrome. This means that they have forgotten -- or never knew -- what it was like to practice law, and have a holier than thou attitude. Most judges are considerate, will...

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Posted in: divorce,family court,family law,Henry S. Gornbein,judge,Oakland County