Granholm honored by bar association
The Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation is hosting a reception in Detroit on Thursday, December 9 to honor Gov. Jennifer Granholm with the Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award.
The event will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. at Guardian Building, 500 Griswold.
Registration for the strolling supper reception with full bar is $125 per person.
Registration deadline is December 2. For further information contact Mitzy Sharp Futro at msharpfutro@detroitlawyer.org
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Michigan lawyer won’t have to pay fine
ANN ARBOR (AP) — A judge has dismissed a $10,000 fine against a Michigan assistant attorney general for lack of decorum during a trial.
In July, federal Judge John Corbett O’Meara suggested he might revisit the penalty against James Farrell after a second civil trial involving a fatal shooting by a state trooper in 2001.
Indeed, O’Meara dropped the fine, two weeks after the lawyer successfully defended Trooper Phil Duplessis.
The first trial ended in a mistrial in May. The judge said Farrell was argumentative and “physically injecting himself” into conflicts.
The attorney general’s office said it was pleased with the verdict and the decision to drop the fine.
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Lawsuit challenges lack of parole for juveniles
DETROIT (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a Michigan law that bars any chance at parole for juveniles convicted of certain murders.
Attorney Deborah LaBelle says it’s a violation of the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
She filed a lawsuit recently in federal court in Detroit on behalf of nine people who were convicted of murders committed at age 17 or under.
The plaintiffs include 28-year-old Matt Bentley, who was convicted of a fatal shooting that occurred in 1997 in Huron County when he was 14.
LaBelle says it’s not fair that teens can’t go to the parole board and seek release, based on their rehabilitation in prison and other factors.
LaBelle is an Ann Arbor lawyer handling the case for the ACLU.
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AG opposes deal in Indian tribe’s lawsuit
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) — Attorney General Mike Cox is objecting to a major legal settlement that would grant new rights to an Indian tribe and its members living in mid-Michigan's Isabella County.
In a court filing this week, Cox says the agreement represents a “sea change” in the relationship between Michigan and the Saginaw Chippewa tribe.
Cox says the public needs more time to digest the deal, which involves law enforcement, taxation and other issues in seven townships.
The tribe sued Michigan in 2005, saying the land was part of its original reservation.
Cox is especially concerned about restrictions on what police officers can do if an investigation involves a tribal member.
The agreement also relieves tribal members of paying state income tax if they live on tribal land.
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