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News In Brief
Article • February 1, 2026 • from CLN March, 2026
News In Brief by Arkansas: The Saline Courier reported a swift fall from grace for Bryant Police Department (BPD) Sgt. Brett Carpenter, after he was observed off-duty driving his pickup the wrong way on a service road off I-30 on January 13, 2026. Saline County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) deputies stopped …
Tiny Plants, Big Consequences: Moss Evidence in Courtrooms
Article • January 1, 2026 • from CLN February, 2026
Filed under: Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Circumstantial, Opinions and Expert Testimony, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Scientific Testimony or Evidence
Tiny Plants, Big Consequences: Moss Evidence in Courtrooms by David Kim by David Kim When a 4-­month-­old girl known to the public only as “Baby Kate” vanished from a small Michigan town in 2011, detectives eventually found themselves staring not at a crime-­scene photograph or a cell-­tower map, but at …
Michigan Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone Is No Longer Sufficient to Establish Probable Cause to Search Vehicle
Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025
Filed under: Probable Cause, Automobile Exception, Plain View Doctrine, Marijuana Laws/Issues, Terry Stops
Michigan Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone Is No Longer Sufficient to Establish Probable Cause to Search Vehicle by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg The Supreme Court of Michigan held that the smell of marijuana, by itself, does not establish probable cause to search a motor vehicle. In doing …
Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Eviden...
Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025
Filed under: Particularity Requirement, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Cell-Phones, Warrants - General Search, Failure to Preserve Challenge
Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Michigan held that a search warrant was …
Scent of Death Evidence Admitted at Indiana Murder Trial
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: junk science, Forensic Sciences, Murder/Felony Murder, Authencity/Authentication
Scent of Death Evidence Admitted at Indiana Murder Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford In May 2024, John Hallett, 54, of Michigan City was found guilty of murdering his roommate and then dismembering the body. Prosecutors obtained the conviction by relying on novel “scent of death” evidence to prove …
Michigan Supreme Court: Fundamentally Unfair to Deny Indigent Defendant Funds to Retain False Confession Expert Where Genuineness of Confession Key Issue at Trial
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Expert Witnesses/Testimony, False Confessions, Indigent Defendants - Fees and Expenses
Michigan Supreme Court: Fundamentally Unfair to Deny Indigent Defendant Funds to Retain False Confession Expert Where Genuineness of Confession Key Issue at Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Michigan held that it is fundamentally unfair to deny an indigent defendant’s request for funds to retain …
Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Restrictions, discrimination, Constitutional Challenges/Law
Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell For nearly a decade, the ACLU has fought Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”), challenging provisions it claims violate constitutional rights. Despite repeated rulings declaring earlier versions unconstitutional, Michigan enacted a revised SORA in …
News In Brief
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: News in Brief
News In Brief by Alabama: A former Tuscumbia police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on August 24, 2024, after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection with a fatal pedestrian accident. The incident occurred in October 2022 when James “Jay” Keith Steward’s vehicle struck and killed 60-year-old Terry …
Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Batson Claims
Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024
Filed under: AEDPA, Batson Claims, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise
Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Batson Claims by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan’s order granting a Michigan prisoner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus …
Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen
Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024
Filed under: Notice of Appeal/Appeal Rights, Pleading Requirements/Rules
Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that an untimely notice of appeal (“NOA”) that provides a reason for the tardiness may …
Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant’s Statements Involuntary and Inadmissible
Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024
Filed under: Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness
Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant’s Statements Involuntary and Inadmissible by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Michigan held that Joshua Lamar-James Stewart’s age and his health, along with the timing of the police interrogation and the officers’ tactics that included promises of leniency, racial slurs, a combative tone, …
Sixth Circuit: Trial Judge’s Personal and Condemnatory Remarks Directed Toward Defendant Requires Recusal
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: Different Judge, Appearance of Justice/Impartiality, Comments by Judge
Sixth Circuit: Trial Judge’s Personal and Condemnatory Remarks Directed Toward Defendant Requires Recusal by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that a trial judge’s personal and condemnatory remarks directed toward a defendant required recusal of the judge. Leron Liggins was charged …
Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing
Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Sentencing Findings, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range
Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held a District Court commits “procedural error by failing to appreciate the scope …
News in Brief
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Filed under: News in Brief
News in Brief by Alabama: According to The New York Times, the most notable sack and fumble of the Jefferson County high school football game on September 14, 2023, came after the game ended and the police were in the process of clearing the stadium. In the tradition of historically …
Michigan Supreme Court Holds Guilty Plea Cannot Be ‘Voluntary and Knowing’ When Induced by Inaccurate Understanding of Minimum and Maximum Prison Sentence
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Michigan Supreme Court Holds Guilty Plea Cannot Be ‘Voluntary and Knowing’ When Induced by Inaccurate Understanding of Minimum and Maximum Prison Sentence by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Michigan held that a guilty plea cannot be understandingly or knowingly entered into when it was, in …
Klenke v. Michigan Dept of Corrections, MI, Complaint, Sexual Harassment, 2023
Brief • October 23, 2023
Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Staff Harassment
Klenke v. Michigan Dept of Corrections, MI, Complaint, Sexual Harassment, 2023 2nd copy - Plaintiff 3rd copy - Return Original - Court 1st copy - Defendant Approved, SCAO CASE NO. STATE OF MICHIGAN JUDICIAL DISTRICT 8th Ionia 23-S- 3lJl \ ~ \ SUMMONS JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COUNTY -CD Court telephone no. …
‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: Databases, Pro Se Issues
‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi A new open access database called “Data for Defenders,” a project of MDefenders program at the University of Michigan Law School, is a valuable tool for defenders. The resources available in …
Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentenci...
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: Failure to Explain Consequences, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences, Impermissible Factors
Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Andrew Damarr Morris’ sentence was procedurally unreasonable because …
News in Brief
Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023
Filed under: News in Brief
News in Brief by California: Reported by KHSL in Chico/Redding, Nicholas Lee Rush, 49, a Chico Police Officer, has been charged with providing marijuana to an underage family member, 17, and also encouraging the teen to share the stash with his girlfriend. In 2022, an investigation into whether Rush was …
News in Brief
Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023
Filed under: News in Brief
News in Brief by California: The District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced that a police officer in San Fernando was charged with theft. CBS News reported that the officer, Jeffrey King, 37, was handed charges on June 6, 2023, of misdemeanor petty theft, felony extortion, and felony …
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