Daily Briefs

Lawsuit over jail birth moves forward with fewer defendants


MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A federal lawsuit by a Michigan woman who says she was forced to give birth in a suburban Detroit jail in 2016 is moving forward with fewer defendants.

The Macomb Daily reports three nurses and Macomb County remain as defendants after U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy on Tuesday dismissed four medical staffers and the jail’s medical provider as defendants. The judge earlier removed the county’s sheriff as a defendant.

Jessica Preston sued in July, alleging Macomb County Jail staff ignored her when she went into labor while being held for driving on a suspended license in 2016. The lawsuit says Preston delivered her son, Elijah, on a filthy cell floor in Mount Clemens after pleas to be hospitalized.

Macomb County has denied that Preston’s rights were violated.

 

Man convicted of  killing wife inside marijuana grow room


ST. JOSEPH, Mich. (AP) — A man who authorities say fatally shot his wife inside a marijuana grow room in their southwestern Michigan home has been convicted of murder.

A jury returned the verdict Tuesday against John Lewis in a Berrien County courtroom. He faces life in prison without parole when sentenced March 25.

Authorities say John Lewis killed 55-year-old Carla Lewis in 2017 in their Niles Township home near the state’s border with Indiana and then called 911, saying two men had broken into the home, killer her and fled in her car.

Lewis’ defense maintained the men were to blame for her death. Defense lawyer Jolene Weiner-Vatter noted that no murder weapon was ever found.

Prosecutors argued John Lewis was having affairs and stood to get a life insurance windfall from her death.

 

Judges wanted for MSU Law First Amendment mock appellate panel


During the spring semester, all first-year students at Michigan State University College of Law argue before a mock appellate panel as part of their required legal writing course.

The law school is seeking alumni to serve as judges for the following times:

• Saturday, April 6: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

• Saturday, April 6: 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

• Monday, April 8: 5:30 p.m.-9:15 p.m.

• Tuesday, April 9: 5:30 p.m.-9:15 p.m.

• Wednesday, April 10: 5:30 p.m.-9:15 p.m.

This year’s problem involves the First Amendment. The students will argue about whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment to a defendant school district that suspended a plaintiff student on the grounds that the student’s speech was a true threat to another student and that the student’s speech disrupted the school or reasonably could be forecasted to disrupt the school.

No experience in constitutional law is necessary. Judges will receive additional information including a summary of the relevant law, potential arguments, and sample questions approximately two weeks before the competition.

Sign up before Wednesday, March 13 at this link: http://www.law.msu.edu/rwa/judge-rounds.php

Any questions, call or email Teresa Cherry at (517) 432-6818 or cherryte@msu.edu.

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