Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry “properly instructed jurors to issue a guilty or not-guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charge, but erred when she failed to include not guilty as a choice for the lesser offenses of second degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.”

As a result, a Michigan state appellate court has overturned an involuntary manslaughter decision.

When I first heard this I was wondering why and how this would happen. I was under the impression that all of those forms are standardized, like a scan-tron or something. But apparently, Judge Berry had made up her own version. I’m wondering if the guy rubbed her in especially the wrong way, or maybe she moonlight as a graphic or web designer in her off time?? Who knows…

“The case involved Michael Jess Wade, a security guard who was convicted in 2007 of fatally shooting a suspected thief at a Detroit Police Department impound yard. He received a three-to-15-year sentence, but will receive a new trial as a result of the mistake made by Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry.”

“Wade’s appellate attorney, Kevin Gentry of the Gentry Law Office in Whitmore Lake, Mich., believes it was an honest mistake.”

“I have no reason to believe otherwise,” Gentry said.

“The jury foreman actually got up and had some confusion. He was stuttering about … and before he could get a question out, the judge said, ‘Just tell me which box you checked,’ ” Gentry said. “And then the judge accepted that as a verdict.”

Since the verdict form was defective, the decision required reversal, it didn’t give the jury the opportunity to return a general verdict of not guilty.

“[B]ecause of the way the verdict form was set up, the jury was not given the opportunity to find the defendant either generally not guilty or not guilty of the lesser-included offenses in violation of his constitutional right to a trial by jury.” The three-judge panel wrote in its opinion on Tuesday.”

Of all of the stuff I come across on the net, I have never heard of this one before. Make sure you double check the verdict form if you ever have a trial with this judge.

To view the original article, click here.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Finding free legal documents in Michigan can be a daunting project. If you aren’t a lawyer, performing legal research can seem like an overwhelming task. Thanks to easy-to-use tools online and in your community, it doesn’t have to be, if you know where to look.

First, define the specific information you need and determine the jurisdiction. The jurisdiction is the location (Michigan, California, etc.). Once you know which court or government agency handles your area of concern, you’re ready to start researching.

But before you begin, you need to learn about the relevant citations and abbreviations. Law books are cited in this sequence: volume number, book and page. For instance, 380 U.S. 97 indicates volume 380 of United States Reports, page 97. Statutes are cited by the statute title and section number. For example, 42 U.S.C. § 7622 for title 42 United States Code, section 7622.

Many public libraries and some schools, especially the larger ones, have resources for legal research. Law school libraries also are open to the public, providing depository libraries of federal material for your review. There are also many federal publications that are now available online at
http://www.access.gpo.gov, as the Internet is increasingly being used for legal research.

Simply “Googling” a specific topic is not always the most efficient and effective way to go, especially considering the huge number of “spamdexing” sites you’ll have to sift through in your search results to find the exact document you need. Instead, visit sites specifically designed for legal research including RealDealDocs, http://www.realdealdocs.com; The Legal Information Institute, http://www.law.cornell.edu; Washburn University School of Law, http://www.washlaw.edu; and The American Bar Association.

You can also find step by step procedures for Michigan local rules and civil procedure at SmartRules.com

While doing a web search via Google can be a hit or miss approach, using it to search for news stories related to your topic often yields very helpful information. Just run a search on Google’s main page and then click on the “News” link. Or you can start your search directly from Google’s News site at http://www.news.google.com.

To get an overview of a topic, legal encyclopedias are a good place to start: Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) and American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d). Many states also publish encyclopedias of state laws.

Also useful are articles published in bar association journals or law schools reviews. You can look up a specific topic in printed or computer indexes including Index to Legal Periodicals or Legal Resource Index. In some cases, you may find free articles online at such sites as the University Law Review Project at www.lawreview.org or the Jurist’s Law Review page at www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/lawrev.htm.

Codes contain legal rules known as statutes, regulations or ordinances, which are mandatory. You can access codes through an index that refers you to a numbered section. To keep them current for research, they are updated by supplements or pocket parts or are in looseleaf form.

Many public libraries and all law libraries have a copy of local state code, as well as city or county ordinance codes. Most state and some local law can be found online using directories such as Piper Resources’ State and Local Government on the Net at www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm. Or you can use the URL address www.state.xx.us, and fill in your state’s postal abbreviation where the “xx” is shown.

For questions with federal jurisdiction, look to these resources: United States Code (U.S.C.), United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), or United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.). The U.S.C. is available on the Web at uscode.house.gov/, but other sites containing the U.S.C. (such as www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ and others mentioned herein) provide simpler ways to locate a statute.

Of course, those with the financial means can always hire an independent paralegal to conduct legal research for them. These freelancers can also assist you with any forms preparation you may need. More information is available on the National Federation of Paralegal Associations site at www.paralegals.org.

Popularity: 8% [?]

So I came across this list of crazy laws that are still on the books. I read them and got to thinking that there are probably a bunch more out there too… So after about thirty minutes of research I decided that we are going to have a continuing series of Dumb Laws on the books. Here is installment one. Enjoy.

“1. In Billings, Mont., it is illegal for anyone to sell, harbor or give away rats as pets or toys for any purpose other than to feed snakes or birds of prey. Scientists, however, can keep lab rats.

2. Using profanity is against the law on playgrounds and in public parks in Columbia, Md.

3. The last Sunday in June each year is Log Cabin Day in Michigan.

4. In Michigan, it is legal to kill a dog for attacking chickens, livestock or people, but you can’t snuff the pooch in a high altitude decompression chamber or by electrocution.

5. In West Virginia, anyone who taunts someone who decides not to participate in a duel or who declines to accept a challenge is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be sent to jail for up to six months and fined up to $100.

6. In Kentucky it is illegal to sell, exchange, offer to sell or exchange, display, or possess living baby chicks, ducklings, or other fowl or rabbits that have been dyed or colored. It is also illegal to dye or color baby chicks, ducklings, fowl or rabbits. And unless they are at least two months old, the aforementioned animals must be sold in batches of six.

7. At shooting ranges in Massachusetts, it is illegal to shoot at targets depicting a human — whether as a figure, effigy or a silhouette — unless you’re a public safety officer performing official duties.

8. In Alabama it is against the law to alter the natural appearance of the teeth of a horse or mule to make the animal appear younger than it actually is.

9. In Alabama anyone performing a marriage rite is entitled to a fee of $2 per marriage.

10. In Alabama it is against the law to exploit a bear by promoting, engaging in or being employed at a bear wrestling match, or by subjecting a bear to surgical alteration of any kind, including, but not limited to, declawing, tooth removal and severing tendons.”

No doubt for the most part those are all dumb, but some of these are amazingly dumb… It’s funny to think that a group of leaders of a community sat down and came up with these rules.

To check out the original article click here

Popularity: 5% [?]