Is Overweight a Valid Legal Defense

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A 4 year old man that made a bomb threat reports that he cannot appear in a courtroom because he is too overweight. His attorney tells the court that the man would face undo financial hardships if he were forced to leave the special bed he is in to appear before the judge.

The Grand Rapids Press reported that Jeffery Allain Klein was charged with making a false bomb threat at a Cedar Springs mobile home. The police say that Klein confessed to calling in the bomb threat, and that he had done this because he had been fined by the management of the mobile home park and was trying to retaliate against them.

Klein was assigned court hearing dates that he did not attend, so an arrest warrant was issued. The attorney for Klein responded by appearing in court to tell the judge that his client weighs in excess of 600 pounds, and is confined to a special bed because of his weight. The attorney told the court that Jeffrey Klein has numerous ailments brought on by his obesity, and because of these ailments he is bedridden. Klein suffers from diabetes, back pain, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease as a result of his body mass.

For Mr. Klein to get to the courtroom for a hearing he would have to spend close to $3,000 to be transported there. The attorney pled with the court to excuse Klein from having to appear because of his weight, and the amount of time, money, and trouble it will cost him to travel to the court room.

This matter has come under scrutiny by the public, and has other attorney’s asking if obesity could be a legitimate defense for criminals. The ruling in this case may help to set precedence in the future for attorney’s that wish to use this defense for their clients.

Source: http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?list=194552&id=1077314

Peacemaking Court in Washtenaw County Attracts Strong Interest

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Peacemaking court is something that the Native Americans used to solve disputes, or right wrongs. The idea behind Peacemaking court is to help find a solution to the problem that can stop the harm, and begin to repair the relationships, and restore defendants back into their families and communities as productive members.
Washtenaw County is establishing a new Peacemaking Court that is drawing a lot of attention. On Friday a gathering of more than 80 lawyers, mediators, and probation officers gathered in the courtroom of Judge Timothy Connors to learn about Peacemaking Court, and how it works.
This gathering of lawyers, probation officers, and individuals that have to deal with the prosecution, and rehabilitation of people convicted of criminal acts was a six hour training session. The session covered the basic principles that were a part of the Native American philosophy that is being used to create the Peacemaking Court, and the rules it will be governed by.
Tribal Council member Judge JoAnne Gasco, who is also a former Tribal Judge, and the Court Peacemaker from the Grand Traverse band of Ottowa and Chippewa Indians were present to help the group gathered in Judge Connors courtroom to understand the philosophy behind the Peacemaking Court, and how to apply that philosophy, and its principles in the day to day court happenings that affect so many people’s lives.
The judicial coordinator for Judge Connors said the response to the Peacemaking Court learning session was overwhelming. We were told by the judicial coordinator that the courtroom where the training session was held would only hold about half the people who applied to attend.
Judge Connors was impressed by the number of written applications and said that this proved that there is a strong interest in putting aside some of the traditional adversarial dynamics of the courtroom and replacing them with alternative methods.
The Judge explained that the new court system that was being implemented were going to strengthen the commitment to the fundamental values that were taught to us by the Navajo Indians. Those fundamentals included relationships, respect, and responsibility.
The peacemaking court is supposed to focus heavily on repairing the harm that victims have had done to them, healing the relationships that are broken, and restoring the defendants of the court into the family settings, and back into their communities on a new life path.
Lisa Greco is the director of the Washtenaw Youth Center. The youth center houses all juveniles in the detention program in the county. Miss Greco believes that the Peacemaking Court will be good for cases involving children, but she also stressed that she thought there were many cases that did not involve children that would benefit from the new way of handling the defendants, and the victims.
Miss Greco explained that “we are all embedded in families, and embedded in systems, and communities, that all have to be a part of the healing”.
Greco feels that Judge Connors is right in his belief that the peacemaking process will leave a longer lasting resolution than the resolutions currently gained through the traditional court process.
The peacemaking court could handle juvenile cases, probate cases, some civil disputes, and even some criminal disputes. The initial judge to hear the facts of the case must recommend the peacemaking court in order for a case to be considered.
Participation in peacemaking court will be on a voluntary basis, and all parties involved have to agree to the terms.
Judges from other districts have been in contact with Judge Connors to discuss the peacemaking court with him.
Source: http://michiganradio.org/post/strong-interest-new-peacemaking-court-washtenaw-county

Police Called to Investigate Sexually Explicit Video Text being shared by Students at a Local Detroit High School

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The posting and distribution of sexually explicit materials containing images of minors are illegal, and the police are taking the recent videos showing this type of material on the cell phones, and electronic devices of several students at a Southgate Thomas J. Anderson high school very serious. The Southgate police department, and the school officials, are confiscating phones in an attempt to locate any persons that have these video images on their devices. Police are also reminding parents that they should check their children’s Internet activity to make certain that they are not involved with, or a victim of, this type of situation.

SOUTHGATE, Mich. (WJBK) – Southgate police are investigating after a sexually explicit cell phone video of a high school student began circulating among others at the school.

Superintendent Bill Grusecki of Southgate Community School District says administrators are obligated to contact authorities when nudity or pornographic material is involved in any matter.

The cell phone video in question is said to be of a 9th grade female student dancing around when she began to strip naked. Another student began recording and has apparently shared the video with others at Southgate Anderson High School. Students tell FOX 2’s Taryn Asher it happened at a house party over the weekend where there was drinking.

The incident is under investigation and suspensions and even criminal charges are possible.

Students tells Asher authorities at the school are taking this very seriously and have been personally checking people’s phones.

“People come into our classroom and girls would get their phones taken away, get called down to the office. I know a few friends that they don’t have their phones anymore. The cops have them,” says Tori Creighton. Asher reports the school and police have confiscated more than a dozen phones.

Authorities are trying to pinpoint who took the video and who helped spread it around. The video was not recorded on school property but officials believe it was likely spread on there.

The superintendent says he hopes this sends a strong message to parents that they need to be aware of how kids are using their cell phones.

Source: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/25208940/police-involved-after-high-schoolers-sexually-explicit-video-spread-around-school

The Innocence Clinic Takes on a 24 Year Old Murder Case

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The Innocence clinic of the University of Michigan’s law school represents convicts that were sentenced as guilty when they were innocent. The innocence clinic helps these individuals gather the information for their new trials, or appeals, to prove that they were wrongly convicted of the crime they were charged with. In this case, a man was convicted of fatally shooting two hunters in their back in 1990. Although there were no witnesses to the shooting, and after waiting 11 years, the accused was charged with the murder of these two hunters, and the Innocence clinic is representing the accused because they claim there is evidence that was not allowed to be presented in the original trial in 2001.

KALAMAZOO (AP) — Lawyers for a man convicted of fatally shooting two hunters in the back in 1990 asked a judge Aug. 19 to reopen the case, saying critical evidence that would have helped the defense never surfaced at trial 12 years later.

The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan’s law school is representing Jeff Titus, who is serving a life sentence for the deaths of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett.

They were shot while in the Fulton State Game Area, which was adjacent to Titus’ property in Kalamazoo County. There were no witnesses to the shooting, but trial witnesses said he had a history of aggressively confronting people who entered his land.

Titus, now 62, wasn’t charged until 2001.

“Mr. Titus is innocent and this court should grant him a new trial,” the clinic, led by David Moran, said in a court filing.

“Mr. Titus’ conviction followed a trial in which the jury was only presented with part of the story — a trial in which crucial witnesses were never called, unreliable evidence was never questioned, and exculpatory evidence was never presented,” lawyers said.

County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, who wasn’t in office when Titus went to trial in 2002, declined to comment.

“It’s a lengthy pleading. … My office will be reviewing it in its entirety and will reply if ordered to by the court,” Getting said.

Two sheriff’s department detectives who interviewed Titus and others believed his alibi that he was hunting about 30 miles away at the time of the shootings. But the investigators were never called as defense witnesses at trial, the Innocence Clinic said.
“It would have been particularly compelling given the lack of physical evidence connecting Mr. Titus to the crime,” his lawyers said.

At trial in 2002, prosecutors acknowledged that Titus was hunting miles away near Battle Creek but said he drove home and killed Estes and Bennett.

The Innocence Clinic takes cases when it believes someone has been convicted based on false confessions, bad evidence, poor defense work or misconduct by prosecutors.

News source: http://www.freep.com/article/20140819/NEWS06/308190059/U-M-law-Michigan-hunters-deaths