Michigan justices schedule another road trip

Continuing a tradition begun in 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this month in People v. Jeffrey Scott Armstrong as part of the “Court Community Connections” program.

Student debriefing sessions led by Supreme Court Chief Commissioner Daniel Brubaker will be held before and after oral arguments on Wednesday, Sept. 24, starting at 9 a.m. at the Northern Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

There also will be a community activity led by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Drummers.

Students from high schools in the area have been invited to attend.

At the conclusion of the hearing, students will participate in a reception with the justices.

The court provided the following summary of the Livingston County case about which oral arguments will be heard:

The defendant, a juvenile, has been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, on an aiding and abetting theory, for allegedly recording a video of two other juveniles assaulting a 16-year-old boy by punching and kicking him.  

The defendant has been charged as an adult under the automatic waiver statute.

The defendant filed motions in the circuit court to quash the bindover and to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish that he was “armed with a dangerous weapon” as required under MCL 764.1f(2)(b).  

The trial court denied the motions on the basis that the footwear worn by the alleged assailants were dangerous weapons within the meaning of the automatic waiver statute.  

The Court of Appeals denied the defendant’s application for leave to appeal, but the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for consideration as on leave granted.  

On remand, the Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 unpublished opinion, affirmed the trial court.  

The Supreme Court has granted leave to appeal to address:  (1) whether shoes can constitute dangerous weapons for purposes of MCL 764.1f(2)(b); and (2) even if shoes can constitute dangerous weapons, whether the motion to quash should have been granted because there was no evidence that the defendant was “armed with a dangerous weapon” during the assault as required by MCL 764.1f(2)(b).

In addition to hearing oral arguments at the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing, justices and staff travel to communities statewide as part of the "Court Community Connections" program, which the Court started as a public education program aimed primarily at high school students.

 This will be the 30th time the Court has traveled to hear a case at another location.

––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available