Michigan Court Discusses Probable Cause for Issuing a Warrant
Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment, people cannot be unreasonably searched or detained by the police. This means, among other things, that in most instances, the police must possess a warrant in order to...
View ArticleMichigan Court Rules Juveniles Can be Required to Register as Sex Offenders
People convicted of sex crimes typically have to register as sex offenders. Until recently, it was unclear whether this requirement applied to juvenile offenders. A Michigan court recently issued a...
View ArticleMichigan Court Discusses Violent Crimes Under Federal Sentencing Laws
Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), people with prior convictions for certain crimes can face greater penalties during subsequent sentencing hearings. Specifically, the ACCA allows for...
View ArticleMichigan Court Examines Violent Crimes as Defined by Federal Law
The federal courts punish violent crimes more harshly than other offenses. While in some cases, it is obvious that a crime is violent, in other instances, the character or a crime is less evident....
View ArticleMichigan Court Discusses the Introduction of Prior Bad Act Evidence at...
The prosecution bears the burden of proving a criminal defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. While the prosecution can offer both direct and circumstantial evidence to meet this burden, it...
View ArticleCourt Examines Acts of Violence as Defined by Michigan Law
In Michigan, criminal statutes are made up of elements. Thus, when the state charges a defendant with a crime, the prosecution must establish each element beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a...
View ArticleMichigan Court Discusses Jury Instructions on Lesser Included Offenses
In Michigan, many crimes are similar in nature and contain similar elements but vary in degrees. As such, if the prosecution cannot establish a defendant’s guilt for the charged offense, it may be able...
View ArticleMichigan Court Explains the Right to Self-Representation in Criminal Matters
The Michigan Constitution and the United States Constitution afford criminal defendants many rights, including the right to counsel and the right to self-representation. While defendants are protected...
View ArticleMichigan Court Discusses Presentation of an Insanity Defense in an Assault Case
Criminal defendants rarely lack grounds to assert the insanity defense, but when they present compelling evidence demonstrating that the defense applies, they can often avoid a conviction. As such, if...
View ArticleMichigan Court Discusses Newly Discovered Evidence in Criminal Cases
In many criminal trials, the prosecution relies on testimony from victims and eyewitnesses to prove its case against the defendant. As such, if a key witness for the state later recants their...
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