The black letter law in Michigan suggests that juries have the power but not the right to exercise jury nullification.[i] Nevertheless, the practice of law is all shades of gray, and the arguments made by lawyers are often in the penumbras of black letter law. For example, some Michigan cases…
In the United States juries are not informed by the judge of their right to nullification because the case law addressing jury nullification remains oblique. It is therefore commonly said that in the United States juries are empaneled to resolve issues of fact, but when it comes to nullification, juries…
In the United States, we obtained much of our initial original jurisprudence from England. This “precedence” is called the common law. Because the English common law had such an impact on the development of our law it makes perfect sense that the English common law tradition of jury nullification directly…
As previously explained, jury nullification occurs when a jury fails to follow the instructions of the court and instead returns a verdict contrary to those instructions. UN Appeals judge and constitutional law expert Geoffrey Robertson suggests that an independent jury can disregard the strict letter of the law set forth…
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that citizens accused of crimes have an absolute right to a speedy, public, trial by an impartial jury. But this right to trial by an independant jury trial was not invented in the United States. In an article in the British…
The criminal procedure applicable to the Michigan Juvenile Criminal Courts is similar to but much different from the procedures utilized and applicable to the Michigan Adult Criminal Courts. The purpose of this article is to give a brief yet concise summary of these differences. If you are charged as an…
Note: what follows is a summary recapitulation of Michigan DUI Lawyer Mike Boyle’s CDAM presentation. Lawyers wishing to know more about how to defend an alleged SCRAM violation may wish to review these materials for more in-depth information: Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring, or SCRAM, is an alcohol monitoring tether…
The only way to know the answer to this question would be to actually try the case in front of a Michigan Jury. One thing for certain however is that Kyle Rittenhouse would have been allowed to raise a claim of self defense had the case happened here in Michigan.…
Barone Defense Firm Partner and Senior Trial Attorney Michael J. Boyle recently was one of the guest presenters at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM) Fall Conference at Boyne Mountain. The annual seminar was attended by hundreds of criminal defense attorneys from throughout the State of Michigan. CDAM is…
As Michigan’s drunk driving laws have continued to evolve, the range and type of punishment upon conviction has continued to increase over time. In the 70s when DUI laws were just beginning to be taken more seriously by drivers, police, prosecutors, and judges alike, punishment was usually limited to a…