Michigan Supreme Court Announces Cases for October 2018 Oral Arguments
The
The Court broadcasts oral arguments and other hearings live online. Watch the stream live only while the Court is in session and on the bench. Streaming will begin shortly before the hearings start; audio will be muted until justices take the bench. Follow the Court on Twitter to receive regular updates as cases are heard. Please contact the
These brief accounts may not reflect the way that some or all of the Court's seven justices view the cases. The attorneys may also disagree about the facts, issues, procedural history, and significance of these cases. For further details about the cases, please contact the attorneys.
Morning Session -
#155784,
Plaintiff
#156198, People of MI v
A jury convicted defendant of several felonies arising from his part in the robbery of a man whom his girlfriend had befriended. The trial court sentenced defendant as a habitual offender to serve enhanced prison terms on each count. On appeal, the
#156132-4,
In these three cases, plaintiffs are individuals in nursing homes who applied for and were denied Medicaid for their long-term care. Before applying, plaintiffs' spouses had created so-called "Medicaid trusts" in which the couples' assets were transferred to a trust solely for the benefit of the non-institutionalized spouse and payable over the spouse's lifetime. After plaintiffs applied for Medicaid, the
#156341,
Afternoon Session - Approximately
#156223, People of MI v
A jury convicted defendant of felony murder and first-degree child abuse. The victim was his two-year-old son, who suffered a brain injury after defendant pulled the child's legs out from under him, causing the child to fall back and hit his head. Defendant filed a motion for new trial, alleging that his trial counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to adequately investigate the medical controversy surrounding abusive head trauma in children and by failing to call an expert witness at trial to support the defense theory that the child's injury was the result of an accident rather than intentional abuse. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that counsel had not rendered ineffective assistance and denied the motion for new trial. In an unpublished opinion, the
#156018, Van Buren Charter Township v
In 2003, plaintiff Van Buren Charter Township issued municipal bonds to help finance the construction of defendant
Morning Session -
#155811,
Plaintiffs are a married couple who purchased a homeowner's policy to insure property that initially was their full-time residence. They later moved to another residence and treated the insured property as a vacation home. After making a claim under the policy for water damage, one of the plaintiffs informed defendant's adjuster that they were in the process of moving. Defendant paid the water damage claim, but it did not follow up to determine whether plaintiffs had completed their move. In
#156161, People of MI v
A jury convicted defendant of unarmed robbery and assault for beating a man while defendant's girlfriend took the man's wallet. His defense was to admit that he was guilty of assault, but not robbery, because he had no part in taking anything from the victim. The girlfriend pled guilty before defendant's trial but did not testify, though she later claimed to be willing to testify that defendant did not know she was going to take the wallet. Defendant's trial counsel made statements on the record suggesting that he was precluded from calling the witness, though the trial court made no such statements on the record. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing to determine whether it was the court or counsel who was responsible for the girlfriend's failure to testify, and whether counsel was ineffective for any such decision in that regard. Defense counsel was unable to secure the girlfriend's presence at the hearing. The trial court denied defendant's motion for a new trial, but the
#155863,
Plaintiff owned a house adjacent to a blighted property that was acquired by the
#156648, People of MI v
In 2004, a jury convicted defendant of second-degree murder and other offenses. On direct appeal, the
Afternoon Session - Approximately
#156389 Bauserman v Unemployment Agency The state's
#157907, In re J Ferranti, Minor
Respondents are the biological parents of a child with spina bifida and other medical issues. In 2015, the
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