A Wayne County judge accused of signing her divorce lawyer’s name to legal documents without the lawyer’s permission will have her case heard by the Michigan Supreme Court in oral arguments this week.
The Judicial Tenure Commission, which investigates and prosecutes ethics violations by judges, concluded that Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Ross Adams “could not possibly believe she had” her attorney’s permission to sign legal documents using the attorney’s name. The JTC found that Ross Adams also “lied under oath, and made misrepresentations.” One issue in In re Adams is whether Ross Adams lied during a hearing in her divorce case. The JTC found that Ross Adams repeatedly called the office of the judge presiding in her divorce, yet denied doing so during a hearing in her divorce case. Ross Adams maintains that she did not lie, that she denied trying to contact the judge directly, but never denied calling the judge’s staff in her attempts to reschedule a hearing.
The Michigan Supreme Court will also hear People v Burns and People v Duncan; at issue is whether child witnesses in sex abuse cases were “unavailable” at trial so as to allow prosecutors to introduce the children’s prior testimony into evidence. In Burns, the trial court allowed the child’s prior testimony to come into evidence after she repeatedly refused to testify against the defendant, her father, at trial; the trial judge found that the child was “unavailable” under Michigan Rules of Evidence 804(b)(6) because the defendant had warned her not to tell about the abuse. In Duncan, the trial judge barred the four-year-old witness from testifying after she told the judge that she did not know what the truth is or what a lie is. The prosecutor moved to introduce the child’s preliminary examination testimony on the basis that she was “unavailable,” but the trial judge refused, stating that none of the grounds for unavailability under MRE 804(a) – privilege, refusal to testify, lack of memory, inability to be present or testify, or absence – applied.
The court will also hear five other cases, involving auto no-fault insurance, corporate, and criminal law issues, and the Sport Shooting Ranges Act.
The court will hear the oral argument in its courtroom on the sixth floor of the Michigan Hall of Justice on April 10 and 11, starting at 9:30 a.m. each day. The court’s oral arguments are open to the public. The court also live streams its hearings at http://courts.mi.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/Clerks/Oral-Arguments/Pages/live-streaming.aspx.
As a public service, the court provides summaries of the cases it will hear at http://courts.michigan.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/
Clerks/Oral-Arguments/Pages/default.aspx.
Please note: These brief accounts may not reflect the way that some or all of the Court’s seven justices view the cases. The attorneys may also disagree about the facts, issues, procedural history, and significance of these cases. For further details about the cases, contact the attorneys.
Wednesday, April 10
Morning Session
PEOPLE v WILLIAMS (case no. 144762)
Court of Appeals case no. 299484
Prosecuting attorney: Erin Leigh Birkam.
Attorney for defendant Johnny Lee Williams: Neil J. Leithauser.
Attorney for amicus curiae Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan: William M. Worden.
Attorney for amicus curiae Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan: Douglas W. Baker.
Attorney for amicus curiae Attorney General Bill Schuette: Linus R. Banghart-Linn.
Trial Court: Wayne County Circuit Court
Issue: The defendant shot another man, then fled the scene of the shooting, turning himself in to police 15 days later. Do his actions amount to “interference with the administration of justice” – and warrant a longer sentence?
PEOPLE v BURNS (case no. 145604)
Court of Appeals case no. 304403
Prosecuting attorney: Sylvia L. Linton.
Attorney for defendant David Barry Burns: Valerie R. Newman.
Attorney for amicus curiae Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan: Jerrold E. Schrotenboer.
Trial Court: Bay County Circuit Court
Issue: A five-year-old girl refused to testify in a sex abuse case against her father, although she had earlier told several people, including a teacher, a sexual assault nurse examiner, and a forensic interviewer, about the alleged abuse. The girl also told others, including her mother and the forensic interviewer, that her father warned her not to tell anyone about the alleged abuse. The prosecution argues that the child was “unavailable” as a witness due to her father’s “wrongdoing” – and that her earlier statements should be allowed into evidence.
WOODBURY, et al. v RES-CARE PREMIER, INC., et al. (case no. 144721)
Court of Appeals case no. 297819
Attorney for plaintiff Center Woods, Inc.: Thomas A. Basil Jr.
Attorney for defendant Res-Care Premier, Inc.: LeRoy L. Asher Jr.
Trial Court: Saginaw County Circuit Court
Issue: Residents of a Saginaw subdivision seek to block the 2009 sale of one of the homes to a corporation that operates adult foster care homes. A covenant requires property owners in the 3 Center Woods subdivision to give 30 days’ notice to Center Woods, Inc. – but the corporation had dissolved in 1993 and was not reinstated until the day this lawsuit was filed. Was the seller required to give notice?
Afternoon Session
PEOPLE v DUNCAN (case nos. 146295-6)
Court of Appeals case nos. 312637-8
Prosecuting attorney: Joshua D. Abbott.
Attorney for defendant Stanley G. Duncan: Martin J. Beres.
Attorney for defendant Vita Duncan: Frank D. Eaman.
Attorney for amicus curiae Attorney General Bill Schuette: Anica Letica.
Trial Court: Macomb County Circuit Court
Issue: A four-year-old girl, a witness in a sex abuse case, told the trial judge “No” when asked if she knew what the truth is and what a lie is. The judge barred her from testifying on the basis that the child was not “competent to be a witness.” Can her earlier testimony at the defendants’ preliminary examinations be admitted on the ground that she is “unavailable as a witness” under MRE 804(a)?
Thursday, April 11
Morning Session Only
IN RE ADAMS (case no. 144985)
Attorney for petitioner Judicial Tenure Commission: Paul J. Fischer.
Attorney for respondent Honorable Deborah Ross Adams: Cyril C. Hall.
Tribunal: Judicial Tenure Commission
Issue: A Detroit judge opposes the Judicial Tenure Commission’s proposal that she be suspended for 180 days without pay. The JTC alleges, among other matters, that the judge lied under oath to the JTC and forged her former divorce attorney’s signature on legal documents.
GRANGE INSURANCE COMPANY OF MICHIGAN v LAWRENCE, et al. (case no. 145206)
Court of Appeals case no. 303031
Attorney for plaintiff Grange Insurance Company of Michigan: Ann M. Byrne.
Attorney for defendant Farm Bureau General Insurance Company of Michigan: Michael D. Ward.
Attorney for amicus curiae Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan: Anne L. Argiroff.
Trial Court: Muskegon County Circuit Court
Issue: A child of divorced parents was fatally injured in an auto accident, while riding in a car driven by her mother. The mother’s no-fault insurer seeks to be reimbursed by the father’s insurer company for half the no-fault benefits Farm Bureau paid to the child’s estate
AUTOMOBILE CLUB INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al. (case no. 143808)
Court of Appeals case no. 294324
Attorney for plaintiff Automobile Club Insurance Association: John A. Lydick.
Attorney for defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company: Dale L. Arndt.
Trial Court: Ingham County Circuit Court
Issue: A 16-year-old girl died following an auto accident in Michigan, where she had been living with her mother and uncle for several months. For about 11 years before that, she lived with her father in Tennessee. At issue is where she was “domiciled” – and which of two insurance companies is liable for paying personal protection benefits on her behalf.
PEOPLE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ADDISON v BARNHART (case no. 145144)
Court of Appeals case no. 301294
Attorney for plaintiff People of the Township of Addison: Robert C. Davis.
Attorney for defendant Jerry Klein Barnhart, a/k/a Jerry Cline Barnhart: K. Scott Hamilton/.
Attorney for amicus curiae Michigan United Conservation Clubs: Terrance J. Odom.
Attorney for amicus curiae Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners: Steven W. Dulan.
Attorney for amicus curiae National Rifle Association of America: Michael T. Jean.
Attorney for amicus curiae Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Municipal League: John H. Bauckham/.
Trial Court: Oakland County Circuit Court
Issue: At issue is whether a shooting range is subject to local zoning ordinances – or is protected from such controls by the Sport Shooting Ranges Act.
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