By Ben Solis
Gongwer News Service
The Supreme Court will take up a case next month to decide if double jeopardy prevents a trial court from hearing contempt proceedings on remand after a Wayne Circuit Court judge vacated a district court judge's order to hold an attorney in contempt.
The appeal in People v. Murphy (MSC Docket No. 165666) is among five cases to be heard by the high court in oral arguments scheduled Wednesday May 7. Arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be livestreamed on the court's website.
Attorney Kathy Murphy was representing a criminal client at a preliminary examination before 36th District Judge Kenyetta Jones. Murphy was alleged to have acted in contempt during a recess and while the court was off the record. A summary contempt proceeding followed when the court resumed, in which Jones found Murphy to be in contempt and ordered her to serve two days in jail the Wayne County jail.
Murphy appealed and then Wayne Circuit Judge Noah Hood (now a member of the Court of Appeals) reversed and vacated the conviction. Hood said Jones abused her discretion by not specifying what exactly happened during the recess that rose to the level of contempt.
Hood also remanded the case to the district court for non-summary proceedings. Murphy moved for reconsideration, citing double jeopardy concerns. Hood denied the motion. The Court of Appeals affirmed his ruling.
Murphy now asks the high court to determine whether jeopardy is a factor in the situation and if the double jeopardy doctrine bars the order for remand after the conviction was vacated.
Other cases to be heard May 7 are:
• Bonter v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Company (MSC Docket No 166182): A no-fault case that asks the Supreme Court to determine whether insurance policies issued prior to July 2, 2020, that insure against injury are subject to heightened liability coverage limit after that date. The case involves a man, Taylon Williams, who crashed into Cody Bonter, the plaintiff in the case. Bonter sued Williams for damages, and Progressive offered to settle the claims. The offer was rejected and Bonter filed a motion for judgment. He also asked the court to decide whether Progressive was liable for the lower limit or the highest possible statutory personal injury protection limit of $250,000 and $500,000. The trial court granted the motion, but the Court of Appeals reversed the order and found in favor of Progressive instead.
• Demske v. Fick (MSC Docket No. 167153): Another no-fault case that was ordered to be heard in the same session as Bonter, Demske asks the high court to determine whether the fee schedules in the amended no-fault act apply to medical treatment rendered after July 1, 2021, when an applicable renewal policy took effect after the law was amended on June 11, 2019 – and when the person was injured after that date but before 2021.
• People v. Wells (MSC Docket No. 167208): A drug case involving Eric Wells, who was charged with intent to distribute methamphetamine but was convicted instead for simple possession. The Court of Appeals affirmed his sentence, which was based mostly on evidence of intent to sell the drug as opposed to the evidence that convicted him. The high court has been asked to determine if the jury acquitted Wells on the possession with intent to distribute meth charge when it found him guilty of the lesser charge of simple possession.
• In Re Barber/Espinoza (MSC Docket No. 167745): The case deals with a woman whose parenting rights were terminated because it was alleged she allowed instances of sexual and child abuse to occur under her watch, but the Court of Appeals ruled last year she had her due process rights substantially violated during court proceedings. The high court has been asked to determine if reasonable efforts to reunify the child with their mother must be made when the mother was not the perpetrator of criminal sexual conduct but rather facilitated or encouraged it, among other questions.
Gongwer News Service
The Supreme Court will take up a case next month to decide if double jeopardy prevents a trial court from hearing contempt proceedings on remand after a Wayne Circuit Court judge vacated a district court judge's order to hold an attorney in contempt.
The appeal in People v. Murphy (MSC Docket No. 165666) is among five cases to be heard by the high court in oral arguments scheduled Wednesday May 7. Arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be livestreamed on the court's website.
Attorney Kathy Murphy was representing a criminal client at a preliminary examination before 36th District Judge Kenyetta Jones. Murphy was alleged to have acted in contempt during a recess and while the court was off the record. A summary contempt proceeding followed when the court resumed, in which Jones found Murphy to be in contempt and ordered her to serve two days in jail the Wayne County jail.
Murphy appealed and then Wayne Circuit Judge Noah Hood (now a member of the Court of Appeals) reversed and vacated the conviction. Hood said Jones abused her discretion by not specifying what exactly happened during the recess that rose to the level of contempt.
Hood also remanded the case to the district court for non-summary proceedings. Murphy moved for reconsideration, citing double jeopardy concerns. Hood denied the motion. The Court of Appeals affirmed his ruling.
Murphy now asks the high court to determine whether jeopardy is a factor in the situation and if the double jeopardy doctrine bars the order for remand after the conviction was vacated.
Other cases to be heard May 7 are:
• Bonter v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Company (MSC Docket No 166182): A no-fault case that asks the Supreme Court to determine whether insurance policies issued prior to July 2, 2020, that insure against injury are subject to heightened liability coverage limit after that date. The case involves a man, Taylon Williams, who crashed into Cody Bonter, the plaintiff in the case. Bonter sued Williams for damages, and Progressive offered to settle the claims. The offer was rejected and Bonter filed a motion for judgment. He also asked the court to decide whether Progressive was liable for the lower limit or the highest possible statutory personal injury protection limit of $250,000 and $500,000. The trial court granted the motion, but the Court of Appeals reversed the order and found in favor of Progressive instead.
• Demske v. Fick (MSC Docket No. 167153): Another no-fault case that was ordered to be heard in the same session as Bonter, Demske asks the high court to determine whether the fee schedules in the amended no-fault act apply to medical treatment rendered after July 1, 2021, when an applicable renewal policy took effect after the law was amended on June 11, 2019 – and when the person was injured after that date but before 2021.
• People v. Wells (MSC Docket No. 167208): A drug case involving Eric Wells, who was charged with intent to distribute methamphetamine but was convicted instead for simple possession. The Court of Appeals affirmed his sentence, which was based mostly on evidence of intent to sell the drug as opposed to the evidence that convicted him. The high court has been asked to determine if the jury acquitted Wells on the possession with intent to distribute meth charge when it found him guilty of the lesser charge of simple possession.
• In Re Barber/Espinoza (MSC Docket No. 167745): The case deals with a woman whose parenting rights were terminated because it was alleged she allowed instances of sexual and child abuse to occur under her watch, but the Court of Appeals ruled last year she had her due process rights substantially violated during court proceedings. The high court has been asked to determine if reasonable efforts to reunify the child with their mother must be made when the mother was not the perpetrator of criminal sexual conduct but rather facilitated or encouraged it, among other questions.
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