Tag: Criminal Law

Much Ado About Nothing: Why Rescheduling Won’t Solve Advocates’ Medical Marijuana Problem

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Recently, the federal government has expanded its enforcement actions against commercialized “medical marijuana” operations. In the wake of those enforcement efforts, the governors of Washington, Rhode Island, and Colorado have petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule marijuana. Specifically, the petition asks the DEA to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The governors contend that such rescheduling will eliminate the conflict between state and federal law and enable states to establish a “regulated and safe system to supply legitimate patients who may need medical cannabis.” Read More …

Caught in the Crossfire: The Dilemma of Marijuana “Medicalization” for Healthcare Providers

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No plant in American culture is more glorified—nor more vilified—than Cannabis Sativa, known commonly as marijuana. When smoked, or otherwise ingested, marijuana produces psychoactive effects that can include changes in time and space perception, lightheadedness, and euphoria. As such, marijuana is certainly a drug. But is it medicine? This question has fueled debate for decades, and has impacted political ideology, sociology, law enforcement policy, and, not insignificantly, healthcare. This Article explores marijuana’s long, often arduous, path from panacea to pariah, and more recent attempts to resurrect and redefine its reputation. In the process, it examines how healthcare providers have been drafted into the battle and, often unwillingly, have been marched to the front lines. Read More …

Criminal Procedure

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During this Survey period, the U.S. Supreme Court, Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals decided cases that will have a significant impact on Michigan criminal procedure jurisprudence. The decisions run the gamut from the scope of a search of an automobile following a lawful arrest; application of the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule; post-arrest, post-Miranda interrogation issues; joinder of offenses; right-to-counsel claims; as well as several significant sentencing decisions. Read More …

Criminal Law

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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 …

The Impact of Heidi’s Law on Alcohol-Related Driving Offenses and Other Developments

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Under current Michigan law, an individual is considered to be driving while intoxicated when the person‘s blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 or above, or, driving under the influence of alcohol (visibly impaired driving) if their BAC is below .08. These offenses are misdemeanors, punishable by a sentence of up to 93 days in jail, for the first time offender. If an offender has a second alcohol-related driving offense within seven years of a prior such conviction, the person can be imprisoned for up to one year. Prior to January 3, 2007, if a person accumulated two or more alcohol-related offenses within ten years of one another, regardless of when during the ten-year period the previous convictions occurred, the person would be charged with a felony. Read More …

Elevating Form Over Substance: Why Circuit Courts Must Modify Their Procedural Approach to Juries’ Use of the Bible in the Sentencing Phase of a Capital Case

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In the New Testament, St. Paul speaks of the moral authority God gives local governments; authority which includes the power to “execute wrath” upon evil-doers for the greater good. In America, where more than eight-in-ten citizens self-identifies as a Christian, more than a few people agree with Paul. Many others likely do not, believing instead that the totality of the New Testament encourages an abolitionist position on capital punishment. Read More …

Vigilante Justice: Prosecutor Misconduct in Capital Cases

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Prosecutors bear a heavy responsibility in capital cases, and codes of professional responsibility recognize the core role of prosecutors. The Model Code of Professional Responsibility and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct note the important obligation prosecutors have to seek justice and not just to act as advocates. The Supreme Court has emphasized that the interest of the government “in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done.” Fortunately, most prosecutors take their special legal, ethical, and moral obligations as to seek justice seriously, “which is most certainly a difficult duty to be carried out carefully and cautiously.” Read More …