The federal statute numbered 18 U.S.C. §922(g) prohibits certain classes of individuals from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition. One of those classes includes people who are unlawful users of, or addicted to, any controlled substance. Under the federal drug scheduling laws, marijuana is classified as an illegal Schedule 1 controlled substance. Until recently, there was a question of whether this class of people who cannot ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms or ammunition under federal law includes those people who are legal medical pot patients in states like Michigan. But, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives answered this question in a memo sent out last September. The memo states, “Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.”

The firearms lawyers at Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC are aware that many gun shop owners and operators are now asking gun purchasers whether they are medical cannabis patients. The shop owners do not want to get into trouble for selling a firearm or ammunition to a person they know or have reasonable cause to believe is an unlawful user of or addicted to an illegal controlled substance. Selling guns or ammo to a medical marijuana user is a violation of federal law.

For many medical marijuana patients, it is tough to hear that they can no longer possess, transport, ship, or receive guns while they are legal patients. Some may even choose to give up their patient status and stop using weed altogether in favor of keeping their firearms rights. If you are facing this choice, it would be a good idea to contact a criminal defense attorney.

In Michigan, it is already illegal in most circumstances to “read, manually type, or send a text message on a wireless 2-way communication device that is located in the person’s hand or in the person’s lap.” Violations of this law are civil traffic infractions, meaning there is no potential for imprisonment as part of the punishment. A first violation of this law will result in a $100 fine, while a second or subsequent violation will result in a $200 fine. However, if reading or sending a text message causes a driver to become distracted and the driver gets in an accident or injures or kills another person, it can result in a criminal charge, such as reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter.

As top criminal defense attorneys, we wonder whether Michigan will follow any of the NTSB’s recommendations and outlaw all types of cell phone use when driving. If Michigan lawmakers do choose to make this activity illegal, we wonder if it will be in the form of criminal violations or just civil infractions like the texting ban.

Any time a person is being investigated for any type of traffic offense, they should contact a skilled attorney immediately.

Before Judge Justin’s case got to the Michigan Supreme Court, a hearing was held with the Judicial Tenure Commission, which is the governing body that regulates judicial conduct in Michigan. At that hearing, it was determined beyond a preponderance of the evidence that this judge participated in multiple illegal and unethical acts. For example, Judge Justin allegedly dismissed traffic tickets for himself, his wife, and his staff without any notification to the Prosecuting attorney assigned to the case. This is an improper ex-parte communication, and judges are well aware that they cannot ethically do this. Judge Justin also allegedly reduced the sentences of people who had already accepted a plea agreement without notifying the Prosecutor. Worse yet, Judge Justin allegedly lied under oath at the Judicial Tenure Commission hearing. The Michigan Supreme Court justices agreed that Judge Justin’s widespread unethical conduct is incompatible with the standards we hold our judges to, and they ordered his immediate removal from office.

As criminal defense attorneys who are accepting new clients in Jackson, Michigan, we strongly advocate for our clients and are pleased when we earn a victory in court for our clients.

Millard appealed his contempt conviction to the Ottawa County Circuit Court. In the Circuit Court opinion, authored by Honorable Edward R. Post, the court ruled that District Court judge Post incorrectly held the attorney in contempt. It then remanded the matter to the District Court for further proceedings, but ordered that the criminal case be reassigned to a different Judge. As premier Michigan defense attorneys, we know how important it is to fight for our clients’ constitutional rights. We applaud the Circuit Court for holding that this attorney was doing nothing wrong by advocating for his client. We also applaud attorney Millard for standing up for his client in a very difficult situation.

It is unfortunate that we live in an era where the constitutional protections of persons accused of crimes are being steadily eroded by state and federal legislation and by numerous appellate precedents that make it progressively more difficult to defend clients.

It is important that anyone being investigated for or charged with any criminal offense hire a trial attorney who is skilled and aggressive in the courtroom, especially when the judge and prosecutor are unsympathetic and even hostile to criminal defendants. A good attorney can help ensure that proper courtroom procedure is followed and that the defendant’s constitutional rights will not be infringed upon.

The sooner you hire an attorney, the more time the attorney will have to prepare your defense. Contact a skilled lawyer immediately.

The Supreme Court Justices ruled that attaching the GPS device to Jones’ vehicle constituted a search, and therefore a search warrant should have been issued. In making this decision, the Justices weighed the fact that where we drive on public streets is not necessarily a secret and everyone should have a reasonable expectation of privacy that our movements will not be monitored by the police for a month. The Supreme Court concluded that Jones did have a reasonable expectation of privacy that the police would not physically place a GPS tracker on the underside of his vehicle. As technology develops, courts are consistently revisiting the limits of constitutional protections against government intrusions into our lives. This decision will go a long way to help protect the 4th Amendment rights of criminal defendants who were charged after high-tech investigation techniques.

How would you feel if you found out the police had been tracking where you went for the last month using a device secretly placed on your car? This question may be less and less relevant due to the rapid pace of new technology advancements. For many of us with smart phones, GPS systems, I-pads, tablets and computers with tracking technology, there is an incredible amount of information already available to us that is in the “cloud”. Questions dealing with how much and under what conditions this information is available to police investigators will be the subject of intense litigation for years to come.

Smith appealed his guilty verdicts to the United States Supreme Court, which reversed the convictions. Eight of the nine Supreme Court Justices ruled that the government prosecutors should have disclosed this admission by the witness to the defense before trial. This is based on a past U.S. Supreme Court case, Brady v. Maryland, which states that prosecutors must disclose “material exculpatory evidence” to the defense. Material exculpatory evidence is evidence that creates a reasonable probability that a conviction or sentence would be different if the evidence is disclosed. Kudos to the U. S. Supreme Court for reminding the government’s prosecutors that they cannot violate the law.

Criminal defendants accused of any crime should hire an aggressive defense attorney to represent them in all court proceedings. A skilled lawyer will watch out for ethical violations by prosecutors and work hard to protect defendants from such violations.

Contact an attorney immediately to discuss your criminal case. And remember, the right attorney can be critical to the success of a case.

This debate is about to heat up in Michigan. There is a statewide campaign to gather enough signatures to place pot legalization on the ballot. If this measure gets placed on the ballot and receives sufficient voter approval, the Michigan Constitution will be amended to allow cannabis use, possession, manufacture, and sale by people who are at least 21 years old.

Currently, Michigan law allows for medical marijuana use. However, cannabis activists feel that police and prosecutors are going out of their way to prosecute legal weed patients and caregivers. The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) is known for being very vague, allowing law enforcement to interpret that law very narrowly in their favor. Of course pot is still unlawful under the federal law.

Many times, medical marijuana patients and caregivers think they have protection under the MMMA only to find out they have been charged with a marijuana crime (such as use, possession, manufacture, creation, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture, create, or deliver) because the authorities accuse them of non-compliance with the medical marijuana law in Michigan. Those people charged with a drug crime should contact a trained and successful drug crime defense lawyer immediately.

As criminal defense attorneys, we know how serious it is to be charged with a firearm offense in Michigan. Some of these charges include carrying a concealed weapon, possessing a gun during the commission of a felony, and brandishing a weapon. Federal prosecutors take firearm offenses seriously and sometimes add federal charges. Additionally, some firearm crimes carry mandatory minimum sentencing for those who are convicted.

Because of the seriousness of firearm offenses, people who are being investigated for, or who have been charged with, a gun, weapon or firearm crime in Michigan should immediately contact a skilled criminal defense lawyer. An attorney will know how to best handle the person’s defense, including what arguments to make to the judge or jury. As with all criminal cases, the sooner a person hires their attorney, the better. In addition, those convicted of prior felony charges in Michigan should have their attorney begin the process to restore their rights to possess a gun, as soon as legally possible.

Criminologists offer many reasons for the increase in the arrest rate of American youth including arrests in Michigan. “The criminal justice system has clearly become more aggressive in dealing with offenders (particularly those who commit drug offenses and violent crimes) since the 1960’s,” write the study’s authors. The study was published in Pediatrics in hopes that pediatricians can influence their patients to stay out of trouble.

As criminal defense attorneys, we see first-hand that teenagers and young adults sometimes get tangled up in Michigan’s criminal justice system. Unfortunately, those are the same people who may not know how urgent it is to hire a good defense lawyer. A skilled attorney can help defend those people charged in a juvenile delinquency action and those charged as adults.

If you or someone you know has been or will be charged with a Michigan or federal crime, contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer today.

Another new trend in Michigan is a drug called “bath salts.” This is not the same as the smelling salts one adds to a bubble bath, but it is marketed as such to get around federal and state drug laws. Technically, this substance is called Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV for short. It is a stimulating psychoactive drug. Recently, the Drug Enforcement Agency used its emergency scheduling powers to make bath salts illegal.

Substances like synthetic cannabis and bath salts are considered designer drugs, which are drugs with a chemical makeup similar, but not identical to, an illegal controlled substance. However, as is the case with things like K-2, state and federal laws now prohibit the use, possession, and manufacture of certain designer drugs, also called analogue drugs.

Regardless of which drug crime a person is charged with, the penalties can be severe. It is important to contact a drug crime defense lawyer immediately if you are being investigated for or have been charged with a drug crime.