Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog

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.”

A new Pennsylvania law will take steps towards eliminating institutional racism.  On July 1, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation that forbids the state’s licensing boards from automatically disqualifying applicants because of their criminal history.

Previously, it didn’t matter how long ago a crime occurred or whether the offense had any relation to the license’s qualifications. The rules often shut convicts out.

Now, each situation must be reviewed on its merits, and within the profession, they want to enter. Details of the legislation are still left up to interpretation, but this is a step in the right direction for those that have been into the criminal justice system. To learn more about this law and see how it may affect Michigan, we spoke to several top lawyers in our state to gain their insight.

Ypsilanti, Michigan, is a city that has made national news of late. The tragedy of the beating of Sha’Teina Grady El, the commentary from former mayor Beth Bashert, the threats to residents at Sycamore Meadows and questionable charges made by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie has led the small city that sits 15 minutes outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan the topic of controversy.  While Ann Arbor is praised as having the highest level of education of any city in the United States, Ypsilanti has not been afforded the same respect on Google.  In greater detail, we spoke to several lawyers that are very involved in the Ypsilanti community.

Matthew McManus is the Managing Member of McManus and Amadeo in Washtenaw County, Michigan. He is known as one of the top researchers in the state.  McManus spoke of the criminal issues when he said, “When Bill (Amadeo) took on the Grady El case, we were confused as to why they were being charged in the first place.  It was clear that the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Officer almost killed Sha’Teina.  We thought things were under control after the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office furthered the case. Still, as you study the situation further, the Grady El case was just one of many tragedies in Ypsilanti.  It’s regrettable to see how people are treated in our judicial system based upon skin tone’s socioeconomic status.  The comments made by Mayor Bashert in the wake of this tragedy was also surprising.”

Jennifer Kelley is a Senior Associate for McManus and Amadeo. She is known as one of the top divorce attorneys across Michigan. Kelley stated, “After the mayor made her comments (insert), our phones were ringing off the wall.  We started studying cases coming out of Ypsilanti and saw there was clear mistreatment of those residents. We are working to rectify this situation.”