Michigan

Judge’s girlfriend takes DUI plea; he and kids were in the car with her, and he says she seemed fine

A Michigan judge’s girlfriend has taken a plea in a drunken-driving case initiated by the judge’s ex-wife. Brenda Conway will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty Monday in the 46th District Court in Southfield, the Detroit Free Press reports. Authorities said at the time the case was brought in…

Oct 29, 2013 9:21 PM CDT

Community activist with law degree hid bomb-plot conviction to get US citizenship, indictment says

A suburban Chicago resident, who earned a law degree and is a valued member of a community organization that promotes Arab-American civil rights, was convicted in a terrorist attack decades ago and lied on an immigration application to become a citizen of the U.S., federal officials contend. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh,…

Oct 25, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Former Detroit mayor, an ex-lawyer, gets 28 years in federal corruption case

Convicted of public corruption for operating what the prosecution called a money-making racket out of Detroit’s city hall as the city descended toward bankruptcy, former mayor and ex-lawyer Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced Thursday to a 28-year prison term by a federal judge in Detroit. “The government has asked for a…

Oct 10, 2013 7:29 PM CDT

Judge fines defendant $50 over ringing cellphone ... then has to pay another $50 himself

A Michigan judge who has a sign in his courtroom since May warning visitors they’ll be held in contempt if a cellphone rings, didn’t hesitate to lower the boom on Friday when a defendant being sentenced in a credit card case violated the rule as his lawyer was speaking to…

Oct 9, 2013 11:35 PM CDT

Cooley Law defamation suit against law firm and bloggers critical of its job stats is nixed by judge

A federal judge has nixed a defamation suit filed by Thomas M. Cooley Law School against a law firm and bloggers who criticized the institution’s portrayal of its graduates’ employment statistics. Finding that the law school is, at minimum, a limited-purpose public figure, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker on…

Sep 30, 2013 10:33 PM CDT

Attorney faces ethics hearing over misappropriation from his law firm

A Michigan criminal defense and matrimonial attorney is awaiting the results of a legal ethics hearing last week after admittedly misappropriating funds from the firm in which he was formerly a partner. Shawn P. Davis admitted to his then-partners at Nolan & Nolan & Shafer that he “intentionally misappropriated funds…

Sep 30, 2013 5:20 PM CDT

Law firm sues the Four Tops, claiming unpaid legal fees

A law firm in suburban Detroit has filed a suit against the Four Tops that claims the Motown group owes more than $109,000 in legal fees. The Southfield, Mich., law firm of Sullivan, Ward, Asher & Patton filed the suit against the group and its only original member, Abdul “Duke”…

Sep 27, 2013 5:04 PM CDT

Lawyer won’t be charged for hitting alleged purse snatcher who bit him (see video)

A lawyer who held an alleged purse snatcher on Tuesday until police arrived shouldn’t be charged for hitting the suspect after she bit him, according to a police sergeant who viewed the video. Grand Rapids lawyer Jonathan Damon straddled the suspect, who pleaded with Damon to let her go. “Dude,…

Sep 20, 2013 1:45 PM CDT

‘Infidel’ license plate rejection spurs suit by Army veteran

An Iraq veteran has sued the state of Michigan after it denied him a personalized license plate with a variation of the word “infidel.” Michael Matwyuk, a former Army sergeant, is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) and the Army…

Sep 12, 2013 12:55 PM CDT

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