Case against ex-senator revived due to high court decision
DETROIT (AP) — A criminal case against a former state lawmaker who shot his ex-wife’s car in Detroit is starting over after a summer stop at the Michigan Supreme Court.
A judge on Monday granted the prosecutor’s request to withdraw from a 2016 plea deal with Virgil Smith. The Supreme Court said prosecutors should have been allowed to withdraw when Judge Lawrence Talon dropped key provisions.
Smith pleaded guilty in 2016 to shooting his ex-wife’s Mercedes-Benz. He was sentenced to 10 months in jail and quit his Senate seat.
The original charges have been reinstated: malicious destruction of property, felonious assault, a gun crime and misdemeanor domestic violence.
Smith claimed that he shot Anistia Thomas’ car after she tried to attack a woman in his bed.
University says legal pot vote won’t change campus rules
EAST LANSING (AP) — Marijuana is becoming legal in Michigan but not at Michigan State University.
MSU released a statement this week, saying the use and possession of marijuana still will be prohibited at any university building or property. Violators will face “legal and disciplinary action.”
Voters last week approved the use of marijuana for people 21 and older, a decade after medical marijuana was blessed by voters. The law could kick in before the end of the year, although it will take months or longer for retail pot shops to develop. Communities could ban them.
MSU’s statement is similar to one released by the University of Michigan.
Justice Ginsburg improving after fall but misses session
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg missed a brief court session this week as she recovers from a fall and broken ribs.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says the 85-year-old justice did not join her colleagues Tuesday morning when the court took the bench. Arberg says Ginsburg “continues to improve and is working from home.”
The court previously said Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall last week.
The court was not hearing arguments Tuesday but took the bench briefly for other routine business.
Ginsburg is the court’s oldest justice.
Man tries to trade cannabis for a car, lands in jail
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — Marijuana is legal in Oregon, but you can't barter it for a car.
Police in Albany, Oregon, say a car dealer posted a Mazda SUV for sale on an online marketplace. A man contacted the dealer and offered to trade cannabis for the car.
Matthew Franks, 38, of Independence, Oregon, showed up at a rendezvous site expecting to meet the car seller. Instead, police were waiting for him.
A police spokesman said officers seized 5.4 pounds of marijuana, less than the agreed-upon amount. Though marijuana is legal in Oregon, sales are regulated and those in the business must be licensed.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
