Michigan Criminal Law Blog

Sometimes a criminal case serves to underscore an important point in America's justice system that some people tend to minimize or even forget, namely, this: that just as the government has certain tools that promote its ability to prosecute a person charged with a crime, so, too, must it scrupulously follow judicial procedures that guard against prosecutorial abuse and emphasize fundamental fairness.

The sex crimes case involving David L. Bradford is a classic example of that constitutional balance, and a striking reminder that, ultimately, it is the system as well as the accused that is on trial. In Bradford's case, the system - specifically, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania - lost.

Bradford was charged in September 2008 with kidnapping and rape. And then, owing to record-keeping glitch, his case sat - as did he, in jail - for over a year. Pennsylvania law mandates that a person charged with a crime and in custody proceed to trial within 365 days.

United States Attorney General Eric Holder recently released the federal government's first-ever national strategy for combating the sexual exploitation of children. The report - entitled the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction - sets forth standards and goals for training of special agents and law-enforcement officials, close coordination of enforcement bodies across the country and the optimal use of technology as a central aid for finding and apprehending sexual predators.

Enforcement officials in Michigan spoke at a Detroit news conference coinciding with the release of the federal report, emphasizing the state's commitment to eradicate child sexual abuse and exploitation and stating that Michigan's resolve has already been demonstrated with proven results over an extended period.

Our previous blog focused on the drunk driving enforcement program that is operating across 30 Michigan counties through the Labor Day weekend.

Thanks to evolving technology, there is now a new twist to the campaign in Saginaw, Bay, Isabella and Tuscola counties. A driver throughout those areas can download a new iPhone application that highlights his or her location using GPS, draws a circle showing areas where DUI enforcement patrols are operating in force and provides a link to taxi companies and other ride services. The idea: A person who has been drinking will think twice, use the tool and catch a ride home rather than risk being stopped. From the perspective of the Office of Highway Safety Planning and law enforcement officials, making the call can avert a potentially dangerous accident and free up police resources for other purposes.

If you're driving drunk in Michigan, there is always a strong chance that you'll be noticed, stopped and arrested for DUI. From August 18 through the Labor Day weekend ending September 6, that likelihood will be greatly increased.

Michigan State Police traffic patrols will be out in force during that period as part of a state-wide campaign targeting drunk drivers. Their message: If you want to risk driving your car while intoxicated, you will be arrested and potentially face an assortment of stringent penalties.

"No warnings," says Office of Highway Safety Planning Director Michael L. Prince. "No second chances."

Not all inmates in prisons across the country who are incarcerated for sex crimes or serving sentences for drug charges or other felonies are dangerous.

Some, in fact, use walkers, are in wheelchairs or are entirely bedridden. Others have terminal illnesses.

Aging inmates are an undeniable problem in American prisons and have legislators and enforcement officials actively - and with increasing urgency - looking for solutions to their growing number and the cost of housing them.

If you are a veteran in Michigan and cited for drunk driving, you might ultimately consider yourself lucky to end up in court.

Veterans court, that is. Based on statistics, Michigan appears to be a vanguard state for promoting "specialty courts" that focus on therapeutic - rather than purely punitive - justice in a number of circumstances. The state presently has nearly 140 active therapeutic courts, with more in the works. Most of them focus on persons with alcohol, drug and mental health problems.

In veterans court, vets who are suffering from post-traumatic stress or have fallen into problems with alcohol and/or drugs owing to their military service enter what is basically a multi-month program that combines mental health and rehabilitative aspects. The program includes testing, regular meetings with the judge and probation officer, counseling and other support services. It partners with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and works with the VA hospitals in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

This blog updates an earlier posting from June in which a recent Michigan Supreme Court case addressing the presence of carboxy - a metabolite resulting from the breakdown of THC, marijuana's active ingredient - was discussed. The Court's ruling in the case changed former law stating that the presence of this byproduct in the body was a crime. Carboxy breaks down slowly within the body over a period of weeks, and the Court found that the ability of prosecutors to obtain drugged driving convictions on the basis of evidence already weeks old was legally untenable. In essence, the Court ruling was based on a finding that it is illogical to convict a person for driving under the influence of drugs when he or she was not impaired when arrested.

The new law has both its advocates and opponents. Those who support it say that it reduces arbitrary enforcement and excessive prosecutorial discretion. They also state that it rids the disinclination of state residents who are legally entitled to use marijuana for medical purposes to drive.

Smart on drugs versus tough on crime. That is increasingly becoming the central question in many state legislatures across the country as fiscal problems escalate and funds marked for prisons evaporate quickly in the face of an exploding inmate population incarcerated on drug charges.

Consider this: Statistics from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse indicate that 65 percent of America's approximately 2.3 million prisoners either are or should be medically certified as drug addicts and abusers. What that signifies for a growing number of politicians, penal administrators, law enforcement officials, social workers and therapists is this: Either get smart about applying some of the money marked for prison costs and expansion to drug treatment and related programs, or suffer recidivism that will in turn drive our prison population ever upward and truly break the bank.