Michigan

Cooley Law’s Kalamazoo, Michigan, campus approved by ABA’s Legal Ed section

Updated: Following months of litigation, the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has approved Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s application to establish a branch in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The campus opening was “effective immediately,” according to an Aug. 17 Cooley Law…

Sep 11, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Dan Linna: Taking the measure of legal innovation

When his law firm enlisted then-litigator Daniel W. Linna Jr. for a presentation on evaluating potential trial outcomes, he presented his Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn peers with a hypothetical case—a teaching approach he used later as an adjunct at the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law.

Sep 1, 2018 2:25 AM CDT

Larry Nassar’s lawyers link judge’s ‘free-for-all’ hearing to prison assault, seek new sentence

A court filing links a Michigan judge’s conduct at a sentencing hearing to an inmate attack on former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted in two courts for molesting young gymnasts. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s “efforts to demonize Dr. Nassar in front of the entire world” were followed by a…

Jul 26, 2018 10:20 AM CDT

Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging constitutional right to literacy; plaintiffs vow appeal

A Detroit federal judge dismissed a lawsuit last week that accused the city's schools of denying children their fundamental right of access to literacy.

Jul 3, 2018 10:21 AM CDT

Justice Department backs conservative students who claim universities stifle speech

The U.S. Justice Department is backing students in several cases who argue their universities are restricting their First Amendment right to express their views. In the most recent case, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit that contends the University of Michigan’s rules against bullying and…

Jun 14, 2018 4:15 PM CDT

6th Circuit panel upholds mandatory retirement at 70 for Michigan judges

A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to Michigan's mandatory retirement age for state judges.

May 31, 2018 4:17 PM CDT

Michigan State agrees to $500M settlement with victims of Larry Nassar

Michigan State University has reached a $500 million settlement with 332 victims of Larry Nassar, a former sports doctor for the university who was sentenced to prison for sexually molesting gymnasts and other athletes during medical treatments. The settlement was announced Wednesday in a suit that had accused Michigan State…

May 16, 2018 11:57 AM CDT

Religious freedom law doesn’t shield funeral home that fired transgender worker, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects a funeral home director who was fired after disclosing that she was transitioning from male to female. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Michigan funeral home was not shielded by the…

Mar 8, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Estate recovers nothing for mistaken brain surgery because lawyers used estopped negligence claim

The case of a woman who died after undergoing mistaken brain surgery involves apparent errors by her doctors and her lawyers, according to a Michigan Supreme Court justice who agreed with a decision to overturn the $20 million award.

Feb 20, 2018 7:30 AM CST

Some states are welcoming back ex-offenders to work behind bars

In 2010, Cindy Stubbs was nearing the end of a 14-year sentence in a South Carolina prison, determined never to return. A mother of four, locked up on gun and drug trafficking charges since she was 34, Stubbs worked inside the prison translating textbooks to Braille. Three months before her…

Jan 18, 2018 1:25 PM CST

Federal court tosses judge’s suit against sheriff who investigated her for releasing courtroom video

A federal judge in Michigan has dismissed a retaliation lawsuit filed by a state court judge against the sheriff who sought to charge her for releasing a courtroom video showing a defendant’s attempted shank attack on a prosecutor. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids dismissed the lawsuit by…

Jan 16, 2018 1:31 PM CST

8 states file brief supporting the government’s attempt to deny abortions to immigrant minors

Eight states described as having “a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life” have weighed in on a lawsuit seeking to clear the way for immigrant minors in federal custody to have abortions. An amicus brief in Garza v. Hargan from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan,…

Jan 9, 2018 4:02 PM CST

Lawyer works and sleeps in shack to raise money for her nonprofit law firm

A Detroit lawyer who founded a nonprofit law firm to help the poor is working and sleeping in a makeshift shack until she raises at least $18,500 on a GoFundMe page, with the aim of helping more clients. Lawyer Lisa Walinske has a home, but she appears to be homeless…

Dec 7, 2017 10:30 AM CST

Radio-host lawyer is reprimanded after ‘angry black women’ comment

A Michigan lawyer who hosts a Detroit radio program has been reprimanded after telling a probation officer that she had “angry black women’s syndrome.” The Oct. 19 reprimand by consent (PDF) says lawyer Clifford Woodards of Southfield had failed to treat a person involved in the legal process with courtesy…

Oct 25, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Judge was unaware he gave joint custody to father accused of raping the then-12-year-old mother

A Michigan judge says he was not aware he had awarded joint legal custody of a boy to a father accused of raping the boy’s mother when she was 12. Judge Gregory Ross of Sanilac County thought he was ruling in a routine paternity case when he awarded joint legal…

Oct 12, 2017 10:19 AM CDT