Traverse City joins lawsuit vs. drug companies over opioids
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A city government in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula is joining a lawsuit against drug companies and distributors over the consequences of excessive opioid use.
Traverse City commissioners voted unanimously Monday to join the suit that Grand Traverse County earlier signed onto that accuses 24 companies of creating a public nuisance. The lawsuit also alleges negligence and racketeering violations by the companies.
Mayor Jim Carruthers notes that drugs, including heroin, killed more people in Grand Traverse County from 2013 through 2015 than traffic crashes, and killed as many as firearms.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports the lawsuit could help communities recover what they're spending in dealing with opioid addiction.
Lawsuits have been filed around the U.S. and companies being sued have said they're already taking steps to curb opioid abuse.
Michigan mom pleads guilty after second death of a child
PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — A northern Michigan woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in the suffocation of her infant daughter, her second criminal case in the death of a child.
Lisa Rae Bryan accepted a plea deal in Emmet County. She had been charged with second-degree murder in the 2016 death of her daughter, Isabella.
Bryan admitted that she slept with Isabella close to her chest when the child died just weeks after birth.
In 2010, another infant died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while Bryan was taking a bath with her. She served slightly more than a year in prison for second-degree manslaughter.
A message seeking comment was left for her attorney. Prosecutor Jim Linderman said there's no sentencing agreement, although the maximum punishment would be 22 1/2 years in prison.
Bryan, 32, will return to court on April 24. She would be eligible for parole after serving whatever minimum sentence is ordered.
"Like all cases of this nature, it's tough," Linderman said. "It's a case where it's based on circumstantial evidence and statements made by the mother. It's a tough case to prove."
FBA’s Classroom to Courtroom: Honoring Diversity event March 27
The Federal Bar Association Eastern District of Michigan’s Diversity Committee is offering Michigan’s law students a chance to learn from federal judges, observe federal court proceedings, and meet members of the Eastern District’s federal bar. Come see how to turn classroom skills into a federal court practice starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 27 at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette in Detroit.
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