Michigan

Court escapee who cuffed deputy and took his uniform was captured after 14-hour manhunt, police say

A prisoner brought Monday to a downtown Detroit courthouse for sentencing in an armed robbery and carjacking case was on the run for 14 hours after authorities say he overpowered and handcuffed a Wayne County sheriff’s deputy, put on part of his uniform, walked out of the building and carjacked…

Sep 10, 2013 3:10 PM CDT

Judge who had sex with witness in chambers and lied under oath should be removed, commission says

A Michigan judge known for the shirtless photo he texted of his bare chest to a bailiff who worked in his courtroom and his unapologetic response when confronted by a news reporter last year should be removed from the bench, an ethics panel has recommended. It focused on the affair…

Sep 10, 2013 1:58 PM CDT

Suspect stabbed sheriff’s deputy, took his uniform, fled courthouse in carjacked vehicle, police say

A downtown Detroit courthouse was on lockdown for much of the morning after a 25-year-old man about to be sentenced in an armed robbery and carjacking case made a dramatic escape Monday, police say. Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said Derreck White stabbed a deputy with a sharpened plastic comb…

Sep 9, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Police say they are considering criminal charges against dispatcher over delayed 911 call response

Police in Detroit are considering criminal charges against two emergency dispatchers over delayed responses to 911 calls that left one caller fatally stabbed and another shot in the chest with an AK-47. Both incidents involved women seeking help during disputes at their homes. In both cases, police arrived more than…

Sep 6, 2013 7:39 PM CDT

Partner reprimanded after taking plea in attorney email hacking case, has also settled lawsuit

Originally charged with multiple felonies, a partner in a Michigan law firm took a misdemeanor plea in a case in which he was accused of hacking into a fellow attorney’s personal email account and has been reprimanded by a state attorney discipline board for his conduct. Steven F. Spender also…

Aug 7, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Man swims from Canada to Detroit, is found in water on way home and cited for public intoxication

Fueled by eight beers, a Canadian man admits, he didn’t use the best judgment when he swam from Windsor to Detroit on Monday night. But, since John Morillo has to face the music anyway, he wants it on the record that he did make it all the way to the…

Jul 24, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Should federal court or state court decide if Michigan constitution bars Detroit bankruptcy filing?

In the wake of a Michigan appellate court ruling Tuesday that put the brakes on a state court judge’s orders barring Detroit from proceeding with a federal bankruptcy case, a lawyer for the city on Wednesday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to require those objecting to the filing to make…

Jul 24, 2013 4:55 PM CDT

Banned from campus over ‘Hot for Teacher’ essay, college student loses free speech suit

A federal judge in Michigan has dismissed a free-speech suit filed by an Oakland University student who was banned from campus for several semesters after writing an essay about his attraction to his creative writing instructor. It was titled “Hot for Teacher” and described her as “tall, blonde, stacked,” the…

Jul 23, 2013 10:40 PM CDT

Appeals court puts brakes on state judge’s order derailing Detroit bankruptcy

Injunctive relief granted Friday by a Michigan judge who ordered the city of Detroit to withdraw its Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing was stayed Tuesday by the state court of appeals. It stayed all three orders issued Friday by Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina while the appellate court decides whether…

Jul 23, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

Michigan supremes demote chief district court judge, saying he hasn’t cooperated with takeover

The chief judge of a financially struggling Detroit district court was removed from his leadership role on Monday. In a written order, the Michigan Supreme Court said 36th District Court Chief Judge Kenneth King had not been cooperating with Judge Michael J. Talbot of the Michigan Court of Appeals, who…

Jul 22, 2013 10:45 PM CDT

Detroit bankruptcy brings business to multiple law firms

Although Detroit is short of money to run the city, its Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing is expected to ring up business for multiple law firms. Jones Day is representing the city, and bondholders, creditors, insurers, pension funds and retirees are expected to lawyer up, too, as big-bucks issues, such as…

Jul 22, 2013 3:50 PM CDT

Detroit bankruptcy unconstitutional, judge rules in pension case

Detroit’s bankruptcy filing this week violates the Michigan constitution and must be withdrawn, said a state court judge Friday, in response to emergency petitions from lawyers representing pensioners and two city pension funds. The attorneys got an emergency hearing with Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina Thursday, the Detroit Free…

Jul 19, 2013 10:59 PM CDT

Detroit files for bankruptcy, the biggest US city ever to do so

The city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy on Thursday afternoon, the largest U.S. city ever to do so. Beset for decades by population and revenue loss, as well as government mismanagement, the city is seeking Chapter 9 protection as it renegotiates $18.5 billion in debt, reports the Detroit Free Press.…

Jul 18, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

Want career satisfaction? Don’t chase money and prestige, lawyer survey suggests

Money and prestige aren’t key to career satisfaction, according to findings from a multiyear survey of University of Michigan law grads. Instead, work satisfaction is more closely related to the law grads’ perceptions of the social value of their work and the quality of their relations with co-workers and superiors,…

Jul 1, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Top court removes judge from bench for lying under oath

Rejecting as too lenient a recommended 180-day suspension, the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that a family court judge be removed from office for lying under oath and other transgressions during her 2011 divorce. In a 5-2 ruling, the state’s top court held that Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah…

Jun 20, 2013 3:06 PM CDT