Articles Posted in Criminal Evidence

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President Biden recently signed an executive order seeking to have the rules applicable to sexual misconduct cases reviewed.  Previously, President Trump had increased the due process of rights of the accused, bringing them more in line with the constitutional rights afforded those accused of sexual assault crimes in state and federal courts.

What Happens if a Student is a Victim of Sexual Assault?

If a college student believes that they have been sexually assaulted and want to bring the perpetrator to justice, they have many choices.  They can go to the police just as with any other crime.  Alternatively, they can report it their school. Or they can do both. Or they can have both done for them. Much of this will depend on the particular school involved.

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In the most basic terms, statutory rape means consensual sex with a minor child. Michigan does not actually call this “statutory rape” to describe this crime. Instead, Michigan’s rape laws use the phrase criminal sexual conduct as the term for statutory rape.

Michigan’s rape laws, which are sex crimes, are divided into four degrees of criminal sexual conduct. All four degrees can be triggered by the age of at least one of the actors, fitting the generic definition of statutory rape. Regardless of the degree of criminal sexual conduct, the basic idea of statutory rape is preserved under these laws, which is that an individual under the age of consent does not have the capacity to consent and, therefore, cannot give consent.

Thus, even if a person under Michigan’s age of consent is 100% willing and voluntarily agrees to engage in the sex act, they still cannot legally consent. In this instance, yes does not mean yes.

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If you have been charged with a violation under Chapter 110 of the United States code for possessing, receiving, distributing, or producing child pornography, then pursuant to 18 USC 18 U.S. Code § 2259, you are likely to be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the crime. The term “victim” refers to the individual who is harmed because of the child pornography related crime.

As a general concept, the purpose of restitution in a criminal case is two-fold.  Firstly, restitution is intended to make a person “whole” meaning reimburse them directly for losses suffered because of the crime committed. Secondly, restitution has a punitive function, it is intended to punish the wrongdoer for the crime.

If the crime involved the trafficking of child pornography, which in this context means a violation of 18 USC 2251(d), 2252, 2252A(a)(1) through (5), 2252A(g), then the specific law cited above applies. Under this law, the court is required to determine the full amount of losses that were actually incurred or that could be “reasonably projected.” Then, after this calculation, the court is required to order restitution in an amount that reflects the defendant’s “relative role” in causing the victims loses.  The minimum amount that must be ordered $3,000.

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A man charged with second degree Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) in Ann Arbor successfully avoided jail time and conviction on the charge as filed. The accused was originally arraigned on the CSC 2nd degree charge on July 29, 2020. The charge was a result of an investigation into a complaint from a 10-year-old girl who was under the care of the accused. The allegation was that the victim was touched in a sexual way by the accused while being cared for by the accused in the home of the accused.

What are the penalties for 2nd degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in Michigan?

The potential consequences for second degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in Michigan are severe. CSC 2 is a felony that cannot be expunged. If convicted, you could be sent to state prison for up to 15 years. A conviction also requires that the defendant registers as a sex offender under Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA). If the victim was less than 13 years old and the defendant was at least 17 years old, as in the case above, then the convicted defendant will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device for a lifetime. The convicted defendant must also pay for the cost of that monitoring device.

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If you have been accused of a sex crime in Michigan, based on any one of the many sexual offenses contained in Michigan’s criminal laws involving sex assault, then you are probably wondering how to win your case or avoid the worse penalties including SORA registration and lengthy incarceration.

This is especially true if you’re facing false allegations, which unfortunately are common in the reporting of sex crimes. In Michigan allegations of sex crimes often come up in context of divorce. False memories can also sometimes result in false sex crimes allegations.

While there are many ways to obtain an optimal outcome, an important issue in sexual assault cases, or what Michigan broadly calls “criminal sexual conduct,” is to address the issue of force.

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The Superbowl has dominated the recent headlines, but an unfortunate story involving one of the Chiefs’ coaches, and the son of Head Coach Andy Reid, has also captured national attention.  Britt Reid was involved in a car accident wherein two young children were injured including one who is listed in serious life-threatening condition with a brain injury.

According to some initial Reports, the coach was driving onto an on-ramp and struck a disabled vehicle and then collided into a car that was providing assistance.  The accident resulted in the two minor children being seriously injured.

Mr. Reid admitted to drinking 2-3 alcoholic drinks prior to the accident, and a police report and warrant indicated a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages.  If there is evidence that alcohol may have been involved, then it is common that a warrant for a blood draw will be obtained.

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If someone calls the police to report a rape case in Michigan, it will immediately be taken very seriously. Police have a duty to thoroughly investigate claims of rape, known as “Criminal Sexual Conduct,” under Michigan law. If you’re being accused of rape, an experienced Michigan rape attorney will be able to take some of the unknown out of the situation and advise as to what will happen next and the best steps to take to avoid a criminal sexual conduct charge being filed.

Police Will First Meet with the Accuser

After the initial call to the police, the case will be assigned to a detective with sex crimes investigative training and experience. The detective will ask the accuser to meet- usually at the accuser’s home or at the police department- to discuss the claim in person. The detective will want to obtain the “who, what, where, and when” of the claim. Who did it? Who else was there? What exactly happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen?

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Never has the security of our electronic information been more important. Phones and other electronic devices now have the capacity to store our life’s most important information to be accessed in an instant. Nearly everyone’s phone contains tons of information we’d prefer remain private. From passwords to pictures, Google search history, websites visited, images and files accessed, downloaded or shared, places we’ve traveled, with whom we’ve associated or communicated, social media posts made and reviewed, emails and text messages, banking and financial information, even our love interests – it’s all a touch away from the Government’s prying eyes.

Consider this hypothetical

Imagine for a moment that you’re driving on your local main road. You’re going slightly over the speed limit but nothing crazy. Suddenly, an officer starts following you. The officer turns on the patrol car’s sirens and you pull over. You’re told you were pulled over for speeding, but something seems off. You can tell the officer suspects something more than just speeding.

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According to science, breath alcohol tests in DUI cases can be as much as 230 percent higher than corresponding blood tests. Because blood transports consumed beverage alcohol from the stomach to the brain where it can reach sufficient levels to cause impairment, a person’s blood alcohol level is what really matters. Therefore, in the context of a DUI case, breath alcohol only relevant  to the extent that it accurately reflects blood alcohol content. This is true because breath alcohol does not have the capacity to cause intoxication.

To understand just how significant this fact is, consider a hypothetical case where a driver’s breath test comes back at .18. This would likely result in the driver being charged with an enhanced DUI, or what Michigan calls “super drunk driving,” a charge applicable to drivers with a BAC of .17 or above. While this breath test evidence might look bad for the driver, it is well within the realm of scientific possibility that this same driver has corresponding or simultaneous blood alcohol level of .063, or well below the legal limit of .08. Understanding why this is so, and why breath testing can be so pernicious, requires a basic understanding of alcohol metabolism.

Pharmacokinetics and the Absorption, Distribution and Elimination of Alcohol

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Pornography has never been easier to access. Anyone with a smart phone can readily obtain all kinds of pornography. While porn sites are often clearly named, such as Pornhub, other platforms containing pornographic images are less obvious and include many kinds of social media, such as such common apps like Tumblr and Instagram, various chat groups like Kik, and video sharing sites like BitTorrent.  Regardless of the means used to access pornography one thing remains constant. No matter how careful a person in when trying to cover up their digital footprint, chances are a good forensic analyst will be able to uncover that which is meant to stay private.

Child pornography is always illegal to receive, possess, distribute, or manufacture.  Many people believe that if they delete images on their phone or computer, these images are really deleted. However, simply hitting delete rarely actually destroys the evidence. If this were true, then nearly all child pornography cases would be based on destroyed evidence.  One place such deleted images may reside is in a computer’s cache or temporary memory.

What is a cache?

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The Federal Eastern District Court for Michigan has courthouses located in Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron, and Bay City, whereas the Western District Court also has courthouses located in Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. View More

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