Insider Intelligence

This week, the Michigan Supreme Court announced the cases for October 2016 oral arguments.  The court will hear eleven arguments on October 5 and 6.  As has been tradition, the first case of the new session will be held in the old Supreme Court courtroom in the State Capitol building.  The remaining cases will be […]

This week, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s emergency manager law does not violate the United States Constitution.  The Plaintiffs argued the law violated both the 1st and 13 Amendments, in addition to the Voting Rights Act, which the Court did not agree with. Michigan’s “Local Financial Stability and […]

This week, Attorney General Bill Schuette, filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the state’s attempt to ban on straight-ticket voting.  Originally approved by the legislature and signed by Governor Rick Snyder, the ban on straight-ticket voting was halted by a U.S. District Court Judge last month (see prior article).  In his […]

This week, the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission, Attorney General Bill Schuette, the State Court Administrative Office, and the Department of Health and Human Services announced they will hold their first conference this fall.  The one-day conference will be held on Thursday, September 29 in Ann Arbor.  “This would be an excellent opportunity for interested parties […]

This week, a bipartisan package was introduced to help victims of domestic violence end a joint cell phone plan with their abuser.  AT&T (an MLC client) brought the issue to the attention of a local state representative, who then sponsored one of the bills in the package.  Under the legislation as introduced, when an individual […]

This week, Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens ruled that a lawsuit filed against the State of Michigan can proceed.  The lawsuit was filed by a group of residents who received unemployment benefits, only to have the state claim they fraudulently obtained said benefits and then imposed fines on the plaintiffs. The lawsuit comes on […]

This week, Senator John Proos, along with a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues, introduced a legislative package to reform, re-establish, and rebuild a criminal justice system that will focus on lowering recidivism and keep Michigan safe.  The bill package addresses several issues, including: Updating the Swift and Sure probation sanctioning program Expediting medical commutation hearings […]

This week the Michigan Supreme Court announced it is reorganizing the regional administrative structure in the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to improve service to trial courts.  The new plan expands the number of regional administrators and realigns coverage areas so that services to trial courts can be more focused and timely.  Regional administrators provide […]