Court hears case on expanding aid for wrongly convicted
DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could provide more money to people who are wrongly convicted of crimes.
A person who is exonerated gets $50,000 for every year spent in prison. But lower courts have declined to count time served in jail or juvenile detention before trials, saying the law doesn’t mention it.
The time can be substantial: People accused of murder, for example, can be held in jail without bond for months or years while awaiting trial.
“This is not as if we’re trying to be misers here,” said Chris Allen of the attorney general’s office. “We believe we’re only entitled to pay what the statute permits. That’s essentially our argument.”
He acknowledged, however, that the 2016 law probably wasn’t “perfectly drafted.”
The case centers on Davontae Sanford, whose murder convictions in Wayne County were thrown out because of police misconduct. He was paid $408,000 for his time in prison, but he’s also seeking $27,000 for 198 days spent in a detention center for teens.
Sanford’s attorney, Julie Hurwitz, noted that people convicted of crimes get credit on their sentences for time served in pretrial detention. So it makes sense, she added, that the same time should be eligible for compensation.
Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, who at University of Michigan law school helped free the wrongly convicted before joining the court, told Hurwitz that the “logic of your argument is easy to understand.”
Justice Brian Zahra said he prepared for the case by looking at a reference book on statutory interpretation by late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“When it’s pre-conviction, is that detention wrongful?” he asked via video conferencing.
“Absolutely,” Hurwitz replied. “Once a person has been determined to have been wrongfully convicted, every moment they spend locked up and deprived of their liberty is wrongful.”
— Ed White
Record-breaking turnout for election
Michigan saw record-breaking turnout for the approximately 50 elections in 33 counties and 200 municipalities across the state yesterday, with nearly 25 percent of eligible voters participating and 99 percent of those voters casting absent voter ballots.
“It was a very inspiring day,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “And it went even better than expected. Our local election officials deserve tremendous credit for their ability to administer a safe, successful election under unprecedented circumstances.”
While average turnout for local May elections is around 12 percent, the previous turnout record was set at 23 percent in 2015 when a proposed increase to the gas tax was on the ballot statewide. Of the over 180,000 people who participated in the election, preliminary data shows only 1,775 cast their ballots in person, averaging to fewer than 1 per voting location per hour, with more populace locations seeing greater numbers of voters. In addition, clerks received all requested personal protective equipment from the Michigan Department of State, ensuring election workers were able to execute the election safely while adhering to social distancing guidelines.
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