Man asked neighbor for help in disposing of a body

DAVISON TWP., MI -- A 68-year-old man was arrested after he told his neighbor he killed a man, tried to cut up the body and needed help disposing of it.

Details emerged Wednesday, Sept. 7, during a preliminary exam in the case against Michael O. Murphy.

Murphy, 68, is charged with first-degree murder, felony firearm and disinterment of a dead body for the death of 31-year-old Daniel Parks.

Parks' body was discovered April 5 in a shed near Murphy's home at Davison East Mobile Home Park in Davison Township.

Murphy's neighbor, Duane Morrish, testified he was visiting Murphy in April when the man tried to recruit him to help dispose of a body.

Article here (via

Marijuana supporters petition Michigan Supreme Court to allow ballot in November

Believers in the right for Michigan voters to decide whether or not the state should legalize recreational marijuana use for people 21 and older are taking the fight to the state's highest court.

MI Legalize, the group behind the effort to place a question about legalizing recreational marijuana use on the November 2016 ballot, filed a motion for the Michigan Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's ruling that the state has no obligation to count all of the the submitted voter signatures.

Read the article here (on mlive.com).

Free Family Law Seminar: August 29, 2016 (continues monthly)

Tuesday, August 29, 6pm-7:30 pm. Room 107, East Grand Rapids Community Center, 750 Lakeside Dr. SE.

Topics covered: Divorce with minor children: filing the Complaint, requesting temporary relief, planning for your judgment of divorce.

Attendance at this seminar does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Call for details, or to RSVP, as space is limited. 616-406-6451

6th Circuit: Michigan's Sex Offender Registration Act violates Ex Post Facto clause

Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that retroactive application of Michigan's Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) violates the Constitution's ban on ex post facto laws. In doing so, it offered a scathing assessment of such laws that suggests they make little sense even when they're constitutional.

Article here. (via reason.com 's Hit and Run blog)

 Responding to a challenge brought by five men and one woman who committed sex offenses before Michigan's legislature expanded SORA's requirements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit concludes that the added provisions, although framed as civil regulations, are mainly punitive in their effects.

Retired police officer wants to withdraw earlier plea on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct

He entered a guilty plea, now says he wants to withdraw the plea, since he claims his lawyer coerced him into pleading.

Article here (via mlive).

Routine paperwork uncovers facts: Bar association president didn't have a license to practice law

If Greg Jackson hadn’t taken his routine paperwork seriously, a former county bar president might not be facing sentencing on Tuesday for the unauthorized practice of law.

Jackson had been assigned to compile a list of the two dozen members of the Huntingdon County Bar Association in Pennsylvania shortly before Christmas 2014. He was listing the lawyer names along with their bar numbers when he noticed that a former county bar president, Kimberly Kitchen, appeared to be using the bar number of another person—a lawyer in Delaware.

Article here (via aba journal) 

Freddie Gray case: law professor files ethics violations

Remember Freddie Gray? He died as a result of police custody.

A public-interest law professor is filing complaints seeking the disbarment of two prosecutors with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office for actions in the prosecution of police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Professor John F. Banzhaf III of the George Washington University Law School said the complaints with the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission are against Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow and Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe. He alleges they failed to present enough evidence to support even bringing the prosecution. Last month, Banzhaf filed a similar complaint against their boss, State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, the Sun reported at the time.

Article here (via aba journal) Sorry! Posted earlier without the link (needs more coffee).