Michigan

Judge Tosses Suit by Detroit City Lawyer Ousted over ‘Ghetto Court’ Remark

The former top lawyer for the city of Detroit plans to appeal a judge’s ruling throwing out her suit that claims she was forced to resign because of a “ghetto court” remark. U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said the remark by former interim corporation counsel Kathleen Leavey was not protected…

Jun 29, 2010 10:29 AM CDT

New Woes May Prove Taxing to Ex-Lawyer & Ex-Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick

Already in prison for probation violation, after he was found to have spent money on a too-lavish lifestyle instead of required restitution in his obstruction case, the former mayor of Detroit is now the target of tax charges. Kwame Kilpatrick, who agreed to give up his license to practice law…

Jun 23, 2010 11:24 PM CDT

Jailed Ex-Lawyer’s $1M Restitution Is Reduced by $350 Taken From His Prison Store Account

Imprisoned for violating his probation by secreting some $500,000 in assets that could have been applied to his $1 million restitution in an obstruction of justice case, the former mayor of Detroit is apparently still living too high on the hog. Officials at the Department of Correction have seized almost…

Jun 17, 2010 10:30 PM CDT

Ex-Red Wings Star Fedorov in Foreclosure, Blames Law Firm for Loss of $60M

A former star player for the Detroit Red Wings is facing foreclosure. Sergei Fedorov owes more than $2 million on two palatial homes in Bloomfield Hills, according to foreclosure notices filed by the PrivateBank and Trust Co., reports the Detroit News. He has blamed Hyman Lippitt for some $60 million…

Jun 17, 2010 5:26 PM CDT

Law Firm Points Trash-Out Crew to Paid-Up ‘Foreclosure,’ Is Sued

Martin Powelson paid off his delinquent Detroit mortgage. But after a law firm that handles a high-volume foreclosure practice mistakenly said told the lender that the redemption period had expired with the loan unpaid, a so-called trash-out crew paid a visit to his house. Contending that crew removed some $60,000…

Jun 7, 2010 6:51 PM CDT

Ex-Mayor of Detroit Jailed, Loses $120K Job, for Living Lavishly Instead of Paying Restitution

An ex-lawyer and ex-mayor of Detroit is no longer an ex-inmate. Kwame Kilpatrick was sent back to jail today by a frustrated judge, for violating his probation by lying to the court and spending his money on a lavish lifestyle instead of putting it towards his $1 million restitution. The…

May 25, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Ex-Hooters Waitress Files Suit Claiming Weight Discrimination

A former Hooters waitress claims in a discrimination suit that the restaurant placed her on “weight probation” and counseled her to join a gym so she could fit into her extra-small size uniform. Waitress Cassie Smith, who had worked in the Roseville, Mich., restaurant outside Detroit, claims she was 5-foot-8…

May 25, 2010 2:32 PM CDT

Detroit Debate: Was Removal of High-End Graffiti a Criminal Act or Art Rescue?

The owner of a derelict commercial building in Detroit apparently isn’t complaining. But the community is fiercely debating whether the removal of a high-end work of graffiti art—or vandalism, as some see the piece—was laudable art conservation or a second criminal act, reports the Detroit Free Press. Depending on your…

May 19, 2010 10:46 PM CDT

School-Sponsored MSU Student Blog Gives Applicants Snapshots of Law School Life

Hey, prospective legal eagles. Want to know what law school is really like? A new student blog at the Michigan State University College of Law may not provide all the answers. However, Kristen Flory, director of the school’s marketing and communications department, promoted the idea and apparently sees Spartan bLAWg…

May 10, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

6th Circuit Reinstates Ex-Inmate’s Pro Se Suit Over Lack of Toothpaste

Jerry Flanory doesn’t have a lawyer—yet. But after scoring a pro se civil rights victory in federal appellate court in Detroit yesterday that could soon change. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Flanory’s constitutional case against officials of the Michigan prison at which he formerly served time for…

May 7, 2010 9:39 PM CDT

Woman Told By Judge to Remove Islamic Head Covering Loses Court Case

A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Muslim woman against a Michigan state-court judge who told her to remove her hijab during a name-change hearing, reports the Detroit News. Wayne Circuit Judge J. William Callahan referred to Raneen Albaghdady’s head covering as a hat, and…

Apr 30, 2010 11:00 PM CDT

Wife of Ex-Mayor of Detroit Sues County DA, Says Her Money Was Spent on Hubby’s $1M Restitution

As the disgraced former mayor of Detroit faces a possible jail term for having violated his probation in a political corruption case by not making required payments toward his $1 million restitution, his wife has filed a federal lawsuit in Texas contending that Wayne County and its district attorney took…

Apr 22, 2010 5:15 PM CDT

Benjamin Hooks, Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 85

Benjamin Hooks, a minister, a lawyer and renowned civil rights leader who revitalized the NAACP while serving as its executive director from 1977 to 1992, died today at his home in Memphis, Tenn., after a long illness. He was 85 years old. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II,…

Apr 15, 2010 8:15 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Spends Night in Jail in Reckless-Driving Case

A former Michigan judge who was removed from the bench in a June 2008 state supreme court opinion (PDF) spent a night in jail over the weekend after a reckless driving arrest before being freed on $5,000 bond. After initially being arrested Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving, Beverly Nettles-Nickerson…

Mar 29, 2010 8:12 PM CDT

Right to Name Minor League Stadium Will Cost Cooley Law School $1.48M

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School is paying $1.48 million over 11 years for naming rights to the stadium for a minor league baseball team called the Lansing Lugnuts. The Lansing State Journal had the story. The Lansing-based Cooley is the nation’s largest law school with about 3,600 students at…

Mar 26, 2010 12:57 PM CDT