Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

September 2, 2020

Two Men to Stand Trial for 11 Murders Related to Meningitis Outbreak

Original Case Details

Two men, Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin were charged with second-degree murder for deaths of 11 Livingston County residents because of a meningitis outbreak caused by tainted steroids. The case originated from the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts where Cadden was a co-founder and Chin was a pharmacist. Lax standards and safety conditions resulted in steroids that were produced there being infected before they were distributed to clinics across the country. 11 Livingston County residents died allegedly due to the tainted steroids which caused a meningitis outbreak. Investigators connected the New England Compounding Center to various Michigan pain clinics, which included Michigan Pain Specialists, a clinic in Genoa Township. 53rd District Court Judge Shauna Murphy bound the case over to Livingston County Circuit Court for further proceedings after finding enough probable cause during the preliminary examination to continue the case forward. Judge Murphy heard testimony from former employees who spoke of the consistent violations in the New England Compounding Center’s clean room, along with how cleaning logs were falsified and how equipment was left to rust. Witnesses also testified about drugs which had not been tested for safety but were sent out anyways to clinics.

Previous Related Case

September 1, 2020

Former Macomb County Clerk Pleads No Contest to Larceny

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

Former Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger was accused of stealing money from a bank account of a 78-year-old woman that she was supposed to be taking care of. Spranger was alleged to have taken money from the woman’s account on eight separate occasions in January of 2019 without proper permission. It was alleged that she took a total of $1,660 from the woman by accessing her bank account and making withdrawals. Spranger was originally charged with felony larceny, as well as disturbing the peace for allegedly pulling the alleged victim from Spranger’s car, causing them both to fall. Spranger has since pled no contest to the disturbing the peace charge. Spranger was first accused of these charges in February of 2019, it took authorities until May of 2019 to catch up to Spranger and formally arraign her on the charges. Previously, Spranger was elected as the Macomb County Clerk in 2016 but was removed from the post in March of 2018 after St. Clair County Circuit Court judge ruled that Spranger lied about her actual residency which required her to be a Macomb County resident.

Criminal Charges and Potential Penalties

August 31, 2020

Federal Government Seeks Retrial Against Former State Representative

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

The federal government continues to pursue legal action against Larry Inman, a Michigan state representative representing Michigan’s 104th District. Inman is accused of putting his vote out for sale relating to a 2018 Michigan wage law issue. He is alleged to have asked for a $30,000 campaign contribution to vote “no” on the wage law issue in a set of text messages. Inman faced a jury trial in December 2019 where he was charged with three separate federal offenses:

• Attempted Extortion: This is a federal felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction and a fine of up to $250,000.

August 27, 2020

Michigan Attorney General Puts Support Behind Releasing Man Serving 60 Years in Prison for Marijuana Conviction

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

Back in 1996, Michael Thompson of Flint was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years and a maximum of 60 years for convictions of delivery of marijuana, felony firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thompson was first arrested in 1994 for this case when he sold three pounds of marijuana to an undercover informant in Genesee County. Police later searched his home and found various firearms. These were firearms that he was not legally allowed to own because of previous felony convictions in the 1980’s. It has been since noted that most of these firearms were antiques that were locked away and that Thompson was not carrying a gun when he sold the marijuana to the informant. At the time of his sentencing, Michigan sentencing guidelines did not apply to habitual offender cases. The habitual offender law at the time allowed a judge to sentence Thompson for any term of state prison up to life in prison specifically for the felon in possession of a firearm charge, even though the normal maximum sentence for this charge is five years in state prison. This sentence in today’s times seems prehistoric as marijuana is both medically and recreationally legal in the state of Michigan today.

Michigan Attorney General’s Position Regarding Early Release

August 26, 2020

Michigan Court of Appeals Reopens Case Involving Baby’s Death

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

Battle Creek Woman Tonia Miller was 19 years old when she was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her infant child. She was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison back in 2003 for the death of her 11-week-old due to what a jury believed was a case of shaken baby syndrome. Miller’s baby was said to have problems breathing, where she would frequently stop breathing for no apparent reason. Miller testified that while she was feeding her baby, her baby stopped breathing and Miller gently shook her which started her breathing again. Miller was told by doctors that nothing was wrong and that she was being paranoid. Doctors at the time of the baby’s death believed that the death was due to shaking. The scientific understanding of the medical records in this case has now changed and medical experts believe that the cause of death may have been due to pneumonia, and not due to being shaken by her mother. In 2018, lawyers for Miller from the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic filed a motion for a new trial due to the new medical viewpoints. Two years later, the Michigan Court of Appeals has made their decision regarding re-opening Miller’s case.

Court of Appeals Decision

August 25, 2020

Mississippi Federal Judge Calls on Supreme Court to End Qualified Immunity

by Grabel & Associates

Qualified Immunity Generally

Qualified Immunity is a legal doctrine that makes it extremely difficult to sue a police officer or his or her department for wrong and usually illegal conduct by their officers. Unless you are able to show that the government official in question violated a “clearly established” law, then you will not be able to hold an officer or department financially responsible for their actions. This would include both constitutional and statutory rights. It is important to note that qualified immunity is not just immunity from having to pay money damages, it’s actually immunity from having to face any sort of trial at all. One of the biggest chants coming from civil rights protestors is that of ending qualified immunity so officers are held accountable for their actions. The incredible power of police unions and police departments has been a focus of public anger in recent months, leading to calls for police reforms of all kinds, including that of ending qualified immunity.

Mississippi Federal Judge’s Statement

August 24, 2020

Oakland County Prosecutor Race is Finalized for General Election

by Grabel & Associates

Oakland County Primary Results

The race for Oakland County Prosecutor has already marked a big change on the horizon. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Oakland County have allowed two candidates to emerge to go head to head in the general election in November. The Oakland County Prosecutor race came down to two candidates on the Democrats side, and one candidate running on the Republican side. They are listed below with their respective backgrounds and percentage of the vote they received:

1) Karen McDonald (D), a former Oakland County Circuit Court Judge. She was first elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court in 2012 and served until 2019 when she resigned to seek the position of Oakland County Prosecutor. She received nearly 66% of the vote, soundly defeating current Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper.

August 21, 2020

Sterling Heights Business Owners Accused of Using “Zapper” to Falsify Business Transactions

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A married couple that owns the popular Sterling Heights Asian restaurant Chung Ki Wa have been accused of both filing false tax returns as well as using a “zapper” that falsifies business transactions. Chung Ki Wa is known for its Korean BBQ, Japanese Sushi, and Chinese dishes. The Michigan state Department of Treasury found that the couple allegedly failed to report more than $165,000 in sales tax that they should have collected since 2013. A zapper is a software that is used by business owners to manipulate their point of sale devices, typically programming the software to suppress sales numbers in an effort to under-report tax liabilities to the government. An investigation into what was leading to this underreporting led to the Attorney General’s office believing that the couple was using a zapper.

Summary of Criminal Charges and Potential Penalties

August 20, 2020

Washtenaw County Finally Turns Page on Prosecutor Mackie Era

by Grabel & Associates

Washtenaw County Primary Results

The race for Washtenaw County Prosecutor may technically be just past the primary stage, but the next prosecutor in Washtenaw County has already been determined by voters. Washtenaw County is a heavily democratic leaning area politically so that has resulted in no Republican candidate running for the post. The Washtenaw County Prosecutor race then came down to three people. They are listed below with their respective backgrounds and percentage of the vote they each received:

1) Eli Savit, a reformist candidate who is an outsider having never served as a prosecutor or criminal defense attorney. Savit is the lead counsel for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. He has national support from Senator Bernie Sanders as well as singer John Legend. He received 51% of the vote and will be the next Washtenaw County Prosecutor.

August 19, 2020

Macomb County Prosecutor Race is Finalized for General Election

by Grabel & Associates

Results of Primary Elections

The results of the August primaries are in, and Macomb County will be voting for a new prosecutor in November. Well, technically voters were already voting for a new prosecutor in the primary as previous Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith resigned this past March due to criminal corruption charges. The field to replace Smith was crowded, with five candidates on the Democrats side along with two candidates running from the GOP. Retired Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mary Chrzanowski edged out former Waterford District Judge Jodi Debbrecht Switalski by just over 2,000 votes in the unofficial results to claim the right to run on the Democratic ticket in November. Chrzanowski, nicknamed “Scary Mary” by defense attorneys for her heavy sentences will face Republican challenger and former Michigan State Senator Peter Lucido. Lucido more than doubled the vote of his challenger, former Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor John Goodman, winning by over 35,000 votes. This is the first time since 2004 that former Prosecutor Eric Smith will not be on the ballot in November for Macomb County Prosecutor.

Previous Macomb County Prosecutor Scandal