Michigan

Judge OKs Some Claims in Lawsuit Over ‘Runaway Train’ Abuse Prosecution of Parents of Autistic Teen

Accused of abusing their autistic, mute, teen daughter, Julian Wendrow spent months in jail and he and his attorney wife, Thal, were separated from their children, who were put in foster homes. Eventually, authorities in Oakland County, Mich., admitted they were wrong and the alleged victim couldn’t communicate. The accusations…

Apr 1, 2011 12:19 AM CDT

Bomb Detonated, Man Arrested After Abandoned Tool Bag Sat for Weeks at Detroit Federal Building

When an FBI agent found an abandoned tool bag containing a metal cash box outside the McNamara Federal building in Detroit on Feb. 26, he turned it over to a security guard. It wasn’t X-rayed or scanned until March 18, after which the Detroit Bomb Squad was called in to…

Mar 24, 2011 10:27 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues to Find Out Age of Mayor

Saying that his request for public documents wasn’t properly satisfied, a Michigan lawyer has sued the city of Warren seeking punitive damages, attorney’s fees and costs. The suit Arthur Garton filed in Macomb County Circuit Court seeks information including the birth date, address and phone number of Mayor James Fouts,…

Mar 24, 2011 7:04 PM CDT

Lawyer Expected to Take Plea in $760K Income-Tax Evasion Case

A Michigan lawyer is expected to take a plea in a federal income tax evasion case. David Black, who heads the Black, Black and Black law offices in Port Huron, is expected to plead guilty at his arraignment next month, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit tells…

Mar 17, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

Mich. Attorney General Backs Student Who Refused to Counsel Gay Patients

A graduate student kicked out of Eastern Michigan University after refusing to work with gay patients in its counseling program has won the backing of the Michigan attorney general. Former student Julea Ward contends she could not counsel a gay client because of her religious beliefs that homosexuality is immoral,…

Mar 15, 2011 1:04 PM CDT

Singer Charged with Child Porn for Edited Video Showing Kids Listening to a Graphic Song

A singer and songwriter in Michigan is facing child pornography charges after posting a video he edited to make it appear that school kids were listening to him sing a song with graphic lyrics. Evan Emory could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted…

Mar 8, 2011 1:42 PM CST

Retired Detroit-Area Drug Prosecutor Takes Plea in Trial-Testimony Case, Will Get 6 Months

A retired chief drug prosecutor in the Detroit area has taken a plea in a controversial perjury case, along with two police officers, leaving only a former Wayne County judge awaiting trial. Karen Plants pleaded guilty yesterday to misconduct in office, for which she will get a six-month jail sentence…

Mar 3, 2011 6:50 PM CST

Foley & Lardner Partner Sues Firm, Attaches Partnership Agreement to His Complaint

A 57-year-old partner in Foley & Lardner’s Detroit office has sued the firm for discrimination and breach of contract, contending, among other claims, that he would have been treated more favorably had he been younger, female and/or nonwhite. Labor and employment practitioner Raymond Carey also says in his 63-page federal…

Mar 2, 2011 11:45 PM CST

At Least 3 Moms Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Trick Them Into Providing Child Porn ‘Therapy’

At least three mothers have been arrested and criminally charged in connection with a Michigan man’s alleged scheme to trick them into providing him with pornographic images of their children under the guise of providing therapy. Meanwhile, Steven Demink, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court in Detroit today to six…

Mar 1, 2011 1:46 AM CST

A Change in Direction Results in Tossed Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit for Michigan Man

A Michigan man who injured himself after falling on an uneven sidewalk can’t pursue a lawsuit because he got his directions mixed up. Plaintiff Robert Graczyk claims he injured himself while retrieving his trash can, and gave the city of Bay City a notice of a potential claim in 2007.…

Feb 18, 2011 12:00 PM CST

Feds Raid Health Care Facilities, Arrest Over 100 Professionals in 9 Cities in Record Medicare Bust

Federal authorities have arrested 111 doctors, nurses and other professionals in nine cities in what is being billed as the biggest Medicare fraud bust ever. It allegedly involved fraudulent billing of the government for health care services that weren’t provided, according to ABC News and the Associated Press. The raids…

Feb 17, 2011 6:49 PM CST

Juror Study Shows More of a BlackBerry Effect than a ‘CSI’ Effect

The chief judge of Washtenaw County in Ann Arbor, Mich., had heard a lot about the so-called CSI effect—said to increase jurors’ expectations that technology can solve crimes with lightning speed, just as it happens on the television show CSI. But he hadn’t seen the evidence. So Judge Donald Shelton…

Feb 8, 2011 12:00 PM CST

Thomson Reuters Hiring Attorneys for New LPO Outfits in Michigan, Texas

Updated: When we reported Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of Indian legal process outsourcing company Pangea3 in the February issue, the publishing giant hadn’t yet disclosed where it would build document review centers in the U.S., aimed to mirror those overseas. This week, however, we discovered a Thomson-Pangea3 post on job-search website…

Jan 27, 2011 7:53 PM CST

Lawyer Loses Paternity Case Because Daughter Was Born to Married Couple

A New York lawyer whose daughter was conceived and born when the mother was married to another man has lost his paternity case. A Michigan appeals court ruled against Buffalo-area lawyer Anthony Pecoraro, whose child was the product of an affair with a former law school classmate, Gina Rostagno-Wallat, according…

Jan 20, 2011 2:24 PM CST

Patent Law Issue Puts $33M Law Firm Malpractice Case Squarely Into Federal Court

Vacating a dismissal by a U.S. District Court, an appellate panel has ruled that a patent law issue in a $33 million malpractice claim against a Detroit-based law firm puts the case squarely into federal jurisdiction. Because at least one of the plaintiff’s claims in Warrior Sports Inc. v. Dickinson…

Jan 13, 2011 9:16 PM CST