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Michigan Abandoned Prison a Property Crime Magnet

Abandoned buildings often are the scenes of property crimes. Vandalism, thefts, and willful and malicious destruction of property offenses are often committed on empty homes and buildings. The now empty Camp Brighton prison outside of Hamburg Township has become a sight for sore eyes as it slowly gets destroyed by vandals.

According to the Livingston Community News it has been almost two years since the institution locked its doors as a woman’s correctional facility and the state has abandoned any attempts at maintenance since that time.

It doesn’t seem that the offenses being committed on this property are of anyone’s concern. At least not of anyone’s concern who has the power to do anything. From stolen copper pipes to busted-out windows, the things being done to this former institution are crimes but overlooked. [Read more…]

Michigan Criminal Evidence Under Scrutiny

Evidence From Thousands of Cases With Potential Mistakes

What do you get when you put an already overloaded crime lab with less than perfect training and possibly poor supervision? Many, many cases that must be reexamined. According to this article from the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit crime lab was shut down in September of 2008 after an audit found that 10% of ballistic evidence was handled in error. Now those cases are being funneled through the Michigan State Police and the backlog is growing and growing.

This could mean new trials for some inmates locked away in Michigan prisons or probationers serving sentences on the streets.  So far, Wayne County Attorney Kym Worthy has identified 147 cases that need to be looked at for potential evidentiary mistakes. Most noteworthy is that these 147 cases are just the beginning.

Thousands and thousands of cases filter through various crime labs in Michigan every year. Each case should be handled with the upmost care, processing evidence carefully and precisely. The freedom of many rests in how the crime lab workers handle their responsibilities. When a crime lab runs a margin of error as large as 10%, it is very frightening and should be immediately addressed. [Read more…]

2007 Michigan Drunk Driving Audit Indicates 10 Year Low: But What About Repeat Offenders?

The 2007 Drunk Driving Audit, which is an annual report compiled by the Michigan State Police in concert with Michigan Department of State and Michigan Department of Transportation documenting arrest, accident, injury, and fatality information from all Michigan counties, indicates there was a 13% drop in alcohol/drug related fatalities from 2006 to 2007 (440 to 382), which is a 10 year low.  There were 49,867 alcohol/drug related driving arrests in 2007 which is 3,500 less than 2006.

Further, 47,267 of the 2007 arrests resulted in convictions of operating while intoxicated (OWI) or impaired driving, which is almost 95%. (see http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7-123-1586_1710-195921–,00.html ). Only, 776 convictions, less than 2%, were reduced to non-alcohol related offenses, such as Reckless Driving or Disorderly Person. (see page 485 of Audit).  The remainder were dismissed or resulted in acquittals.

However, what the Audit fails to indicate clearly is the number of repeat offenders contained within this data.  Therefore, despite reduction in arrests, the question arises whether the appropriate sentence has been ordered to help curb these numbers, or even whether there were intervening factors such as less police presence because of cut-backs.  As to sentencing, there is a mixed ideology on this very sensitive issue.  Is Jail appropriate? Is rehabilitation appropriate?  Is a vehicle interlock (breathalyzer) appropriate?  [Read more…]

Filed Under: OWI

Michael Phelps & Drug Laws in MI

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Or Just ONE….Guilty.

Recently, a British Newspaper published pictures of Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps smoking a marijuana bong.  The Olympian has since apologized and called his behavior “inappropriate.”  The majority of Americans have accepted his apology, and chalked it up as a non-issue.  However, Richmond County (South Carolina) Sheriff Leon Lott is not as understanding.  Lott has indicated that he will charge the Olympian if he determines Phelps smoked marijuana in Richmond County.

“This case is no different than any other case,” Lott said Monday. “This one might be a lot easier since we have photographs of someone using drugs and a partial confession. It’s a relatively easy case once we can determine where the crime occurred.” [Read more…]

Michigan DNA Laws: Finding Money and Personnel to Handle the New DNA Laws

Beginning in July, every person convicted of a serious or violent crime in the state of Michigan will be required to submit to DNA testing. The hope is that a comprehensive database of violent offenders will perhaps clear up some cold cases and also help police solve crimes down the road.

However, your pocketbook isn’t the only thing feeling the pinch; the state and county budgets are as well. With the number of violent and serious convictions that happen in Michigan, the DNA crime labs have their work cut out for them. State Police labs took over Detroit’s DNA testing last year due to some problems with misidentification occurring in the Detroit labs, further increasing the burden on them. [Read more…]

Michigan’s “Super Drunk” Law is Poorly Written & Will Fail to Keep Drivers Safe

On December 19, 1008, Michigan Enrolled Senate Bill 1134 passed both houses of Michigan’s Legislature, and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature. Known as the “Super Drunk” bill, this legislation amends several sections of Michigan law, and most notably adds a new crime for drivers with a bodily alcohol content (BAC) of .17 or greater. Under this new statutory definition of operating while intoxicated these high BAC drivers are required to have a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID) placed on their vehicle. This new law will not take effect until October 31, 2010.

Under the bill high BAC drivers are subjected to other more punitive sanctions. For example, a first offense high BAC drunk driver’s license is suspended for one year. The first 45 days of this year is considered a “hard” suspension, meaning absolutely no driving is allowed. During the remaining 320 days the offender is entitled to restricted driving privileges, but must have an ignition interlock device placed on their car during this period. Fines are increased to $200.00 – $700.00, and potential jail time is increased from up to a possible 93 days to as much as 180 days. The court must also order a mandatory minimum one-year alcohol treatment program. The high BAC sanctions only apply to first offenders – repeat offender sanctions remain unchanged.
[Read more…]

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