Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog

When criminal cases become part of the media, bias may kick in. In some cases, a prosecutor can utilize the press to convict someone outside of the courtroom. In other cases, the defendant can utilize a platform where empathy can be provided for a client they feel is innocent. If it were not for the media, we would not have “The West Memphis 3” (https://famous-trials.com/westmemphis) and Ryan Ferguson. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ryan-ferguson-wrongfully-convicted/). For every one of these cases, there is an abundance of people that get convicted in the media. To discuss this matter, we have asked for insight from several of the top attorneys in the State of Michigan.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo in Washtenaw County, Michigan. (www.Mcmanusamadeo.com). McManus is one of the top real estate and business lawyers in Michigan. McManus stated, “When we see cases in the media, we realize that potential jurors are going to read stories before the case ever hits the courthouse steps. This can be a problem, especially when there are social media movements.”

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo and has evolved into a top-flight divorce attorney.  (https://www.mcmanusamadeo.com/jennifer-kelley.html).  Kelley, a top divorce attorney, said, “I always tell clients that they need to watch their social media presence. When I have a media case, the client is under the microscope. Nothing positive happens when a case is presented to the public before the jurist.”

The issue of teenagers having sex has been a debate for the Michigan Legislature for many years.  While it may be a regular thing for a high school senior to have sex with a first-year high school student, this is still a crime and is phrased as a charge of Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC 3) under current legislation. When the two consenting parties have consensual sex, we are dealing with the “Romeo and Juliet” law.

Under the Romeo and Juliet law, while Michigan recognizes that teenagers engage in consensual sex, it still prohibits such acts. It simply changes the punishment with the understanding that the Circuit Court judge will still dictate sentencing. Suppose the older “consenting” teens are age18 or younger and within four years of the other teen. In that case, the punishment now does not include registering as a sex offender. However, the older teen still faces the possibility of incarceration and will still have a criminal record. The change to the law only applies where the younger teen is age 13-16 and does not apply in cases where the sex was forcible. The law is not necessarily retroactive. However, a criminal defense attorney can petition to have a person convicted of such sexual misconduct removed from the registry if the circumstances fit the Romeo and Julie law.

The Romeo and Juliet law topic gained momentum on Google (www.google.com) when an “Above The Law” article was published on Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard. (www.abovethelaw.com) state senator stirred up controversy when he did a Facebook Live post on May 21, 2021.  In the post, Senator Bouchard attempted to put a positive spin on impregnating a 14-year-old girl when he was 18. (www.Facebook.com). This called into the question of how Michigan law would legislate this issue. To gain further insight into this law, we spoke to several of the top attorneys in the State of Michigan.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a condition that affects an individual before their birth. Many defendants in the criminal justice system have suffered from this syndrome without ever expressing such to their attorneys. Today, we will explain the syndrome and gain insight from leaders of the Michigan legal community.

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a child’s condition that results from alcohol exposure during the mother’s pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes brain damage and growth problems. The problems caused by fetal alcohol syndrome vary from child to child. Still, defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are not reversible. In addition to physical defects, quite often, the psychological issues associated with the disease can help in the criminal defendant’s advocacy.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo is Ann Arbor, Michigan. (https://www.mcmanusamadeo.com/matthew-c-mcmanus.html) McManus has written successful briefs and memorandums on this topic. When asked for insight, McManus stated, “When you research this topic, you should start by going to the Mayo Clinic’s website. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/). A quick study displays that when alcohol enters your bloodstream and reaches your developing fetus by crossing the placenta. Exposure to alcohol before birth can harm the development of tissues and organs and cause permanent brain damage in your baby. Later in life, if the baby becomes a criminal defendant, a good defense lawyer can trace an argument back to this condition.”

In Michigan, the number of CSC (Rape) allegations has been on the rise. While a CSC is deemed one of the most severe crimes in the criminal justice system, it is also a crime where there is rarely physical evidence. There is a theory that many complaining witnesses make up false allegations and believe those allegations to be true. This is what we call a “Fixed False Belief,” which has become a critical component of CSC cases.

When we look at the concept of “Fixed False Beliefs,” we look to the theory of delusions.  According to the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide, we define a delusion as a fixed belief that is not amenable to change in conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, or some other misleading effects of perception. Individuals with these beliefs can change or readjust their beliefs upon viewing the evidence for these beliefs.

Delusions have been found to occur in the context of many pathological states (both general physical and mental). They are of particular diagnostic importance in psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, paraphrenia, manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and psychotic depression. To discuss how fixed false beliefs play a role in the criminal justice system, we spoke to several of the top attorneys in our state to gain their insight.