

Court Denies Motion to Suppress
Case: People v. Hastings (Unpublished Opinion, Michigan Court of Appeals) Issues: Motion to suppress; Search & seizure; U.S. Const. amend. IV; Const. 1963, art. 1, § 11; People v. Kazmierczak; Florida v. Royer; People v. Oliver; People v. Shankle; People v. Horton; United States v. Fraguela-Casanova (MD PA); Whether the suspicion was reasonable; People v. Stevens; Waived issue; Hoffenblum v. Hoffenblum; Whether the duration of the seizure while obtaining the search warrant wa


Defendant Voluntarily Waived Miranda Rights
Case: People v. Colley (Unpublished Opinion) Issues: Motion to suppress statements during a video-recorded interrogation; Whether defendant’s waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights was knowing, intelligent, & voluntary; People v. Gipson; People v. Tierney Summary: Holding that despite defendant’s disability, he was competent to waive his rights and speak to the police, the court affirmed. Defendant argued that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress his statem


Defendant Entitled to Immunity Under MMMA
Case: People v. Rocafort (Unpublished Opinion) Issues: The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) (MCL 333.26421 et seq.); § 4 immunity; MCL 333.26424; Usable marijuana defined; MCL 333.26423(n); People v. Manuel Summary: On remand from the Michigan Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of Manuel, the court concluded that this case was factually indistinguishable from Manuel and held that defendant was entitled to immunity under MMMA § 4. Thus, it vacated her convictions


Court Finds that Officer's Trespass did not Violate Constitution
Case: People v. Towne Court: Michigan Court of Appeals ( Unpublished Opinion ) Judges: Per Curiam – Servitto, Gadola, and O’Brien Issues: Search & seizure; Motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds; People v. Frohriep; Per se unreasonableness of warrantless searches; People v. Davis; Probable cause;People v. Brzezinski; The plain view exception to the warrant requirement; People v. Galloway; People v. Kazmierczak; People v. Champion; Legality of an officer’s pos


Warrant Not Required for Search of Parolee's House
Case: People v. Hudson (Unpublished Opinion) Issues: Search & seizure; People v. Kazmierczak; Warrant requirement; People v. Frohriep; The “special needs” or regulatory exception; People v. Woods; Effect of probation on the warrant requirement; Griffin v. Wisconsin; Samson v. California; Consent; People v. Marsack; Written consent to search the parolee’s person and/or property pursuant to MCL 791.238(19); Sentencing; Scoring of OVs; People v. Earl; Summary: The court held tha


Search Warrant Not Required for Search of Defendant's Hotel Room
Case: People v. Word Court: Michigan Court of Appeals ( Unpublished Opinion ) Issues: Search & seizure; Motion to suppress evidence collected from defendant’s hotel room; Presumptive unreasonableness of a warrantless search; People v. Barbarich; Hotel or motel room occupant’s right to Fourth Amendment protection; People v. Davis; Stoner v. California; Applicability of warrant exceptions; The plain view doctrine; People v. Galloway; People v. Champion; Exigent circumstances; P


Court Upholds Resisting and Obstructing Conviction
People v. Taylor Court: Michigan Court of Appeals ( Unpublished Opinion ) Judges: Per Curiam – O’Connell, Beckering, and Stephens Issues: Sufficiency of the evidence; Resisting or obstructing a police officer; MCL 750.81d(1); People v. Vandenberg; Obstruction; People v. Morris Summary: The court held that there was sufficient evidence to support defendant-Taylor’s resisting or obstructing a police officer conviction. “In Morris, the defendant’s refusal to comply with the poli


Court Allows MMMA Evidence at Trial
Case: People v. Trzos Court: Michigan Court of Appeals ( Unpublished Opinion ) Issues: Interlocutory appeal; Motion in limine to preclude defendant from presenting evidence as to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) (MCL 333.26421 et seq.) & claims of entrapment previously raised by defendant & rejected by the trial court; Relevance; People v. Henry; People v. Aldrich; People v. Meissner; MRE 403; People v. Mardlin; Mitchell v. Kalamazoo Anesthesiology, PC; Res gestae; P


Court Errs at Sentencing Hearing
Case: People v. White Court: Michigan Supreme Court ( Opinion ) Issues: Sentencing; Whether the trial court properly scored 10 points for Offense Variable (OV) 4 (“serious psychological injury” to a victim occurred) when the only evidence to support the scoring was the victim’s fear while the crime was being committed; MCL 777.34(1)(a); People v. Francisco; People v. Lockett; Klooster v. City of Charlevoix; Whether defendant’s admission was sufficient to sustain the scoring;


Defendant's Confession Admitted at Trial
Case: People v. Marek Court: Michigan Court of Appeals ( Unpublished Opinion ) Issues: Admissibility of confession; Right against self-incrimination; U.S. Const. amend. V; Const. 1963, art. 1, § 17; People v. Cortez (On Remand); Whether defendant was in custody; People v. Coomer; Whether defendant waived his constitutional right against self-incrimination voluntarily, knowingly, & intelligently; People v. Tierney; Failure to call a false confession expert; Failure to request