Michigan

Ethics Trial Looms for Suspended Judge re Claimed $130K Shortfall, ‘Excessively Long Lunches’

A suspended Michigan judge who has been accused of misapplying some $130,000 in public funds and making false reports to cover up her excessive absenteeism is facing a judicial ethics trial next week. 22nd District Judge Sylvia James, who has served as Inkster’s only district judge for more than 20…

Jan 17, 2012 6:28 PM CST

Michigan Law Dean Makes Almost $458K, Ranks 11th on School’s Pay Scale

Updated: The law school dean at the University of Michigan makes an annual salary of $457,964. That puts Evan Caminker in 11th place among the school’s highest-paid employees, along with its current business school dean ($550,000), former b-school dean, who remains on the faculty ($448,155), medical school dean ($524,509) and…

Dec 21, 2011 11:29 PM CST

Annual Santa Gigs Bring Joy to Mich. Attorney, Along With Serious Responsibilities

A Michigan lawyer has attended a continuing education class every year since 2004 that he takes as seriously as law school. It’s for those, like attorney Roland Davenport, for whom playing Santa every year is a top priority. Although his day job as an Ann Arbor sole practitioner prevents him…

Dec 21, 2011 11:10 PM CST

ACLU Backs Young Defense Lawyer Jailed by Judge for Asserting Client’s 5th Amendment Rights

The American Civil Liberties Union is backing an appeal by a young Michigan attorney who was briefly jailed after asserting his client’s Fifth Amendment rights when a judge tried to ask about drug use during an arraignment early this month. Briefs are expected to be filed today by Miel &…

Dec 21, 2011 7:35 PM CST

Golden State Warriors Cut Player Who Showed Up Drunk to DUI Hearing

The Golden State Warriors have cut veteran guard Charlie Bell after Bell showed up drunk at a hearing on a drunken driving case. Bell, a former high school and college basketball star, was waived by the Warriors under a new amnesty provision, the Associated Press reports. Last week, Bell, 32,…

Dec 13, 2011 9:47 PM CST

Law Firm to Complain About Judge Who Jailed Attorney for Contempt for Blocking Client Drug Queries

The law firm that employs a young Michigan attorney who was briefly jailed for telling his client at arraignment not to answer a judge’s questions about drug use is planning to file a complaint over the early December incident. Miel & Carr, which got another judge to grant an emergency…

Dec 13, 2011 7:15 PM CST

Transcript: Told to Sit Down, Be Quiet, Lawyer Blocked Judge’s Drug Queries, Was Jailed for Contempt

Updated: A transcript has been published of a Dec. 1 arraignment at which a Michigan attorney prevented his client from answering a judge’s questions about drug use and was jailed for contempt. It shows a young attorney politely sticking to his position as he is repeatedly and abruptly told to…

Dec 7, 2011 11:34 PM CST

Law Firm Says Judge Jailed Defense Attorney for Telling Client to Take the Fifth at His Arraignment

Updated: A Michigan criminal defense lawyer spent about four hours in jail on Friday after being held in contempt for telling a client to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at his arraignment. Attorney Scott Millard, 29, who works for Miel & Carr, was supposed to be jailed until…

Dec 6, 2011 10:53 PM CST

Woman Sues, Says Dealer Didn’t Disclose Her Smelly Used Car Once Held a Corpse

A woman has sued a used-car dealer in greater Detroit and the company that financed her 2006 Ford Expedition, contending that she wasn’t told when she purchased the vehicle used that it had once held a corpse. “They bought the car while it was still cold out in March,” attorney…

Dec 6, 2011 10:22 PM CST

Judge Marries Couple at Coffee Shop After Bomb Threat Closes City Hall

A judge helped a Michigan couple keep their wedding date after a bomb threat closed Lansing City Hall on Friday morning. Jeremy and Robin Morey ended up at a coffee shop when they couldn’t get into court offices at city hall, LSJ.com reports. Also at the coffee shop were Judge…

Nov 21, 2011 5:38 PM CST

Lawyer Who Got $8.4M from Detroit for Client Cops Misled Then-Mayor’s Lawyer re Leak of Racy Texts

There’s going to be more fallout for a Michigan personal injury lawyer over an $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that has created trouble for many of the lawyers who handled it and related matters. Mike Stefani has been found guilty by the Michigan Attorney Disciplinary Board of…

Nov 18, 2011 7:46 PM CST

Courthouse ‘Nurse-In’ Planned in Support of Mom with Nursing Baby Called Out by Judge

Supporters of a Michigan mom scolded by a Paw Paw district judge after she breastfed her son in the courtroom are planning a “nurse-in” outside the Van Buren County courthouse later this month. They expect perhaps 25 or 30 people to attend the Nov. 28 protest and rally, which will…

Nov 17, 2011 10:14 PM CST

Public Breastfeeding May Be Legal in Mich., But It’s Not OK in My Court, Judge Told Mom

Updated: A woman fighting a Michigan boating ticket that had already resulted in a bench warrant says she had no choice but to take her 5-month-old with her to a Tuesday hearing as he recuperated from a fever. Quiet for more than two hours as she waited for her case…

Nov 12, 2011 1:58 AM CST

9-Year-Old Girl’s Driving Skills May Help Her Dad, 39, Avoid Felony Child-Abuse Charge

There’s no question that it’s illegal for a 9-year-old to get behind the wheel and drive in Michigan. But that wasn’t the issue today in a court hearing in suburban Detroit concerning a felony child-abuse case. A judge must decide whether Shawn Weimer, 39, put his daughter at likely risk…

Nov 9, 2011 12:44 AM CST

Former US Attorney to Run Troubled Michigan County That Includes Detroit

Beset in recent years by issues concerning officials as well as a number of attorneys, the leaders of Wayne County, Mich., have made some changes. Following the resignation of a top aide, County Executive Robert Ficano has appointed former U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins, 52, to take his place, reports the…

Nov 4, 2011 1:33 PM CDT