Insider Intelligence

The Michigan Supreme Court ordered the recall petition against Representative Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) is proper and therefor can move forward. A recall petition was approved and circulated in 2019 following his indictment by a federal grand jury for allegedly offering to trade a vote for a campaign donation. However, after the signatures were turned in […]

Members of Michigan’s tribal, state, and federal court systems assembled this week at the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing for the fall meeting of the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum. The meeting, which coincides with the national Native American Heritage Month, was hosted by Justice Megan Cavanagh, who serves as the Michigan Supreme […]

The House of Representatives approved of a plan to expand expungement laws in the state. The proposal would allow hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents to have their prior convictions expunged, under certain circumstances. According to proponents of the bills, when a person has prior convictions expunged, their wages tend to increase shortly thereafter. The […]

Hundreds of thousands of residents would be eligible to have their criminal records expunged under a proposal reported by the House Judiciary Committee this week.  Currently only individuals with one felony or two misdemeanors qualify for expungement, and they must wait a minimum of five years before they can start the process. This plan would […]

Legislation was introduced that seeks to streamline the marijuana expungement process in Michigan. Under the bill, after a person applies for expungement, if the prosecutor’s office doesn’t object during the allotted time, then the expungement is granted without the need for a hearing. The allotted time to object is 60 days for misdemeanors and 90 […]

Seventeen-year-olds would no longer be automatically charged as an adult in the criminal justice system under reforms approved by the legislature this week. Under the plan, for the purposes of adjudication or prosecution of criminal offenses a 17-year-old would be treated as minors in most circumstances. However, prosecutors will have discretion, allowing them to waive […]

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee reported a Joint Resolution making reforms to search and seizures laws as they pertain to electronic data. Sponsored by Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), it would define in the Michigan Constitution that electronic data and communications are property and, as such, are exempt from search and seizure without […]

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee reported legislation that makes changes to how law enforcement can conduct certain searches. The package of bills makes several reforms, including: Requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant to search the premises of a person who had objected to a search, even if another person who occupies the […]