Michigan

Detroit Mayor Resigns and Enters Guilty Plea; Deal Calls for Four Months in Jail

Updated: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice for lying under oath and has agreed to resign from office. Under the plea agreement revealed in a Detroit court today he will serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution,…

Sep 4, 2008 1:25 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor May Plead at Hearing Tomorrow

As another action-packed day over the controversial leadership of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick draws to an end, there have been conflicting reports about whether he will soon plead in a perjury case. The Michigan governor began a hearing today over his possible ouster from office, at the request of the…

Sep 3, 2008 11:21 PM CDT

Ouster Hearing Begins for Detroit Mayor Despite Legal Maneuvering

Updated: Lawyers for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick only had a half-hour this morning to stop a hearing by the state’s governor that could result in their client’s ouster from office. Lawyer James Thomas said yesterday that the removal hearing was set to begin at 9 a.m., and the Michigan Supreme…

Sep 3, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Top Court Asked to Decide If Mich. Gov. Can Remove Detroit Mayor

Updated: Just minutes after a state court refused today to block the Michigan governor’s planned hearing tomorrow over the possible ouster of Detroit’s embattled mayor, counsel for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick filed an emergency appeal. But then the governor’s office went a step further and asked the state’s highest court to…

Sep 2, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Nonprofit Legal Group’s Updated Website Targets Donors

A Michigan organization that finds volunteers to work on behalf of children removed from their homes because of neglect or abuse has given its website a makeover. CASA Washtenaw’s new site has YouTube videos about youths’ experiences in foster care and how court-appointed special advocates have helped. It also has…

Sep 2, 2008 5:22 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor Sues to Stop Ouster Hearing, Claims Gov. is Biased

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has filed suit in an effort to stop Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm from holding a hearing into whether he should be removed from office. The Detroit City Council has requested the hearing under a state constitutional provision that allows the governor to remove government officials who…

Aug 29, 2008 11:10 AM CDT

Ex-Counsel Sues Detroit Mayor, Says He Owes $79K Legal Bill

Updated: A former defense lawyer for beleagered Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who himself is an attorney, has sued over an allegedly unpaid legal bill of nearly $80,000. “Attorney William Moffitt, a high-powered Alexandria, Va., lawyer, sued Kilpatrick in Wayne County Circuit Court on Wednesday, accusing the mayor of failing to…

Aug 28, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

Mich. Law School to Pay Students $5K for Public Interest Internships

The University of Michigan law school has announced it will pay $5,000 to second-year law students who intern with qualified government or public interest groups. Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a 1989 Michigan law grad, applauded the program, the National Law Journal reports. “A public…

Aug 27, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

Cross-Examination Gone Bad: Angry Witness Accuses Lawyer of Dealing Drugs

A Michigan defense lawyer’s cross-examination of an informant went awry yesterday when the witness became angry and said the lawyer questioning him had sold drugs. Informant David Maki’s outburst came after defense lawyer Tim Barkovic called him a liar and a snitch, the Detroit Free Press reports. Maki “got angry…

Aug 21, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

AARP Sued for Age Discrimination

A 63-year-old woman who lost her job with AARP in a reorganization claims in a lawsuit that the organization passed her up for nine available jobs because of her age. Bonita Brady claims she had excellent reviews from the advocacy group for older Americans before she lost her job, the…

Aug 20, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Latest Twist in Detroit Mayor Saga: Judge Says City Can’t Remove Him

The city council doesn’t have the power to remove Detroit’s embattled mayor from office, a Michigan judge has ruled. However, today’s decision by Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski doesn’t derail a planned Sept. 3 hearing on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by the state’s governor, reports the Associated Press. Kilpatrick has…

Aug 18, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor is Untethered, Then Re-Restricted

Reversing another judge’s earlier order that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had to wear an electronic tether due to his violation of bond restrictions on traveling, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge today not only untethered the mayor but lifted the travel ban. “He is not a flight risk. I see…

Aug 14, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

Judge: Recusal Not Needed on Judicial Job Cuts Since Private Practice Pays More

A panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that recusal is not required in a challenge to a ballot measure that would cut judges’ pay and eliminate some of their jobs. The court said the “rule of necessity” allows judges to rule, even if their own jobs are…

Aug 14, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor Didn’t Violate Bond

Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick finally caught a break. The prosecution in one of the two criminal cases in which he is currently a defendant contended that he had violated the terms of his bond by having contact with his sister, who is a witness in the case, while both…

Aug 12, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

New Bail Terms for Detroit Mayor Include Electronic Tether

Updated: Charged in a perjury case, the mayor of Detroit can’t take a business trip out of a designated area unless he has court permission. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick found that out the hard way when he was briefly jailed last week after taking an unauthorized business trip to Windsor, Ontario,…

Aug 11, 2008 3:28 PM CDT