Decision means freedom to end for convicted killer
DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit convicted killer whose release went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to resume his life prison sentence.
A federal appeals court on Monday overturned a decision that had granted Dwayne Ballinger Jr. a new trial. He was convicted of killing two men with an AK-47 in 2006 but claimed his attorney did a poor job defending him at trial.
Ballinger’s case was controversial because federal Judge Arthur Tarnow released him on bond last summer, despite protests from the attorney general's office that Ballinger was searching the streets for his rivals. He denied it and apparently has stayed out of trouble.
The U.S. Supreme Court even got involved, voting 5-4 to affirm Tarnow's decision to grant bond.
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3 national Bar presidents issue unified call for judicial funding
The respective leaders of the American Association for Justice, the American Bar Association, and DRI — The Voice of the Defense Bar warned in a joint statement released Monday that imminent budget cuts through sequestration will impinge access to justice at the state and federal levels and put court petitioners, staff and judges in harm’s way.
“The unity of our three organizations, the major bar organizations in the United State, indicates the true seriousness of the threat to timely access to justice for individuals and businesses,” said DRI president Massaron Ross.
The three presidents warned that sequestration is doubly troubling for state courts, which have “endured years of withering cuts despite overwhelming caseloads.”
Additionally, recent gun violence on court grounds across the country — including Alabama, Delaware, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas — is a chilling reminder of the life-and-death importance of courthouse safety. “Yet sequestration will leave federal court security positions unfunded” and also reduce the pool of available resources at the state level, according to the legal organizations.
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Michigan Supreme Court arguments available online
LANSING (AP) — Live and online from Lansing: the Michigan Supreme Court.
The state’s highest court says arguments streamed online this Tuesday with a case about a contract dispute between the Macomb County Road Commission and a union.
Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. says it’s a “natural extension” of the court’s “commitment to transparency.”
The Supreme Court’s website can be found through http://courts.mi.gov.
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