We are pleased to announce that Jennifer A. Richards has joined our Firm as an attorney in our Livonia office. She focuses her practice on municipal law, insurance defense, law enforcement defense, and litigation and appeals. Ms. Richards writes briefs for submission to all levels of state and federal courts, arguing cases in all levels of state and federal courts of appeals, and performing research for all areas of law […]

Under the American legal system, there is no realm of human activity that fails to spawn litigation. The financial cost of a potential judgment is easily recognized. Less understood is the cost of time, energy, and resources (financial and human) of the litigation process itself. Even the defendant who avoids judgment by “winning” his case will still have expended resources that the law generally affords no avenue to recover. The […]

Attorney Kali Lester recently received a dismissal in Federal Court where the plaintiff alleged a local police department had an unconstitutional policy for mental health commitments. The policy permits officers to rely on statements from witnesses to evaluate an individual’s mental condition. The plaintiff argued that Michigan’s Mental Health Code requires officers to personally observe the individual exhibiting dangerous behavior before seizing the individual for the purpose of a mental […]

Whether you use it or not, we all know the impact that social media has had on today’s society. What you may not know is how police have been using social media to perform their job. Police departments across the country have been turning to social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to improve their reputation within communities, apprehend fugitives, and even investigate criminal acts. However, some use of social […]

Recent decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals have clarified the law regarding the force police officers may use to stop a person attempting to flee from police by driving away in a motor vehicle. The Supreme Court had previously established in Tennessee v. Garner (1985) that officers can apply potentially deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect if the officer has […]

In a 2012 decision, the Supreme Court evaluated the constitutionality of jail policies that required all inmates, including inmates suspected of minor offenses, to undergo routine strip searches prior to their admission to the general inmate population. Several organizations comprised of jail officials, among others, submitted amicus curiae briefs in which they outlined the risks that accompany the admission of inmates to the general population. Deferring to their judgment and […]

The search-and-seizure provisions of the Fourth Amendment are all about privacy. To honor this freedom, the Fourth Amendment protects against “unreasonable” searches and seizures by state or federal law enforcement authorities. However, law enforcement may override your privacy concerns and conduct a search of you, your home, office, personal or business documents, bank account records, etc. if they have probable cause to believe they can find evidence that you committed […]

Firearms:  Open Carry is Legal in Michigan  Earlier this year Nicholas Looman walked into Aderdeen Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan to vote wearing his holstered pistol on his hip.  The school officials contacted the police, and Mr. Looman was arrested for bringing a firearm into a school.  Later, William Forsythe, the Kent County Prosecutor, issued a statement that Mr. Looman had done nothing illegal because he possessed a valid […]