Tag: Michigan Law

Ijury: The Emerging Role of Electronic Communication Devices in the Courtroom

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The courts and often many judges have made no secret of their discontent with the Internet, particularly with regard to its impact on the legal system and trials. Courts have implicitly questioned the relevance of information obtained from the Internet, and have explicitly stated that while “some look to the Internet as an innovative vehicle for communication, the Court continues to warily and wearily view it largely as one large catalyst for rumor, innuendo, and misinformation.” This view may be a result of many judges being from the “old school,” that is, that they either lack an understanding of modern technology, or the desire to deal with such technology in their courtrooms. Read More …

Michigan Road-Ends: Protecting Private Property Rights While Preserving Public Access To Inland Lakes

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The State of Michigan has over 11,000 inland lakes for its residents and visitors to enjoy. In fact, no matter where you are in Michigan, an inland lake is never more than a six mile drive away. Despite the close proximity, discussion of Michigan’s inland lakes reminds many Michiganders of summer trips “Up North,” with days spent swimming, fishing, or boating on bodies of water such as Higgins Lake. Unfortunately, pristine days of relaxation have been replaced with days of courtroom litigation. Read More …

Trading Diplomas for Dollars: How Michigan Lawmakers Could Use Education as an Economic Development Model

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As our nation struggles to endure one of the worst economic crises of its history, and cities across the nation suffer the dire consequences of depressed economies, one major city stands out. That city is Detroit. In 2008, the United States Census Bureau reported that Detroit was the poorest large city in the nation. This statistic is not surprising, considering the many economic problems beleaguering the city. High concentrations of urban poor, as well as the rapid collapse of the major mainstay of the state’s economy—the automobile industry—and the concomitant rise in unemployment and loss of population, all problems by themselves, have collectively resulted in, among other things, an ever-shrinking tax base for the city. To see evidence of the severe economic problems facing the city, one need only drive down a neighborhood street, where, in many instances, “decaying neighborhoods, weedy, trash-strewn lots and vacant, burned-out houses” are the physical tokens of an all-too-common scene: neighborhoods consumed by extreme poverty and urban blight, exacerbated in recent times by the housing catastrophe, and plagued by violent crime, the highest rate experienced by any large city in the nation. Read More …