Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA)
Being charged with a felony in Michigan is life changing. The significance is compounded when someone receives felony charges when they are relatively young. The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act or HYTA...
View ArticleRemoval from the Sex Offender Registry
Convicted sex offenders who qualify under the Sex Offenders Registration Act (Act 295 of 1994), are listed on the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry (“Registry”). The Registry includes an offender's...
View ArticleStaying Silent is Your Best Defense
Everyone knows about Miranda rights and everyone knows that, when questioned by police, they do not have to talk. But why do so many defendants talk to the police even when they might be the target of...
View ArticleGuilty Until Proven Innocent
Virtually every criminal case that is sensationalized includes a comment by a law enforcement official indicating that the person they arrested clearly violated the law. If the media reports a case...
View ArticleMichigan Court of Appeals reverses Tuscola County Medical Marijuana Convictions
On January 13, 2015 the Michigan Court of Apppeals, in an unpublished opinion finally held what Newburg Law attorneys have been saying for years. There is absolutely no weight restrictions contained...
View ArticleMichigan Supreme Court takes on Medical Marijuana
January 14, 2015 will be, perhaps the biggest day in the Michigan Supreme Court for Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Patients and Caregivers. The Court will hear a total of three cases that discuss...
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WLNS News Turns to Matt Newburg to Discuss Medical Marijuana
(WLNS) – Lawmakers are still considering measures to define the future of medical marijuana in Michigan. Legislation discussed in the senate Wednesday aims to eliminate some of the legal gray areas,...
View ArticleSenate Bill 783 on Fast Track Through Michigan Senate
Senate Bill 783 seems to be on the fast track through the Michigan Senate. The Bill seeks to amend Section 7 of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act limiting where individual patients and caregivers can...
View ArticleMichigan Drunk Driving Law Changes....In Favor of the Driver?
Michigan Public Act 315, of the 2014 Legislative Session, which amends M.C.L. 257.625a, was intended to help officers make more drugged driving arrests. But the new law, which was effective January...
View ArticleU.S. Supreme Court Discusses GPS Tracking
In a unanimous decision from the United States Supreme Court, the nation's highest court has addressed whether liftime electronic monitoring of an individual convicted of committing crimes of a sexual...
View ArticleCall off the Dogs: US Supreme Court Discusses K9 Use During Traffic Stops
An individual who has been pulled over for a traffic violation may not be detained by police longer than necessary for the officer to issue a ticket or warning for the alleged driving infraction. That...
View ArticleMichigan Sex Offender Registry Requirements Significantly Change
Michigan's Sex Offender Registry has been changed in dramatic fashion. In an approximately 80 pageopinion, Judge Cleland has struck down a number of SORA provisions. Recently, Newburg Law was hired...
View ArticleEast Lansing Voters Permit Possession of Marijuana
65% of East Lansing voters voted to legalizes the possession, use and transfer of up to an ounce of marijuana on private property as long as the individual is 21 years or older. However, this is not a...
View ArticleMichigan's Deferred Sentence: A Powerful Tool
Michigan has just a handful of statutes that permit an individual from leaving the criminal justice systems unscathed--absent an acquital or dismissal. HYTA, or Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, has been...
View ArticleWhy Staying Silent Could Be Your Best Defense
As a criminal defense lawyer, it is no surprise that I constantly tell my clients not to consent to a search and not to talk with authorities. However, very rarely do I get the opportunity to tell...
View ArticleMichigan "Firearm" change could prove to be a valuable defense
On May 12, 2015, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a series of bills that, in part, modified the definition of a firearm in Michigan. That change could prove to be a huge benefit to Joe Forebeck....
View ArticleStatute Definitions Could Help Jackson Baseball Coach
This past week, Jonathan Hastings resigned from Jackson Public Schools amid allegations that he was engaging in illegal activity with a student who is believed to be 17 years old. It appears that Mr....
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Lockridge is a Game Changer for Sentencing in Michigan.
The Michigan Supreme Court has changed the way criminal defendants will be sentenced in a dramatic fashion. As a criminal defense lawyer, I have had the fortune of traveling around the state on a...
View ArticleCourt of Appeals: Doctor Testimony Not Required for Section 8 Defense.
Unregistered patients do not need to have a doctor testify at a hearing to determine whether that person is permitted to present an affirmative defense under Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Act (MMA) to a...
View Article15 minutes: The waiting game
Michigan Law requires that prior to the administration of a Datamaster test officers must monitor the person submitting to the test for the 15 minutes prior to the datamaster administration. A...
View ArticleMichigan Medical Marijuana Legislation
Is medical marijuana headed for state regulation? Under a three-bill package currently making its way through the state Legislature, Michigan could soon have a state-regulated medical marijuana...
View ArticlePeople v. Hartwick and Tuttle: Changing the Landscape of Medical Marijuana in...
On July 27, 2015, the Michigan Supreme Court published its opinion on Hartwick. In that opinion, the Court clarified that a defendant must prove their affirmative defense under § 8 of the MMMA by a...
View ArticleGuaranteed Parole Might be Coming to Michigan
On Oct. 1, the Michigan House of Representatives approved legislation that would give prisoners deemed a low-risk to society automatic eligibility for parole, once they have served their minimum...
View ArticleSimpler stepparent adoptions on the horizon
On Oct. 1, the Michigan Senate approved a measure that will make it less complicated for stepparents to legally adopt their spouse’s children. Senate Bill 458, sponsored by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker,...
View ArticleGreater Police Accountability for Confiscated Property
Local police departments will find it more difficult to keep and sell confiscated property under legislation that has sailed through both the Michigan House and Senate. On Oct. 7, the Senate...
View ArticleMandated joint custody bill is getting an icy reception
Legislation that would require courts to award joint custody in divorce cases is being criticized by trial judges and family-law practitioners as being ill-conceived and not in the best interests of...
View ArticleMedical marijuana user can be prosecuted for smoking in parked car
A registered medical marijuana user who smoked marijuana in his own car while the car was parked in a public parking lot was not entitled to the protections or defenses afforded by the Medical...
View ArticleMichigan Standardizes CPL Process by Eliminating County Gun Boards
As of December 1st, County Gun Boards are a thing of the past and Michigan is now a “shall issue” State. Legislation recently signed into law by Governor Snyder establishes a specific set of criteria...
View ArticlePolice ‘Knock-and-Talk’ Procedure Upheld by Michigan Appeals Court
A “knock-and-talk” procedure used by law enforcement, which led to a search of the defendants’ homes and the seizure of marijuana butter, did not violate the defendants’ constitutional rights, the...
View ArticleMarijuana decriminalization in Grand Rapids withstands legal challenge
The decision of Grand Rapids voters to decriminalize marijuana possession by amending the city charter will remain undisturbed, now that the Michigan Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to...
View ArticleLegislation would make police body camera footage unavailable to the public
A bill has been introduced in the Michigan Legislature that would exempt from public disclosure video and audio footage recorded by police body cameras. Senate Bill 634, sponsored by Sen. Rick Jones...
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