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Law
4:48 pm
Tue February 5, 2013

Stateside: Michigan's Attorney General talks about human trafficking

Stateside: Michigan's Attorney General talks about human trafficking

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
Credit Bill Schuette / Facebook.com

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

When you hear the term "human trafficking" and let yourself think about what that entails, you might think of it as something that happens overseas, perhaps in exotic places.

Law
1:45 pm
Tue February 5, 2013

Judicial watchdog drops complaint against Hathaway

Judicial watchdog drops complaint against Hathaway

Credit michigan.gov

DETROIT (AP) -The state agency that monitors judges for misconduct is dropping its complaint against Diane Hathaway now that she's no longer on the Michigan Supreme Court.

The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission said Tuesday there's nothing to gain. Hathaway pleaded guilty last week to federal bank fraud for shifting properties and failing to disclose assets while trying to dump her Detroit-area home in a short sale. She could go to prison and lose her law license.

The commission filed an ethics complaint against Hathaway and sought her suspension on Jan. 7 while she was still on the Supreme Court. That led to news that Hathaway had quietly filed retirement papers in December and was planning to quit on Jan. 21.

She was charged with fraud three days before leaving the court.

Law
1:28 pm
Tue February 5, 2013

Former Jackson judge pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges

Former Jackson judge pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges

Credit official portrait
Former Jackson County District Judge James Justin

A former Jackson County district judge has pleaded guilty to four counts of willful neglect of duty. The charges are misdemeanors.

The Michigan Supreme Court removed Judge James Justin from the bench a year ago. Justin was suspended in 2010 due to allegations of misconduct.

Justin was accused of fixing speeding and other traffic tickets issued to his wife and his court officers.

Justin faced four felony counts of misconduct and could have faced prison time if convicted. His trial started Monday and was expected to go to the jury today. But Justin pleaded to the lesser misdemeanor charges instead.

By pleading to misdemeanor charges, Justin will likely only face a fine.

Law
6:57 pm
Mon February 4, 2013

Former Detroit police officer, convicted in fatal beating, dies

Former Detroit police officer, convicted in fatal beating, dies

DETROIT (AP) - A former Detroit police officer convicted in the 1992 fatal beating of a man near a drug house has died. Larry Nevers was 72.

The Macomb County medical examiner's office says Nevers died Sunday at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. No details about the cause were immediately available, although Nevers had emphysema.

Nevers and fellow officer Walter Budzyn were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Malice Green outside a Detroit drug house. The case made headlines because the officers were white and Green was black. The convictions were overturned, but Nevers and Budzyn later were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Law
5:00 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

8 plead guilty in Michigan right-to-work protest

8 plead guilty in Michigan right-to-work protest

Credit Steve Carmody/Michigan Radio
(file photo)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Eight people have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors after being arrested inside the state Capitol building during a December protest against passage of Michigan's right-to-work law.

Their attorney says they won't get jail time under misdemeanor pleas entered Friday to a Lansing district judge. They will be sentenced in September.

The eight defendants from the Detroit area were arrested and charged with felony resisting and obstructing after police said they tried to push past two troopers guarding the Senate door on Dec. 6.

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