Family law, unlike so many areas of the law, is primarily driven by facts, turning on human behavior, equity, and the societal view of familial norms. The rule of law in family law becomes particularly important as each client, practitioner, and judge brings his own judgments about the progression of those norms, his own interpretation of rightness within our current society, and his own understanding of how society should adapt to an ever changing social culture. Read More …
Major trends and themes during the Survey period for constitutional law involved: (1) the general lack of independent Michigan constitutional law when a federal constitutional counterpart exists; (2) limited development of independent Michigan constitutional law in which a federal constitutional counterpart exists, most notably involving the protection against cruel or unusual punishment and certain zoning cases; (3) the broadening of the right to confrontation in connection with inadmissibility of certain hearsay statements at criminal trials; (4) clarification of the right against self-incrimination; (5) limiting criminal defendants’ post-conviction procedural rights; (6) refusal to expansively interpret the right to counsel; (7) clarification of the prohibition against double jeopardy in connection with charging and sentencing defendants; (8) strengthening the free exercise of religion; (9) development of issue preservation and the plain error standard of review; and (10) clarification of the applicability of the Headlee Amendment to revenue raising measures by municipalities. Read More …
This Survey period, June 1, 2009, through May 31, 2010, produced a number of significant cases decided by the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals. The decisions came in such areas as homicide and forms of assault. Also present were traditional crimes such as robbery, larceny, and burglary (breaking and entering). The variety of cases is never ending, including such issues as access to transcripts, intimidation of witnesses and various defenses. Some of the issues are simple, some complex, but all important, to both those involved and the legal community. Read More …
Michigan appellate courts rendered decisions on administrative law during the 2010
Survey period regarding the intersection of administrative law and what may be regarded as certain private rights. Read More …
The last several years (election cycles, actually) have been turbulent ones in the Michigan court system. In 2008, after an extended period in which the majority of the Michigan Supreme Court justices were identified as having conservative or Republican leanings, one such justice, Clifford Taylor, was replaced on the bench by Diane Hathaway, who is viewed as less conservative. For some time, then, liberal and conservative justices were evenly divided, with Justice Elizabeth Weaver, who was reliably conservative in the past, as a swing vote. In fall 2010, then Justice Weaver resigned, which allowed then-Governor Jennifer Granholm to appoint Alton Davis to the high court. Despite running as an incumbent in the 2010 election, Justice Davis did not retain that seat, and was replaced by Mary Beth Kelly, returning the court’s majority to the conservatives. Read More …
Michigan Courts issued a number of noteworthy Civil Procedure cases during the current Survey period. For example, the Michigan Supreme Court announced a new and more stringent standard applicable to motions for class certification. The Michigan Court of Appeals also set forth a new method for analyzing motions for summary disposition on the basis of governmental immunity. In addition, two cases from the Survey period demonstrate that Michigan courts have departed from the strict application of the statutory procedural requirements in medical malpractice actions. Noteworthy cases from the current Survey period are described in greater detail below. Read More …
In the case of One’s Travel Ltd. v. Michigan Department of Treasury, under consideration was whether or not One’s Travel Ltd. qualified for the small business tax credit under the Single Business Tax Act (“SBTA”). One’s Travel Ltd. was a for-profit Michigan corporation, and a subsidiary of Credit Union ONE. The small business tax credit works to offset single business tax (“SBT”) liability for businesses that have limited gross receipts, pay a limited amount as compensation and director’s fees to shareholders or officers. To determine One’s Travel Ltd.’s qualification for the credit, the court needed to determine whether, for purposes of qualifying for the credit, One’s Travel Ltd. had to consolidate its business activities with the gross receipts of the other members in its affiliated group. Read More …
The law of professional responsibility is dynamic and ever-changing. As ethical norms and societal views of lawyers evolve, so, too, does the field of professional responsibility. The law of professional responsibility is also expansive. On the most basic level, this field concerns the practice of law itself, attempting to set meaningful standards to govern the conduct and ethics of lawyers and judges in our legal system. At the same time, the law of professional responsibility encompasses the myriad complexities of the attorney-client relationship, including matters such as legal malpractice, ineffective assistance of counsel, attorneys’ litigation to recover unpaid legal fees, conflicts of interest, the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. Read More …
There were only four published decisions issued concerning trusts or estates during the Survey period. Three of the decisions concerned the scope of the probate court’s subject matter jurisdiction and one considered the relation back of actions taken by a person before being appointed personal representative. Read More …
This Article discusses significant developments in the law of evidence during the Survey period. The Article focuses primarily on published decisions of the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court. To the extent they discuss significant issues of Michigan evidence law, however, unpublished decisions and decisions by the federal courts are also discussed. Read More …
