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Tag: Michigan attorney general

  • Detroit public defender Bill Noakes launches bid for Michigan AG – Detroit Metro Times

    William “Bill” Noakes, a longtime public defender and professor, announced Tuesday he is running for Michigan attorney general, positioning himself as the only Democrat in the race who has never been a prosecutor and could become the first Black person to hold the office.

    Noakes, who has practiced law since 1982, is the fourth Democrat to enter the 2026 race. His opponents — Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, and former U.S. Attorney Mark Totten — have all been prosecutors. 

    Noakes said he is proud of his career defending people against the formidable power of police and prosecutors.

    “As a public defender, every day I fight for the rights of those who face the combined weight of the police, prosecutors, and even some judges,” Noakes said. “In that fight, I have no fear.”

    In his campaign launch, Noakes cast himself as a defender of democratic values, invoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and warning those rights are being eroded under President Donald Trump.

    “We saw what happened with Jimmy Kimmel,” he said in a video announcement of his candidacy, referring to the comedian’s show being pulled after pressure from Trump’s administration. “We know how this administration is treating people who are not Christian nationalists. This is a country where people have different religions and worship differently, and that right must be preserved.”

    Noakes said voters deserve an attorney general who will fight against the Trump administration’s attack on constitutional rights. The Trump administration, he said, is deliberately stoking fear. 

    “This administration intends fully to strike fear into the everyday lives of people, whether it’s a farmer, whether it’s an immigrant, or whether it’s even somebody such as Jim Comey, the former FBI director” who was indicted last week, he said. “It’s time we put a stop to this. That’s what I intend to do.”

    He added: “I’ve never looked for a fight, but I certainly have never turned away from one. I do not believe that we can simply say, ‘Oh, this will pass.’ It will not pass unless we make it happen.”

    Noakes’ wide-ranging career includes serving as a captain and judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force, with assignments in Korea, Belgium, and the Pentagon. He later worked on General Motors’ legal staff, became a partner in two Detroit-area law firms, and served as Wayne County’s deputy corporation counsel, where he successfully sued the state to renovate the Davison Freeway. In 1998, he joined the independent counsel’s office that prosecuted former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy for corruption.

    He has also taught at the University of Chicago Law School, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Southern Methodist University, and Grand Valley State University. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and holds a master’s and law degree from the University of Chicago.

    Noakes cast his candidacy as a fight for Michigan residents who feel their freedoms are under siege. 

    “It’s not just a race for me,” he said. “It’s a race for all of us.”

    Democrats will select their candidate for attorney general at the party’s convention in 2026. That sets up an inside battle for support among activists and party loyalists.


    Steve Neavling

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  • Sterling Heights cops to stand trial after violent arrest of Black man captured on disturbing video – Detroit Metro Times

    Two Sterling Heights cops accused of brutally beating a Black man and siccing a police dog on him during his arrest in February 2024 have been ordered to stand trial in Macomb County Circuit Court.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that officers James Sribniak, 31, and Jack Currie, 29, were bound over on felony charges Friday stemming from the pursuit and arrest of Garry Young, 36, after a domestic violence call.

    Sribniak was charged with one count each of misconduct in office and felonious assault. He faces up to five years in prison. 

    Currie was charged with misconduct in office and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a 10-year felony.

    The charges are tied to a pursuit that began when Young fled a traffic stop and led officers on a 13-mile chase through Sterling Heights and Roseville, police said. The chase reached speeds of 90 mph and ended when Young crashed his vehicle near I-94.

    Body camera and dash camera footage released by Sterling Heights police shows officers swarming Young after the crash. He is repeatedly bitten by a police dog while on the ground, tased as he shouts in pain, and punched multiple times in the face. At one point, an officer is seen kicking him in the head.

    Police captions in the video say Young was intoxicated at twice the legal limit and had attempted to run over an officer during the pursuit. He was accused of assaulting a woman and choking a youth before fleeing police.

    Young suffered bruises across his body. He faces separate charges of domestic violence, fleeing police, resisting officers, and operating with a suspended license.

    The case has fueled criticism of the Sterling Heights Police Department, and the footage is yet another reminder of the long-standing concerns about police accountability in Macomb County, particularly in cases where suspects are already restrained or surrounded.

    Two Sterling Heights officers were placed on administrative leave after the arrest. The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident before prosecutors filed charges in October 2024.

    “We expect police officers to exercise sound and professional judgment, especially when making the serious decision to deploy a K9,” Nessel said. “I am glad this case has finally moved forward to trial and look forward to presenting our case in court.” 

    When announcing the charges in October 2024, Nessel called the canine “horrific” and “illegal.”

    “K9 assistance can be a valuable tool for law enforcement but must be deployed with good judgment,” Nessel said. “K9 Officers are rigorously trained in the proper use of police dogs and should be held to the highest standards of conduct. We should be able to trust them to not deploy a dog as an unnecessary and unlawful punitive measure to brutally attack a human being. In this incident, deploying a K9 on a suspect already on the ground and well-surrounded by officers is not only horrific but illegal. My office remains committed to thoroughly investigating and prosecuting police misconduct.” 

    Sribniak and Currie are scheduled for their next court appearance on Oct. 6 in Macomb County Circuit Court.

    The charges against Sribniak and Currie add to a growing list of misconduct cases involving cops in Macomb County in recent years:


    Steve Neavling

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  • State AG urged to investigate how popular Detroit Democrat avoided mandatory jail time for third DUI

    AP Photo/Paul Sancya

    Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is under fire for her office’s handling of a third drunk driving case against Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch.

    Local activist Robert Davis is calling on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate how Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch dodged a mandatory jail sentence after pleading guilty to his third drunk driving offense in 2005.

    In a letter sent Thursday to Nessel’s office, Davis argued that the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office “blatantly failed” to enforce a plea agreement that required Kinloch to serve 30 days in jail in 2005. Instead, Kinloch was released from six months of non-reporting probation in early 2006 without serving the mandatory time.

    “The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office’s blatant failure to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement constitutes misconduct,” Davis wrote. “The Attorney General must investigate and take supervisory control due to misconduct committed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Kinloch’s felony DUI case.”

    Davis pointed to court records showing that then-Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans approved a probation officer’s unusual request to discharge Kinloch early and eliminate his 30-day jail requirement. When the prosecutor’s office belatedly sought to enforce the sentence in 2007, Evans granted the request. But no one followed through, and Kinloch never went to jail.

    “Despite Judge Evans’ January 9, 2008 Opinion and Order GRANTING the Wayne County Prosecutor’s motion to enforce the sentencing agreement, since that order’s entry, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has NEVER sought to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement that required Mr. Kinloch to serve 30-days in the Wayne County Jail,” Davis wrote.

    In a statement to Metro Times on Friday, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Maria Miller said, “Prosecutor [Kym] Worthy will not dignify the request with a response.”

    A spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Friday that the case is best handled by Wayne County prosecutors unless Davis files a former complaint that alleges criminal wrongdoing.

    “As this matter was handled by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, I must refer you to that office for further insights into the handling of this case,” AG spokesperson Danny Wimmer said. “If Mr. Davis intends to allege specific criminal wrongdoing, I believe he is aware of the process to formally file a criminal complaint with this department.”

    The case resurfaced last month when Metro Times reported that Kinloch, a powerful Detroit Democrat, never served jail time. Prosecutors at the time acknowledged the problem but let the issue quietly drop after media scrutiny faded.

    In the letter, Davis noted that then-Assistant Prosecutors Paul Bernier and Jeffrey Caminsky urged Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda R. Evans to enforce the jail sentence. It’s unclear what became of those requests, and Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Bernier or Caminsky.

    Kinloch, 56, has long been a fixture in Detroit politics. He was appointed to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners in 2021 and won a four-year term the following year. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan named him to the Board of Water Commissioners in 2018, a position he still holds. He also serves as chairman of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, is vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and heads the Democratic Party’s 13th Congressional District. Over the years he has also sat on the Wayne County Housing Commission, the Detroit Library Commission, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, and the county’s planning and development department.

    Kinloch is also the brother of Solomon Kinoch, pastor of Triumph Church, who is running for mayor in the general election against City Council President Mary Sheffield.

    In an interview last month, Kinloch told Metro Times he pulled no strings and that the probation department recommended his release from jail.

    “It was a scary time, and it was 20 years ago, and I did everything the court required of me,” Kinloch said.

    In his letter to the AG’s office, Davis alleged “Kinloch has bragged openly about how his political connections and influence allowed him not to serve the mandatory 30-day jail sentence.”

    Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Kinloch for a response.

    Davis recently sued Detroit police and Wayne County prosecutors after both failed to timely disclose records about the case under the Freedom of Information Act.

    Last month, a Detroit man alleged wrongdoing after prosecutors dismissed a case against a woman accused of falsely accusing her daughter’s father of molesting her child. The ex-partner, Taylor Clark, is the granddaughter of retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway, whose cousin Richard Hathaway is the chief assistant at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Clark lives with Michael Hathaway in a luxury apartment in Royal Oak, according to court records. She has resided with the former judge since she was 15, according to her ex-partner, who asked not to be identified because of the severity of the allegations that Clark leveled against him.

    Worthy said she had been unaware of the allegations and would recuse her office from the case. But she denied that any of the Hathaways were involved in dismissing the case.

    Steve Neavling

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  • Tlaib slams Nessel for targeting pro-Palestinian students at U-M: ‘A dangerous precedent’

    Tlaib slams Nessel for targeting pro-Palestinian students at U-M: ‘A dangerous precedent’

    click to enlarge

    Shutterstock

    U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib delivered a speech in Dearborn in February, urging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the presidential primary election to protest President Joe Biden’s support of Israel.

    U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib sharply criticized Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for filing charges against pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan on Thursday, saying her harsh actions could ruin the lives of bright, young students and set a dangerous precedent for peaceful protests.

    Tlaib, who was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrants and is the only Palestinian American member of Congress, condemned the charges as an unjust and heavy-handed response to peaceful civil disobedience.

    “This is a move that’s going to set a precedent, and it’s unfortunate that a Democrat made that move,” Tlaib said in an exclusive interview with Metro Times on Friday. “You would expect that from a Republican, but not a Democrat, and it’s really unfortunate.”

    A student protest encampment, which was established in April, grew to include about 60 tents and was intended to draw attention to Israel’s ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The attacks started after Oct. 7, when Hamas in Gaza killed more than 1,000 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages. Israel’s U.S.-backed retaliation has killed more than 40,000 people, many of them women and children.

    The students called for a ceasefire truce and also demanded the university divest from corporations linked to Israel. Despite multiple meetings between student liaisons and the university, the encampment remained in place, leading to police action on May 21.

    Most of those charged are alumni and students who refused to vacate the encampment after police ordered them to leave.

    Two people were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, for refusing to leave the encampment after repeated orders to vacate. An additional seven were charged with trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. These charges are reserved for those who allegedly made physical contact with officers or obstructed arrests, Nessel said.

    In addition, two people, including a U-M alumnus, have been charged for separate incidents during a counter-protest on April 25. One is charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation, while the other faces charges of malicious destruction of personal property for allegedly breaking and discarding protestors’ flags.

    Tlaib recalled her visit to the encampment and described the atmosphere as peaceful and welcoming.

    “It was very inclusive. It was diverse, very loving,” Tlaib, a Detroit Democrat, says. “When I visited, I remember they were talking about the Armenian genocide, and what we learned from that — it was very powerful. I wish [University of Michigan] President [Santa] Ono could see his students as people that just want to save lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity.”

    click to enlarge Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan. - Doug Coombe

    Doug Coombe

    Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan.

    Tlaib also criticized Nessel, who is the first Jewish person elected Attorney General of Michigan, for what she believes is a biased approach to the protest.

    “We’ve had the right to dissent, the right to protest,” Tlaib says. “We’ve done it for climate, the immigrant rights movement, for Black lives, and even around issues of injustice among water shutoffs. But it seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs.”

    In a statement announcing the charges, Nessel said the protesters should be held accountable.

    “Conviction in your ideals is not an excuse for violations of the law,” Nessel said. “A campus should not be lawless; what is a crime anywhere else in the city remains a crime on university property.”

    The charges are likely to have a devastating impact on the lives of the young protesters, Tlaib says.

    “It’s devastating because I just hope people don’t forget these are young folks,” she says. “Many of them remind me of my own self who wanted to free our world from oppression. I just know that her action is going to ruin their lives. That’s all I can think of. They’re so young, and they have such a tremendous future.”

    Tlaib accused Nessel of caving to demands to prosecute from university authorities, including Ono and members of the Board of Regents, pointing out that Washtenaw County prosecutors could have filed charges but didn’t. In May, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit brought charges against four people for allegedly resisting, obstructing, and assaulting police during a protest at the U-M Ruthven Administration Building on Nov. 17. But no other charges have been filed on the county level since then.

    “I think people at the University of Michigan put pressure on her to do this, and she fell for it,” Tlaib says. “I think President Ono and Board of Regent members were very much heavy-handed in this. It had to come from somewhere.”

    The congresswoman lamented the long-term impact of the university’s actions.

    “In 10 years, the University of Michigan itself is going to teach about this movement and say how wonderful it was, or how it moved our country toward a direction that it needed to, following international law and human rights laws and our own U.S. laws,” Tlaib says. “Yet people are going to write about how the University of Michigan decided to prosecute, criminalize, and vilify their students when they just did everything that they were taught to do.”

    Tlaib’s remarks highlight the ongoing tension between university administration, law enforcement, and student activists, as well as the broader implications for free speech and the right to protest in the United States.

    “Shame on President Ono and the University of Michigan leadership for enabling this,” Tlaib said. “True leadership, especially in positions of public service, is bringing communities together and having a dialogue. Instead, they’re using their political positions to divide the student population and really make everyone feel unsafe on campus and feel unseen and unheard.”

    Steve Neavling

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  • AG Nessel charges 11 over pro-Palestinian demonstrations at University of Michigan

    AG Nessel charges 11 over pro-Palestinian demonstrations at University of Michigan

    click to enlarge

    Doug Coombe

    A collective of student groups that calls itself the Tahrir Coalition organized a protest encampment on the University of Michigan Diag with the aim of convincing officials to divest $6 billion from companies tied to Israel.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that she is filing criminal charges against nine people involved in a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

    Most of those charged are alumni and students who refused to vacate the encampment on May 21 after police ordered them to leave.

    In addition, two people, including a U-M alumnus, have been charged for separate incidents during a counter-protest on April 25. One is charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation, while the other faces charges of malicious destruction of personal property for allegedly breaking and discarding protestors’ flags.

    Two people have been charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, for refusing to leave the encampment after repeated lawful orders.

    An additional seven people face charges of trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. These charges are reserved for those who allegedly made physical contact with officers or obstructed arrests.

    The charges follow an extensive examination of evidence that included body-worn camera footage, police reports, communications between university officials and local authorities, and various university policies and bylaws. The Solicitor General Division also evaluated all charges for potential First Amendment violations.

    Following the review, the Attorney General’s Office declined to prosecute protesters involved in two specific incidents: the Honors Convocation on March 25 at Hill Auditorium and the protest outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art on April 22. However, the investigation into incidents at the homes of U-M Regents remains ongoing.

    The charges announced Thursday stem from protest activities on the Diag, a central park area on the U-M campus, where demonstrators established an encampment in April. The encampment, which grew to approximately 60 tents, raised significant safety concerns, including fire hazards and blocked egress paths, according to the U-M fire marshal. Despite multiple meetings between university officials and student liaisons, the encampment remained in place, prompting the university to request police assistance to clear the area.

    At 5:38 a.m. on May 21, police issued a dispersal order, giving demonstrators 10 minutes to vacate the area. When the order was ignored, police moved in, encountering resistance from several demonstrators who placed and threw objects to block the officers’ path, according to Nessel. During the operation, some demonstrators physically obstructed the police.

    But protesters countered that police used excessive force. Officers dressed in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to drive protesters back from the encampment before tossing tents, supplies, and students’ belongings into trash containers.

    A similar clash occurred at an encampment at Wayne State University in Detroit on May 30.

    “There were dozens of demonstrators in this encampment that morning who promptly obeyed the officers on the scene and dispersed,” Nessel said. “For those who did not, trespassing is a 30-day misdemeanor. In this case, we charged only those who made an effort to impede the officers clearing the encampment. Resisting or Obstructing is a much more serious offense, and for the seven demonstrators we have charged with that felony, we allege that every one of them physically placed their hands or bodies against police who were conducting their duty to clear the hazardous encampment, or physically obstructed an arrest.”

    Nessel emphasized that while the right to free speech and assembly is protected under the First Amendment, illegal activities will not be tolerated.

    “Conviction in your ideals is not an excuse for violations of the law,” Nessel said. “A campus should not be lawless; what is a crime anywhere else in the city remains a crime on university property.”

    Charges were filed Wednesday in 15th District Court in Washtenaw County, though none of the defendants have yet been arraigned, as of Thursday morning.

    Steve Neavling

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  • Pro-Trump Michigan attorney loses spectacularly in yet another courtroom drama

    Pro-Trump Michigan attorney loses spectacularly in yet another courtroom drama

    Michigan “Kraken” lawyer Stefanie Lambert, who unsuccessfully tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Michigan and was later charged with improperly accessing voting equipment, has lost yet another court battle in her quest to prove baseless claims about voter fraud in the state.

    Macomb County Circuit Judge Edward A. Servitto dismissed Lambert’s request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain election records from local clerks that contain sensitive information, including voter history extract files from electronic pollbooks. Her legal claims are baseless, the judge ruled.

    Last summer, Lambert sued 16 cities and townships, along with their clerks, to force them to disclose the information as she continued to peddle false conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud.

    Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson instructed the clerks to deny the FOIA requests based on exemptions in the public records law. Benson asked the clerks to redirect the FOIA request to her department, which could provide the information without the sensitive data.

    Arguing the information from the clerks contained proprietary information and sensitive voter data, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of Benson.

    In addition to dismissing the case, Servitto rejected Lambert’s argument that Benson lacked the authority to instruct the local clerks to deny the requests.

    “I am grateful that the Court reaffirmed Secretary Benson’s authority to safeguard Michigan election records and to provide public data without compromising private, sensitive information,” Nessel said. “My office will always protect election security against those who have a blatant disregard for voter privacy.”

    Lambert, a lawyer from South Lyon, has worked on lawsuits alleging “massive election fraud.” She also teamed up with disgraced Texas attorney Sidney Powell, who described her legal actions as releasing the “Kraken.”

    Lambert was arrested in Washington D.C. in March after she failed to appear at a hearing involving felony charges of improperly accessing voting equipment in her quest to prove her baseless claim that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. She is facing two different sets of criminal charges in connection with allegedly mishandling voting equipment.

    Metro Times couldn’t reach Lambert for comment.

    Steve Neavling

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  • State AG Nessel joins legal battle against TurboTax’s ‘free’ filing ruse

    State AG Nessel joins legal battle against TurboTax’s ‘free’ filing ruse

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in backing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order aimed at halting deceptive advertising practices by Intuit, the maker of TurboTax.

    The order targets Intuit’s “misleading promotion” that falsely claims its preparation software is free when, in reality, most consumers end up paying for the service.

    In the ongoing case of Intuit v. FTC, the attorneys general have filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the commission’s order and dismiss Intuit’s appeal.

    “Too many Americans have suffered unnecessary financial losses as a result of Intuit’s deceptive practices, especially low-income families and veterans who were otherwise eligible for free filing services elsewhere,” Nessel said in a news release Wednesday. “I stand firmly with my colleagues in urging the court to uphold the FTC’s decision. We must hold corporations like Intuit responsible for deceptive and misleading advertisements.”

    A few years ago, I was lured into using TurboTax when I saw an advertisement claiming it was free. But after spending more than a half hour filling out the electronic form, TurboTax demanded money for its services.

    I felt conned. Since I had already filled out the form, I was on the verge of paying the fee and chalking it up to a lesson learned. But I decided the principle was more important and used another service that acknowledged up front that a fee was involved.

    The actions by the attorneys general followed a significant settlement in 2022, when a coalition of 50 states and the District of Columbia settled for $141 million over the company’s deceptive marketing and advertising.

    In 2023, the commission issued an order requiring Intuit to stop advertising products as free unless there is no cost to all consumers. The company appealed the decision and is seeking to overturn the FTC’s cease-and-desist order.

    As a result of the deceptive advertising, millions of Americans, especially low-income taxpayers and military families, have been harmed, the attorneys general claim. The brief details how Intuit allegedly manipulated search results to entice consumers into paying for tax preparation software, even when they were eligible to file their taxes for free. Many TurboTax customers ended up paying for services they should have received for free.

    The other states involved in the legal action are Illinois, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia.

    Steve Neavling

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  • Ex-Michigan police chief sentenced up to 20 years in prison for stealing drugs

    Ex-Michigan police chief sentenced up to 20 years in prison for stealing drugs

    A former Michigan police chief who was charged with stealing narcotics from her department and planning to sell them was sentenced on Monday to 40 months to 20 years in prison.

    Tressa Beltran was chief of the Hartford Police Department when she stole the drugs in 2022.

    Beltran retired in January 2023 and was charged in May 2023.

    “Today’s sentence delivered a clear message that no one is above the law,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office filed the charges, said in a written statement. “I commend the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office for their diligent investigative efforts that led to the removal of Ms. Beltran from her position as police chief, ensuring she could no longer jeopardize public health. My office will continue to pursue public integrity and hold accountable those who abuse their positions of power.”

    In April, Beltran admitted she had drugs with the intent of delivering them and said she used a computer to arrange the delivery. She pleaded guilty to one count each of delivery or possession with the intent to deliver less than 50 grams of a controlled substance and use of a computer to commit a crime.

    Beltran also is prohibited from serving in law enforcement again.

    Detectives from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Beltran after receiving several tips in the summer of 2022 that she was stealing drugs from a disposal box at the police department. As part of the investigation, detectives marked two bottles of hydrocodone, an addictive painkiller, in the drug disposal box and found that some of the pills went missing.

    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan AG supports Metro Times lawsuit for police records in amicus brief

    Michigan AG supports Metro Times lawsuit for police records in amicus brief

    Courtesy photo

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

    Attorney General Dana Nessel has weighed in on a lawsuit filed on behalf of Metro Times requesting Michigan State Police to release the identities of all current and former officers, information sought as part of a project to create a national database tracking police misconduct.

    Nessel offered her support in the form of an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief, in which an individual or organization not party to a legal case weighs in with insights or expertise.

    In a motion filed Wednesday in Michigan’s Court of Claims, Nessel argues as “the chief law enforcement officer of the State” that MSP should release the names in the interest of transparency and accountability.

    “Our State — like all states — gives a great deal of power to law enforcement officers — and not just a great amount of power, but indeed a monopoly on such power,” Nessel writes, adding, “But it is an axiom of human nature that giving some people power over others entails a risk that this power will be abused. And to this end, our laws generally require that those who wield governmental power do their work in the sunlight.”

    Since the Department of Attorney General also represents the Michigan State Police in the lawsuit, the Department erected a conflict wall within the office to allow Nessel to take the contrary position.

    Pointing out that the identities of private sector workers who are granted a license from the government — whether plumbers or attorneys — are routinely made public, Nessel argues that police officers must be held to the same standard.

    “Making these names public serves goals of transparency, accountability, and protection of the public,” she writes. “Not only does it promote accountability among those who are licensed, it also protects the public from those who are not licensed in good standing.”

    In January 2023, Metro Times and the Invisible Institute requested the names of all certified and uncertified officers in Michigan, along with information about their employment history. The information is held by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), which is housed within the MSP.

    But in March 2023, MSP declined to provide the identities of the officers, arguing “the public disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy” that “would endanger the life and safety of the law enforcement officers and their families.”

    The lawsuit to release the data was filed in November in the Michigan Court of Claims by the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative on behalf of Metro Times and Chicago-based nonprofit the Invisible Institute. MSP then filed a motion to dismiss the case.

    In her brief, Nessel argues that “MSP has not made the required showing to justify withholding all names,” “has failed to show that disclosure of the requested records would endanger the safety of law enforcement officers,” and that refusing to release the names runs counter to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. The brief argues the Court should deny MSP’s motion to dismiss.

    The refusal of MSP to release names makes it an outlier. At least 34 states have disclosed at least the names of certified officers to a coalition of news organizations as part of the national database project.

    The Metro Times lawsuit was filed in support of its reporting on the full scope and impact of “wandering officers” in Michigan.

    Last year, Metro Times launched an ongoing series about wandering cops in Michigan, which are officers who move from department to department amid allegations of misconduct. The problem has become more serious as police departments are pressured to lower their standards in the face of an officer shortage.

    In October 2023, Metro Times revealed that the Detroit and Eastpointe police departments violated a 2017 law intended to prevent wandering officers by enabling a disgraced former cop to get a new job. Former Detroit cop Kairy Roberts landed the new job in Eastpointe last year, despite an internal investigation that found he had punched an unarmed man in the face in Greektown, failed to provide medical aid, and then lied about the encounter in August 2021.

    In March, Metro Times showed that a Warren cop who retired while under investigation ended up at the Romeo Police Department, where he was fired after allegedly getting payback on a former boss by ticketing him for traffic offenses. The traffic tickets were later dismissed, and the stop led to a lawsuit.

    Also in March, Metro Times revealed that the Warren Police Department offered to hide the details of an internal affairs investigation if a top-ranking official agreed to resign.

    Both stories in March led to ongoing state investigations.

    The full amicus brief is below.

    Lee DeVito

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  • Nessel moves to toss lawsuit by hair salon that said trans people should go to ‘pet groomer’

    Nessel moves to toss lawsuit by hair salon that said trans people should go to ‘pet groomer’

    click to enlarge

    Shutterstock

    Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City sued the state, saying it has the right to discriminate against people based on their gender identity

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging a court to toss out a lawsuit filed by a transphobic hair salon that claims it has the right to discriminate against people based on their gender identity.

    Nessel, on behalf of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Studio 8 Hair Lab after it said that transgender people are not welcome and should get their haircut at “a pet groomer.”

    The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which is operated by MDCR, charged the salon with discrimination in November for advertising that it refused to serve transgender people.

    A month later, Studio 8 responded by filing a First Amendment complaint in Grand Traverse Circuit Court, alleging the MDCR infringed on its religious beliefs and right to free speech.

    In her motion Tuesday, Nessel argues that the circuit court has no jurisdiction over the case, and only the Michigan Court of Claims can hear cases against the state and its departments.

    “Under Michigan law, religious freedoms are taken into consideration under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act when assessing discrimination claims,” Nessel said in a statement Wednesday. “Our state’s residents can rest assured that Michigan’s recently enacted protections for the LGBTQ+ community will be enforced to the fullest extent as the constitution permits. The Circuit Court has no discretion but to dismiss Studio 8’s claims against the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.”

    Salon owner Christine Geiger tells Metro Times that she disagrees with Nessel’s interpretation of the law.

    “The U.S. Supreme Court has said that courts decide first before agencies,” Geiger says.

    Asked how the salon was doing after being thrust into the media spotlight, Geiger responds, “Fine,” and declined further comment.

    In October, Geiger filed a lawsuit in Traverse City Circuit Court against Traverse City and three residents who filed a complaint against her salon, alleging they violated her “sincerely held religious understanding that God created a man and a woman and that any other conception of a man and a woman violates God’s plan.”

    In December, Geiger added MDCR to the lawsuit in an attempt to challenge a part of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

    In her motion to dismiss, Nessel said the salon was attempting “to derail administrative proceedings initiated against Studio 8 by MDCR and to retaliate against the individuals who exercised their right to file complaints against the studio under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.”

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    Steve Neavling

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