Insider Intelligence

This week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order creating the Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, chaired by Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist. It will be tasked with analyzing the state’s juvenile justice system, while recommending proven practices and strategies for reform. The task force will exist as a partnership between county and state leaders, […]

Through executive order, Governor Gretchen Whitmer created a council to facilitate, assist with, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of jail reform legislation. Last December, the legislature passed a series of reforms recommended by the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. The newly created Council will focus on those changes that were signed […]

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made two appointments on Circuit Courts in Michigan. Cori E. Barkman has been appointed to the 29th Circuit Court of Clinton and Gratiot Counties. Prior to her appointment, she served as First Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Corrections Division. Previously, she served as an administrative law judge at the […]

This week, the House passed two bills allowing a person to receive an expungement for a first offense of driving under the influence. The package was introduced on a bipartisan manner, by Representative Joe Bellino (R-Monroe) and Representative Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods). The bills received bipartisan support in the House. The legislation does not apply […]

This week, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously voted to reelect Justice Bridget McCormack as Chief Justice. This will be her second two-year term in the role. Chief Justice McCormack joined the Supreme Court in January 2013. Prior to that, she was a law professor and dean at the University of Michigan Law School. Previously, Chief […]

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of Yasmine Isshak Poles to the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County. Currently she serves in private practice, specializing in criminal defense, custody, and employment matters. Prior to that Ms. Isshak Poles served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Macomb County for 12 years. Ms. Isshak Poles is a […]

This week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bipartisan bill package reforming the state’s criminal expungement laws. Under the new laws, a person can have a marijuana offense set aside if it would not have been a crime if committed after December 6, 2018 when recreational marijuana use by adults became legal in Michigan. Additionally, it […]

A package of bills reforming the state’s expungement laws was presented to Governor Whitmer this week for her consideration. The package aims to make expungement cheaper, easier, and available to more Michigan residents. It will allow for up to three felonies and four misdemeanors to be set aside, expands eligible crimes to include traffic offenses, […]