Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog

The path to becoming an attorney is filled with barriers but many of which make little to no sense. For example, when you are in college, your major has nothing to do with being a lawyer.  In fact, if you do major in pre-law it can work against you. Many college advisors will tell students to take writing courses to do better in law school. From there we have a 4-step process which is most easily placed in baseball terms. First base, second, third and then you finally make it home but the journey has more movement than a Phil Niekro knuckle ball. Let’s break it apart:

First base:  The LSAT. The Law School Admissions Test is what is measured to allow students into law school. The test itself carries much more weight that one’s grade point average.

The path to becoming an attorney requires graduating from law school and passing the bar exam.  According to their website, (www.lsac.org)  the LSAT is the only test accepted by all ABA-accredited law schools, and it is the only test that helps candidates determine if law school is right for them. Ironically, the LSAT has next to nothing to do with getting to second base.

COVID-19 has continued to wreak havoc on the criminal justice system in Michigan.  The number of COVID- 19 cases and hospitalizations continue to surge across the State of Michigan, with 6,008 new cases reported on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. With this new surge of cases, it has caused many to consider the hard-hit possibility of a second shutdown. With county court systems all taking different approaches, the impact on Washtenaw County seems extremely significant. With caseloads that continue to grow and a new power structure in place, Washtenaw County is a community that is at the center of the COVID-19 controversy.

The Washtenaw County Circuit Court will experience a great deal of change. Tracy Van den Bergh won the seat that was vacated by the retirement of Judge David Swartz. Van den Bergh brings a wealth of knowledge with her career at the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and a successful career in social work which will add a new layer to the 22^nd Circuit Court. Eli Savit is taking over as the new prosecutor at the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Officer and appointed Detroit attorney Victoria Burton-Harris whom was known as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in Michigan and ran a very spirited race against Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Savit and Burton-Harris have the potential to bring a fresh perspective to Washtenaw County with a “Restorative Justice” platform. While the future looks bright with leaders such as Van den Bergh, Savit and Burton-Harris at the helm, COVID-19 looms large on the immediate future of the county. To gain insight into this issue, we spoke to three of the top lawyers in Washtenaw County to gain their insight.

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan and is known as one of the top family law attorneys across the state. When asked about the impact of COVID-19 on Washtenaw County, Kelley said, “This is an issue that Judge Van den Bergh and I discussed during her election. There is a concern that judicial economy will be compromised but as litigators, we need to work as a team with our adversaries right now. We have to not only advocate for our clients but we also have to respect the burden on the court during this pandemic.”

With the 2020 United States Presidential Election over (maybe?), and Covid-19 still leaving an impact on our country, the judiciary has been dealt with many obstacles. What will President Joe Biden do when he takes over at the helm? How will the historic victory of Kamala Harris impact and inspire society? Will Donald Trump fight the election all of the way to the United States Supreme Court? Will Covid-19 continue to wreak havoc on our daily lives?  To gain insight into these issues, we spoke to several of the top lawyers in the State of Michigan.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When asked about the impact of the election and the continual issue of Covid-19, McManus said, “We are living in very different times. Whenever there is an election, things are bound to change. We saw this when President Obama took over in 2008 and we witnessed a dramatic transition with the election of Donald Trump in 2016. The number of voters has sent a message that Americans are becoming very active politically and this will have a profound impact on our courts.”

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo and has quickly developed a reputation as one of the top divorce lawyers across the State of Michigan. Kelley added, “Whenever there is a heated presidential election, you can expect a lot of change.  President Biden has a very different agenda than President Trump had. Covid-19 clearly has an agenda of its own. We hope that courts will resume in the near future, until then, we are using Zoom and having limited live appearances. There is no question that as officers of the court, we need to continue to adjust to preserve justice and people need to adapt to change. These are historic times.”

On November 4, 2020, the people of Shiawassee County, Michigan, will decide who will be their prosecuting attorney for the next four years.  The election pits incumbent Scott Koerner against defense attorney Robert Hinojosa.  With Shiawassee County playing such a vital role in Michigan news of late, the prosecutorial race has become on the most discussed elections in recent years.  Topics such as the candidates’ history, the level of crime in the community, and the issue of preliminary examinations have taken center stage in Corunna.  The history of both candidates has become a water cooler talk both in Shiawassee and surrounding communities.  Today we will look at both candidates and their history in the legal profession.

   “Scott Koerner”

​Scott Koerner is the incumbent, and before joining the Shiawassee County Prosecutor’s Office, he was known as one of the most successful criminal defense attorneys in the state.  Koerner has tried numerous jury trials, including two that gained national attention where children in the Shiawassee community were victims. Koerner serves on the services on the board of Voices for Children Child Advocacy Center and plays a vital role in both the Shiawassee County Mental Health and Drug Courts.

Many of us that practice law decided to do so because we did not want to deal with numbers. As any good criminal lawyer will tell you, numbers can be manipulated. Still, when statistics are clear, the court officers need to examine the numbers, no matter how ugly that may appear. In Michigan, we are in a time of crisis in our criminal justice system. With COVID-19 creating a new normal, we see time for a change. Sadly, one difference that is not present is the number of black men and women behind bars. Depending upon one’s political affiliation, a subjective slant is presented.  President Donald Trump has called for more significant incarceration while leaders such as Bernie Sanders have called for “Restorative Justice,” a term that is opened to interpretation. To understand the numbers, the issues, and the current state of events, we spoke to several of the top lawyers in Michigan.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo in Washtenaw County, Michigan. McManus is known as one of the top legal minds in Michigan and provided insight into the numbers. McManus said, “The data is startling.  In our state, black people make up 15% of the population and 53% of the prison population at the Michigan Department of Corrections.  Whatever argument you make, the numbers show a clear problem with our system. Those numbers are hard to believe at first glance, but when you study the issue and break things down by county, the issue becomes one of tragedy instead of legislation.”

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo and has built a reputation as one of the top family lawyers in Michigan. Kelley added to the McManus commentary when she said, “With a black population of 15% in Michigan, 37% of black defendants are in our jails.  While those numbers are disturbing, it becomes even more horrifying when you study the difference between prison and jail. There is a reason why the numbers are more disproportionately in prison than in jail. We have a serious issue that needs to be addressed.”

During COVID-19, an issue that many defense lawyers are facing for clients is whether a national pandemic should afford people a second chance at rehabilitation. With COVID still on the rise and many inmates at risk for their life, we have to wonder, are we genuinely concerned with improvement? To discuss this issue in greater detail, we spoke to several of the top lawyers in Michigan.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo and has built a reputation as one of the legal community’s sharpest minds. McManus, who wrote several successful, compassionate release motions provided insight when he said, “There is certainly a communication problem. On plea deals, we still see PSI’s that do not take into account COVID-19 and even disregard sentence agreements that are in place. There is no question that probation has a difficult job, but we have seen some PSI’s that are illegally written requesting violation of the “Tanner-Max” rules. It is disturbing that this would happen during COVID.  The quick answer is, let’s try every case if we cannot work towards rehabilitation.”

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo and has built a reputation as a top family law attorney. When asked about releasing inmates during the pandemic, Kelley stated, “Each case needs to be dealt with subjectively.  Regardless of the offense, if somebody is older and in the frail condition, they need to play a role in early release. The whole point of prison is to rehabilitate, not strictly to punish. When we put the aging into the prison system, it places their lives at risk and adds to the taxpayers’ burden. Socioeconomics and morality have to play a role in these decisions.”