SBM Blog

Right to Counsel Lawsuit Survives Challenge

  In a unanimous order, the Michigan Supreme Court on Friday unanimously declined to reverse the Court of Appeals decision to let  a case that challenges the delivery of public defense counsel services in three Michigan counties proceed.  The plaintiff in Duncan v State of Michigan, LC No. 07-000242-CZ, claims Michigan has failed in its constitutional duty to provide competent counsel for indigent people faced with a loss of liberty by delegating the duty to individual counties without adequate funding or oversight to ensure constitutional sufficiency.

Rather than accept any of the state's arguments for summary judgment, the Court remanded the case to the trial court to re-examine the issue of certifying the class, based on new rules created since the trial court’s initial ruling.  The order said: "This case is at its earliest stages and, based solely on the plaintiffs’ pleadings in this case, it is premature to make a decision on the substantive issues. Accordingly, the defendants are not entitled to summary disposition at this time."

The order was celebrated by two organizations that have championed the cause of public defense reform in Michigan -- the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), which authored a pivotal report in 2008 on the deficiencies of Michigan's public defense, and the Campaign for Justice, a coalition formed to advance reform.  The State Bar of Michigan, which supports reform consistent with  11 principles, has partnered with both organizations to work for change.  NLADA called the Court's order "a major victory for the right of poor criminal defendants to seek justice."  Laura Sager, executive director of the Campaign for Justice, said "This ruling is good news and it is a clarion call to state legislators that reform is needed and that their action on this important constitutional problem is required.

 Watch the oral argument in Duncan v State of Michigan

 

 

Breaking News: Attorney Discipline Board Decides Last Text Message Cases

The Attorney Grievance Commission has released reports on two attorneys, John E. Johnson, Jr, and Wilson A. Copeland, II, who were brought up on charges of professional misconduct after the Detroit text message scandal. 

Bar Exam: Multi-State Essay to Debut in Missouri

A midwestern state is the first to transition to a uniform bar examination process endorsed by the American Bar Association and the National Conference of Bar Examiners, ending the state-specific approach to testing that has been the norm in all U.S. jurisdictions.

Quick: When Was the Last Time The U.S. Supreme Court Had No Justices with State Court Judicial Experience?

Answer: 1789.  In other words, never since it's been possible.  So says the National Center for State Courts, which also points out state courts comprise more than 95 percent of the American judicial system, and that of cases that were heard in the 2008-09 term, state courts accounted for the second largest percentage of the Supreme Court’s docket --19%.

Painting: George Washington's inauguration, April 30, 1789.

Be Careful About Those Two-Sided Business Cards

A Seattle lawyer whose business card had his law practice on one side, his status as president of a local NAACP on the other, has had his license suspended for over two years, according to a story in the Seattle Times. The story says that the order of suspension, in addition to noting the unprofessional and confusing mixing of his two roles, also cited commingling client funds, revealing the name of a juvenile client on a radio program, and failing to promptly forward money to clients.

Constitutionality of Arizona Immigration Law, contin.

Here's a New York Times op-ed defense of the law's constitutionality by an author of the legislation, Prof. Kris Kobach of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.  His conclusion:  "the Arizona law hardly creates a police state. It takes a measured, reasonable step to give Arizona police officers another tool when they come into contact with illegal aliens during their normal law enforcement duties.  And it’s very necessary: Arizona is the ground zero of illegal immigration. Phoenix is the hub of human smuggling and the kidnapping capital of America, with more than 240 incidents reported in 2008."

And here's commentary on the op-ed piece by Jonathan Adler in Volokh Conspiracy.  Adler notes:

Women and Minority Equity Partnerships -- Who Knows? (Who's Asking?)

In commentary that focuses on the significance of the absence of a uniform definition of equity partnership, the National Law Journal says "understanding the way this term is used -- even manipulated -- and developing a consistent definition that means the same across all firms, is critical to the profession and all organizations that collect and report data for a variety of purposes."  According to a newly released study by a Stanford Law School professor, for example, in 2007 more than half of the New York City offices and more than a third of the Washington, D.C., offices of major law firms reported six different partnership numbers to the six major entities that collect the information.

Because how a law firm is doing in terms of diversity can affect its competitiveness, the commentary says, firms have developed a variety of ways to improve their position, such as de-equitizing partners at the lower end of the compensation scale while raising the bar for entry into the equity partnership ranks.

The absence of reliable consistent data thwarts law students and clients who want to know how women and minorities are faring in a particular law firm compared to another.

See, too, our earlier post: Opening Doors: Law Firms Accused of "Holding Out" on Partnership Details

People You Didn't Know Were Lawyers: #1

The opener for this inaugural feature of SBM Blog is Fred Phelps, Sr., founder of Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), the Kansas-based church whose members have been picketing military funerals, claiming that the deaths, as well as most natural disasters and terrorist attacks are God's punishment for societal toleration of homosexuality.  The past tense of the headline is appropriate in Mr. Phelps case.  He's been disbarred for many years.  See our earlier post, Father Ordered to Pay Court Costs of Picketers at His Son's Funeral.

HT: Volokh Conspiracy

First Up for White House Interview for U.S. Supreme Court: Sidney Thomas

That's Sidney Rudney Thomas, 9th circuit judge, of Montana. Here's the AP story.  SBM Blog has done the research on who's done the research for you: 6 Things to Know About Supreme Court Short-Listee Sidney Thomas. 

See also:

The Honorable Sidney Thomas considered for U.S. Supreme Court nomination

Montana Judge on Short List

In Memoriam: Alvin L. Storrs

Alvin L. Storrs, MSU College of Law professor and member of the State Bar of Michigan for 28 years, died on April 26 after a lengthy illness.  He was a 1982 graduate of University of Detroit School of Law, and also earned an LL.M. in taxation from New York University and an  M.B.A. from the University of Detroit. He practiced with the law firm of Hall, Andary, and Bilicki before becoming tax manager at Ernst and Whinney in Detroit. Prior to joining the MSU Law faculty, he spent three years as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he taught courses in business planning and income taxation.  Professor Storr's legacy includes the hundreds of low-income clients served by the Law College's Tax Clinic, started with funding he obtained.

Dean Joan Howarth said "Al Storrs exemplified the highest values of our law school and our profession. With his passing, we have lost a wonderful teacher, a masterful and inspiring leader, and an exceptional man of principle, vision, and grace."  Dawn Jack, President of the Lansing Black Lawyers Association, praised Professor Storrs as a tremendous mentor for minority law students at the college.

Professor Storrs is survived by his wife, Regina, and their children, Alvin and Ashley; his oldest daughters, Verna Nevels and Heather Holloway; his granddaughter, Ashlyn; and his mother, Amye Davis.

A viewing will be held on Monday, May 3, from 2 to 9 p.m. at Swanson Funeral Home, 14751 W. McNichols Rd., Detroit, MI 48235. A family hour will be held at Second Baptist Church of Detroit on Tuesday, May 4, from 10 to 11 a.m., with the funeral service beginning at 11 a.m. The Second Baptist Church is located at 441 Monroe St., Detroit, MI 48226.