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Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence for Impermissible Triple-Counting of Guidelines Enhancements for Ungrouped Offenses

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentence Enhancements/Departures

Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence for Impermissible Triple-Counting of Guidelines Enhancements for Ungrouped Offenses by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that enhancements under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“USSG”) that were applied to all three counts of conviction that were ungrouped were …

Sixth Circuit Announces District Court Has Power to Waive Interest on Restitution Post-Sentencing, Resulting in Circuit Split

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: Restitution

Sixth Circuit Announces District Court Has Power to Waive Interest on Restitution Post-Sentencing, Resulting in Circuit Split by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Acknowledging a circuit split on the issue, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that district courts have the authority to waive interest on …

ShadowDragon: Inside the Social Media Surveillance Software That Can Watch Your Every Move

Article • November 15, 2021 • from CLN December, 2021

Filed under: Electronic Surveillance, Social Media

ShadowDragon: Inside the Social Media Surveillance Software That Can Watch Your Every Move by Michael Kwet The tool is the product of a growing industry whose work is usually kept from the public and utilized by police. by Michael Kwet, originally published by The Intercept, September 21, 2021 A Michigan …

Michigan Supreme Court: Parole-Revocation Prison Term Imposed as Result of Separate Wrongful Conviction Is Included in Compensation Under WICA

Article • November 15, 2021 • from CLN December, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Damages - Compensatory, Revocation Proceedings

Michigan Supreme Court: Parole-Revocation Prison Term Imposed as Result of Separate Wrongful Conviction Is Included in Compensation Under WICA by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Michigan held that time served in prison due to revocation of parole that resulted solely from a wrongful conviction of other …

Current Forensic Sciences Not as Objective as Most Believe

Article • October 15, 2021 • from CLN November, 2021

Filed under: junk science

Current Forensic Sciences Not as Objective as Most Believe by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Television may well be the most effective propaganda tool in the world, especially when it comes to portraying forensic scientists and their laboratories as dispassionate and dedicated professionals and their laboratories as pristine and state-of-the-art …

Herriges v. County of Macomb, MI, Settlement, Failure to Provide Medical Care, 2021

Brief • October 7, 2021

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Herriges v. County of Macomb, MI, Settlement, Failure to Provide Medical Care, 2021 Case 2:19-cv-12193-DML-EAS ECF No. 182, PageID.5213 Filed 10/07/21 Page 1 of 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION CAROL HERRIGES, as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF DIETER HERRIGES-LOVE, deceased, v. Plaintiff, Case …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2021 • from CLN October, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: After shooting more people than any other U.S. city or county police department in 2018, the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD) will now be the subject of a “pattern and practice” (P&P) investigation announced on August 5, 2021, by the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), according …

Three Detroit Cops Suspended After “Handing Out the Brain Damage”

Article • August 16, 2021

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Media, Excessive Force (Police)

Three Detroit Cops Suspended After “Handing Out the Brain Damage” by An unnamed Detroit Police Department (DPD) officer has been suspended while an investigation is underway into allegations he used excessive force in punching a man to the ground in the early morning hours of August 1, 2021. Two of …

Sixth Circuit: District Court May Consider Disparity of Defendant’s Actual Sentence Compared With Sentence Under First Step Act When Additional Factors Present

Article • August 15, 2021 • from CLN September, 2021

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act

Sixth Circuit: District Court May Consider Disparity of Defendant’s Actual Sentence Compared With Sentence Under First Step Act When Additional Factors Present by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that, in making an individualized determination about whether extraordinary and compelling reasons …

News in Brief

Article • August 15, 2021 • from CLN September, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Five Southern California cops were placed on leave in June 2021 after a video surfaced showing them attacking suspects, according to reports by the Washington Post. On June 10, 2021, four Glendale police officers went on paid leave while an investigation was opened into their response to …

Michigan Moves to Restrict Shackling of Juveniles in Court

Article • August 4, 2021

Filed under: Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Shackles

Michigan Moves to Restrict Shackling of Juveniles in Court by On September 1, 2021, Michigan will be added to the list of 31 states and D.C. with regulations limiting when a juvenile may be placed in restraints in court. The new rule handed down by the state Supreme Court on …

Michigan Supreme Court: Anonymous Tip Alleging Woman Was Driving Drunk Because She Yelled at Her Children Failed to Provide Reasonable Suspicion for Terry Stop

Article • July 15, 2021 • from CLN August, 2021

Michigan Supreme Court: Anonymous Tip Alleging Woman Was Driving Drunk Because She Yelled at Her Children Failed to Provide Reasonable Suspicion for Terry Stop by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that district courts must, upon motion seeking relief under § …

Civil Rights Investigation Sought Over “No-Knock” Raid On Wrong Michigan Home

Article • June 21, 2021

Filed under: No-Knock Warrants, Wrongful Use of Force

Civil Rights Investigation Sought Over “No-Knock” Raid On Wrong Michigan Home by A Michigan family terrorized by state police raiding their Flint home to erroneously execute a “no-knock” warrant requested a federal civil rights investigation on June 7, 2021, according to a report by MLive. After the raid on April …

Michigan State Police Reverse on Use of Messaging App That Can Evade FOIA Requests

Article • April 15, 2021 • from CLN May, 2021

Filed under: Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronic Surveillance, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Michigan State Police Reverse on Use of Messaging App That Can Evade FOIA Requests by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Michigan State Police (“MSP”) made admissions in a lawsuit revealing that top officials within the MSP used a text-messaging encryption app that causes messages to self-destruct once deleted, leaving …

Walter Forbes of Michigan Exonerated After 37 Years in Prison

Article • February 15, 2021 • from CLN March, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Walter Forbes of Michigan Exonerated After 37 Years in Prison by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Walter Forbes was exonerated, then freed in November 2020 after 37 years in prison for an arson and murder he did not commit. The state’s key witness admitted to fabricating the story that convicted …

Michigan Supreme Court: Police Must Limit Search of Cellphone Data to Uncovering Evidence of the Criminal Activity Alleged in Warrant

Article • February 15, 2021 • from CLN March, 2021

Filed under: Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Searchable Metadata, Relevance

Michigan Supreme Court: Police Must Limit Search of Cellphone Data to Uncovering Evidence of the Criminal Activity Alleged in Warrant by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Michigan held that police must limit a search of digital data from a cellphone in a manner reasonably directed to …

Multi-Agency Task Forces Manipulate Jurisdiction to Avoid Liability

Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021

Filed under: Excessive Force, Immunity/Liability, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction - Manufactured

Multi-Agency Task Forces Manipulate Jurisdiction to Avoid Liability by Casey Bastian by Casey Bastian In July 2014, college student James King was walking to a job when Grand Rapids, Michigan, Detective Todd Allen and FBI Special Agent Douglas Brownback stopped King, believing he was a fugitive in a Michigan crime. …

New Michigan Law Expands Criminal Records Expungement

Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021

Filed under: Restrictions, discrimination, Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of

New Michigan Law Expands Criminal Records Expungement by Casey Bastian by Casey Bastian Having a criminal record, for even minor offenses, can make it very difficult to obtain housing, employment, or education and vocational training. In an effort to alleviate some of these difficulties, lawmakers in Michigan have passed bipartisan …

Michigan Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment to Protect Electronic Data and Communications

Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021

Filed under: Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Electronic Surveillance

Michigan Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment to Protect Electronic Data and Communications by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso On Election Night, November 3, 2020, Michigan voters approved a ballot measure amending the state constitution to add electronic data and communications to the category of items protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. …

Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Unreliable, Suggestive Showup

Article • December 15, 2020 • from CLN January, 2021

Filed under: witness misidentification, Lineups, Eyewitness Identification

Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Unreliable, Suggestive Showup by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Michigan held that a showup identification of the alleged shooter in a murder case was impermissibly suggestive and unreliable. Because the prosecution’s case was “significantly less persuasive” without the …