Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

The fear of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a dramatic effect on our legal system. Many counties in Michigan are adjourning jury trials until further notice. The criminal defendant who is fighting for their freedom is now faced with a challenging proposition: Will their freedom be compromised for the health and safety of society. To discuss the impact of this issue in the state of Michigan, we spoke to three of the top criminal defense attorneys in our state.

Scott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates. Grabel’s law firm is known as the top criminal defense team across the state of Michigan and generally runs over 40 jury trials per year. When asked about the impact of COVID-19 on jury trials, Grabel stated, “This has become a wait and see proposition. While I’m sure that trial dockets will stabilize at some point, we don’t know how long this process will take. This will allow us to prepare even more so for our clients but also creates a lot of uncertainty to the criminal justice system.”

William Amadeo is a partner at McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates. Amadeo is known as one of the top trial lawyers across the state of Michigan and has had his docket compromised. Amadeo provided commentary when he said, “From March 31 to June 25, I had five jury trials across the state. My Lenawee County trial on March 31 has been adjourned for an indefinite period. The other cases are in limbo. There is a chance that resolutions could be reached during these trying times, but I have been in a cold war of sorts on these cases. There is a chance that COVID-19 will allow cooler heads to prevail, but the unknown is frustrating for people faced with the loss of their freedom. As a criminal defense lawyer, it is time for all of us to step our game up with communicating with our clients.”

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a dramatic effect on the Michigan criminal justice system. Governor Whitmer has declared a state of emergency, and trial courts have implemented emergency measures. One such action the Michigan Supreme Court is Administrative Order No 2020-1 to advise trial lawyers and court participants to use caution. While these measures are in place to protect society, another aspect of COVID-19 is what role it will play in the 2020 Michigan Judicial Elections. To gather insight on this issue, we had the chance to speak to three of the top lawyers in the state of Michigan.

Scott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates, which has offices in Lansing, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grabel’s law firm is known as the top criminal defense team across the state of Michigan. When asked how COVI-19 will affect the judicial elections, Grabel stated, “2020 is going to be an essential election in our trial courts. With the fear of this horrible disease and with the crime rate in Michigan being at historical highs, we will need reasonable minds on our bench. These factors may also lead to a minimal voter turnout, which is concerning for our justice system.”

William Amadeo is a partner at McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates. Amadeo is known as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in Washtenaw, Wayne, and Shiawassee Counties and regularly works before those courts. About judicial elections and the COVID-19 panic, Amadeo said, “These are scary times, and no matter the status of our state and country, these elections are going to occur, and absentee ballots will be pivotal. In Wayne County, it is going to be essential that Referee Nicholas Hathaway gets on the bench at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. With the volume in Detroit, a forward-thinking justice like Referee Hathaway brings a wealth of understanding from his career as a prosecutor and a Referee. As for Shiawassee County, Judge Matthew Stewart has been a mentor of mine, and I can’t imagine why anybody would consider running against him. If there is an election in Corunna, I’ll encourage people to back Judge Stewart.”

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has struck fear across the United States. Despite limited reported cases, the concern has grown drastically due to social media and television outlets. The inconsistency of reports on COVID-19 had led to mass confusion in society and our criminal justice system. To gain insight into how the disease is affecting our state’s criminal justice system, we spoke to top criminal defense attorneys that practice in multiple counties.

Scott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates and has built a firm that is known as the top criminal defense team across the state of Michigan. When asked the impact of COVID-19, Grabel stated, “Our firm does a lot of appellate work. The key to success in appellate work can visit an incarcerated client and review transcripts. Prisons have been locked down due to COVID-19. We all need to error on the side of safety, but for those incarcerated, there is another hurdle to their freedom regained.”

William Amadeo is a partner at McManus, and Amadeo is Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates in Lansing, Michigan. Amadeo has a docket that covers over ten counties and provided commentary on the obstacles created by the virus. Amadeo said, “The reality is we don’t know where we stand right now as a society. I had a trial in Lenawee, County, that was scheduled for March 31 that had been adjourned indefinitely. I had five trials set across the state from March 31 until June 25, and they are all in limbo. With the fear of bringing jurors in, this may be a time where prosecutors, probation officers, and defense counsels can work as a team towards resolutions but that will call for a lot of giving and take from all officers of the court.”

Original Case Details

Back in November of 2015, a former pastor named Keith Wood was charged with jury tampering for handing out pamphlets that encourage jury nullification and deciding cases on feeling rather than law. Jury nullification occurs when a jury finds a defendant not guilty despite believing that the defendant is in fact guilty of the charge. This happens when a jury concludes that the charges are immoral or unjust and applying the charges to the defendant are unfair. Wood handed out his pamphlets outside a Mecosta County Courthouse on the day a jury was to be selected in a land-use case dealing with an Amish man versus the state government. The Amish man was from Stanwood and was facing charges for illegally draining a wetland. The case actually settled and never went to trial, but Wood was still convicted of attempting to influence jurors. Wood was convicted by a jury in June of 2017 and has been exhausting his every avenue of appeal since. Wood’s conviction is a misdemeanor charge that has a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Where Are We Now?

The debate is back on in the Michigan Legislature over whether to pass a law preventing local governments from banning breed-specific dogs. The main breed which has always been at issue is the pit bull. The way most people view the debate on breed-specific bans usually coincides with how they view pit bulls. Usually if you like pit bulls or are a pit bull owner, you are against local governments being able to ban them. If you are afraid of what pit bulls are capable of, then you are for local governments being able to ban them. New legislation has been proposed to prevent any Michigan community from banning dogs based on their breed.

House Bill 4035 Explained

This proposed legislation has been sponsored by Rep. Jim Ellison (D) out of Royal Oak. It is titled House Bill 4035 and it seeks to keep local governments from enacting any law banning the ownership of a dog based on its breed. This bill would also prevent any policy that deems any specific breed of dog as a dangerous animal. The bill does not prevent communities from passing and enforcing restrictions or requirements on dogs and/or their owners. Communities would still be allowed to regulate dogs that are determined to be dangerous based on factors other than breed.

Michigan is known as a state that looks to statistics. Statistics or (stats) tell a story that often speaks louder than words. One stat is has led to a criminal justice task force is that the number of prisoners in county jails has tripled in the last 35 years, and despite this, crime has steadily dropped over the previous 50 years. To examine these issues, we spoke to top criminal lawyers in the state of Michigan.

Scott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates, which is known as the top criminal defense team throughout the state of Michigan. Grabel provided commentary when he stated, “Governor Whitmer made this issue a top priority when she was running for office. The increase of incarcerated individuals with a decrease in crime makes no sense. We do see a lot of judges that are deciding to jail people for misdemeanors. While judges have the right to do so, the reality is that this hurts not only the incarcerated individual but the taxpayers of Michigan. We need reform, and we need it now.”

William Amadeo is a partner at McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates in Wayne County, Michigan. Amadeo is known as the top criminal defense lawyer in Washtenaw County and has built a strong reputation across the state of Michigan. When asked about the reform, Amadeo stated, “I know that Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack has been involved in this reform and she has always been a very forward thinker. I do feel a big problem that those of us on the defense side of the issue is the reluctance of counsel to push matters to trial. We should always start to work as a team with the prosecutor and probation, but if that respect is not returned, we need to be capable and willing to go to war for our clients. If you want to put my client in jail for a misdemeanor, we should go to trial. It ridiculous to clog up the jails for matters such as those charges, and that is why our jails are so crowded.”