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At the end of September, I attended the 9 th Annual Cannabis Law Conference , presented by the Cannabis Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan in cooperation with ICLE. Held in Kalamazoo at the recently renovated Radisson Hotel, the conference was filled with the excellent substantive presentations and fun networking opportunities I’ve come to expect from this group. Here are some of my takeaways: Rescheduling . Paul Armentano of NORML presented about the history of rescheduling petitions over the years and previewed what to expect with the potential federal reclassification of marijuana from schedule I to schedule III. While Paul thinks rescheduling ...
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On January 1, 2025, the 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF) and 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Supplement (MCSF-S) will go into effect. Changes to the 2025 MCSF The 2025 MCSF updates and clarifies several sections of the current version. Changes include the following: 2025 MCSF 1.04(E) Clarifies that a deviation is not required if a deviation factor exists Clarifies that the list of deviation factors is not an exhaustive list Removes two deviation factors: 2021 MCSF 1.04(E)(9): Alternative health care coverage 2021 MCSF 1.04(E)(13): Costs associated with a parent’s conviction or crime Clarifies several ...
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The Michigan Supreme Court released 16 important opinions in July in a variety of areas, including civil litigation, employment, municipal, negligence, and real property. For a full list of supreme court criminal cases, see Roundup of MI Supreme Court Criminal Cases Published in 2024 . Civil Litigation Bradley v Frye-Chaiken , Nos 164900 , 165901, ___ Mich ___, ___ NW3d ___ (July 26, 2024) Defendant agreed to sell plaintiffs a condominium in the Cayman Islands, and the parties executed a contract. Before the closing, defendant’s mother passed away, and defendant became unsure of following through with the sale. Plaintiffs filed an action for breach ...
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The 2023–2024 U.S. Supreme Court term brought important rulings that have changed legal standards in several areas. These decisions affect rules on expert testimony in criminal cases, federal arbitration procedures, presidential power and immunity, and much more. Below are summaries of key cases from this term. Criminal Diaz v United States , 602 US ___, 144 S Ct 1727 (2024) In a 6–3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling regarding FRE 704(b). This rule restricts expert witnesses in criminal cases from providing testimony on whether the defendant had a specific mental state that is an element of the crime. Delilah Diaz, charged ...
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Summary On June 13, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the four-factor test in Winter v Natural Res Def Council, Inc , 555 US 7 (2008), governs the issuance of preliminary injunctions under section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 USC 160(j) . Starbucks Corp v McKinney , No 23-367, ___ US ___ (June 13, 2024). This opinion, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson concurring in part and dissenting in part, imposes a more stringent standard on 10(j) preliminary injunctions, eliminating deference to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in such decisions. Facts The case arose when a Tennessee Starbucks terminated ...
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2024 PA 29 renamed the Revocation of Paternity Act to the Revocation of Parentage Act. MCL 722.1431 . 2024 PA 29 also made amendments to language changing “father” to “parent” and “paternity” to “parentage” in MCL 722.1433 , .1435 , .1437 , .1439 , .1441 , and .1445 . MCL 722.1433 will also add a definition for donor, as defined in MCL 722.1703 of the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act, MCL 722.1701 et seq. In addition to updated language, amended MCL 722.1443 requires the court to consider the length of time a presumed parent was on notice that an individual might not be the child’s ...
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On April 1, 2024, the Michigan Family Protection Act passed in Michigan legalizing paid surrogacy. 2024 PA 24 . Michigan previously had a criminal ban on compensated surrogacy. The ban on paid surrogacy is now lifted and standards will be put into place to protect biological parents, the surrogate, and the child. Standards include the following: A surrogate must be at least 21 years old, have undergone a medical evaluation and a mental health consultation, and have previously given birth to at least one child. An intended parent (or parents) must be at least 21 years old and have a mental health consultation. The surrogate and the intended parent ...
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The EPIC Omnibus bill was signed into law on February 21, 2024, and takes immediate effect. 2024 PA 1 . The new law, put forward by the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, streamlines Michigan probate and estate law based on surveys of appellate cases and practitioners to identify areas of clarification and adopts certain standards from the Uniform Probate Code. Notable changes include: Statutory Thresholds. To alleviate the often-burdensome cost of judicial intervention in the transfer of assets, the amendments increase the statutory dollar number threshold dictating certain actions, such as the threshold for demanding ...
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On February 6, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court issued ADM File No. 2023-24 , which adopts amendments to MCR 3.701 and the addition of MCR 3.715 , .716 , .717 , .718 , .719 , .720 , .721 , and .722 , effective February 13, 2024. These changes follow the creation of the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act and amendments to the Firearms Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Revised Judicature Act in May of 2023. See more on those changes here . Subchapter 3.700 will be titled “Personal Protection and Extreme Risk Protection Proceedings,” and actions for extreme risk protection are included in the scope of the statute. ...
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The Michigan Legislature passed numerous bills related to criminal law before adjourning for the year. The following laws, signed by the governor, include enhanced penalties for domestic violence offenders and for assaulting medical personnel, expanded rights for crime victims, codification of reproductive rights, classification of certain activities as hate crimes, additional protections for vulnerable adults, and new laws protecting election officials. The legislature also passed a package of bills geared toward the juvenile justice system. Expansion of List of Crimes that Bar Gun Ownership Domestic Violence The legislature passed a package of bills ...
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On November 7, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) into law. 2023 PA 187 . The UPOAA repeals the durable power of attorney provisions in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.5501–.5505 . It goes into effect on July 1, 2024. The UPOAA is a model statute developed by the Uniform Law Commission in 2006. Michigan joins 30 states and the District of Columbia in adopting this statute (or a substantially similar statute), which provides consistency in application of powers of attorney as people change states and allows Michigan to benefit from the jurisprudence of other states. The UPOAA applies to ...
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The Michigan Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Michigan Rules of Evidence (MREs) effective January 1, 2024. According to the Staff Comment to the amending order, the amendments are designed to “restyl[e] the MREs in an effort to remain as consistent as possible with the 2011 restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence.” ADM File No 2021-10 . There are also a few notable amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence (FREs) effective December 1, 2023, that these MRE amendments do not parallel. MRE Amendments Effective January 1, 2024 While the MRE amendments are primarily stylistic, there are several linguistic changes that may be of interest ...
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A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend the 8 th Annual Cannabis Law Conference, presented by the Cannabis Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan in cooperation with ICLE. It was at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and featured wonderful networking opportunities and truly rewarding substantive presentations. I didn’t make it to every session, but if you’re following this dynamic area of practice, you might be interested in hearing a little bit about what I learned. Federal policy updates. Hilary Bricken discussed the potential for the Drug Enforcement Administration to review a rescheduling recommendation that would move cannabis from a schedule ...
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The Michigan Supreme Court released seven criminal law opinions in July. These cases discuss issues pertaining to voir dire, the reversal of a plea as a result of inaccurate information, the standard for reversing a parole board’s decision to grant parole, the ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to request the lesser-included offense, the forfeiture doctrine, identification of a defendant at trial, appealing within-guidelines sentences, and voluntariness of a witness statement. People v Yarbrough Facts In People v Yarbrough , No 161513 , ___ Mich ___, ___ NW2d ___ (July 14, 2023), during voir dire, the trial judge informed counsel that ...
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This blog was authored by Madelaine Lane from Warner Norcross + Judd LLP in Grand Rapids. Starting June 30, 2023, Michigan drivers will be banned from holding and, in many cases, using a mobile device while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers who violate the prohibition will face fines and mandatory community service hours. Michigan’s newest distracted driving law expands on the 2010 no texting while driving law and significantly increases prohibited activities while a driver is operating a motor vehicle. What activities are banned? Beginning on June 30, 2023, Michigan drivers are prohibited from using, or even holding, a mobile electronic device—like ...
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On Thursday, May 4, 2023, we held an ICLE Community Zoom discussion about recent developments concerning the MRTA. Lavinia Biasell , David Martyn , and Kayleigh Long shared their expertise and insights into this topic. Here is a quick recap of what was discussed: · History and Purpose of the MRTA . The panelists discussed the history and purpose of the MRTA noting that, as of 2023, 17 states have implemented some form of the MRTA, which aims to simplify the process of determining property interests. In Michigan, the MRTA establishes a 40-year-search window. The act intends to eliminate the need to search back to the original covenant ...
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Artificial Intelligence (AI), by its very nature, is improving at a rapid pace. For example, Open AI’s latest iteration of its widely discussed AI tool, ChatGPT-4, passed all sections of the Uniform Bar Exam, whereas the previous version, ChatGPT-3.5, failed . There is little doubt that AI will be used throughout the legal industry, though the jury is out as to how ubiquitous it will become and how widely accepted it will be. What it has the potential to do is significant, including handling many of the daily tasks of legal professionals. Prompting ChatGPT with the question, “How can you be used in the legal industry?” produced the following, perhaps ...
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Holding In Helix Energy Sols Grp, Inc v Hewitt , No 21-984, ___ US ___ (Feb 22, 2023), the respondent employee did not qualify as a bona fide executive subject to exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938’s (FLSA) overtime pay guarantee. Daily-rate workers, regardless of income level, qualify as paid on a salary basis only if their compensation meets conditions set out in 29 CFR 541.604(b). Background Michael Hewitt filed an action against his employer, Helix Energy Solutions Group, claiming he was entitled to overtime pay as a covered employee under the FLSA. Despite Hewitt working well over 40 hours per week, Helix paid Hewitt ...
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On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, we held an ICLE Community Zoom discussion about recent developments in marijuana law. John Fraser , Michelle Donovan , Ben Sobczak , and Jerome Crawford joined us to share their insights. Here’s a quick recap of what we covered: Detroit updates. Detroit’s original adult-use ordinance included a legacy program providing Detroit residents priority. That ordinance was challenged on a Dormant Commerce Clause theory and ultimately found unconstitutional. In 2022, the city passed a new adult-use ordinance seeking to correct the issues. The city still wanted to include the social equity component, so they separated equity applicants ...
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The Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions has amended the no-fault Model Civil Jury Instructions, Chapters 35 and 36. The amendments reflect the many changes to Michigan’s no-fault laws passed in 2019. Notably, M Civ JI 36.06A was added to the instructions, reflecting the changes to MCL 500.3135(3)(d) providing that a nonresident plaintiff must establish a “threshold” injury to recover economic and noneconomic losses in a tort action. Also among the amendments is a new version of M Civ JI 36.01A defining serious impairment of body function, after the legislature codified McCormick v Carrier , 487 Mich 180 , 795 NW2d 517 ...
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