Notable Cases

Our client was charged by state prosecutors as one of several individuals, including a former Governor, with criminal offenses related to the so-called Flint water crisis, after reports of high childhood blood lead levels following a failure in the City of Flint’s water system infrastructure. After extensive court hearings, a newly elected Attorney General dismissed pending charges and obtained appointment of a state court judge as a One-Man-Grand Juror to investigate. The judge eventually filed indictments with an intent to preclude the usual practice of preliminary examinations before trial. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws authorizing appointment of a judge as a grand juror do not empower the judge to indict and require preliminary examinations whenever a charge in any form follows after a one-man grand juror investigation. All charges were dismissed.

Where federal prosecutors charged murder by an alleged street gang member and sought the Death Penalty, the Court granted our motion and dismissed all charges because the murders were not within the limited scope of federal authority under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to prosecute local violent acts.

In this landmark ruling, the United States Supreme Court held that a private citizen has a legitimate expectation of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment in evidence of his or her movements in public spaces. The Court ruled that law enforcement must show probable cause to obtain a warrant from a judicial officer in order to seek disclosure of such digital information for use in a criminal matter.