SADO and MAACS Attorneys to Argue before Michigan Supreme Court at November 2020 Session

Arguments Scheduled November 10 & 12
SADO’s Jason Eggert and MAACS roster attorneys William Branch, Michael Horowitz, and Amanda Rice will present arguments to the Michigan Supreme Court at its November 2020 session on issues including the definition of “willful abandonment” in MCL 750.136b (People v Dane Krukowski), other-acts evidence and “striking similarity” (People v Dexter Taylor), reasonable suspicion of intoxication for a traffic stop (People v Victoria Pagano), and the application of Miller and Montgomery to 18-year-old defendants (People v Robin Manning).

Jason Eggert (SADO) will argue for the defendant in the MOAA case People v Dane Krukowski, Docket No. 160623, in which the Court directed the parties to address: (1) whether there is sufficient evidence for a rational juror to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants committed the offense of second-degree child abuse, MCL 750.136b(3)(a) and MCL 750.136b(3)(b); and (2) whether the phrase “willful abandonment” in MCL 750.136b(1)(c) encompasses a parent’s failure to timely seek professional medical care for his or her child. The case is set for argument at the morning session on November 10, 2020.

William Branch (MAACS) will argue for the defendant in the MOAA case People v Dexter Taylor, Docket No. 159612, in which the Court directed the parties to address: (1) whether the other-acts evidence offered to show a common plan, scheme, or system contained a “striking similarity” to the charged act as required by People v Denson, 500 Mich 385, 403 (2017); (2) whether the other-acts evidence was admissible under the “doctrine of chances,” see People v Mardlin, 487 Mich 609, 616-617 (2010); and(3) if the evidence was not offered for a proper purpose, whether its admission was harmless. The case is set for argument at the morning session on November 10, 2020.

Michael Horowitz (MAACS) will argue for the defendant in the calendar case People v Victoria Pagano, Docket No. 159981, in which the court directed the parties to address whether the 911 call relayed to the police provided reasonable suspicion that defendant was intoxicated so as to justify the stop of her vehicle. The case is set for argument at the morning session on November 10, 2020.

Amanda Rice (MAACS) will argue for the defendant in the MOAA case People v Robin Manning, Docket No. 160034, in which the Court directed the parties to address: (1) whether the defendant’s successive motion for relief from judgment is “based on a retroactive change in law,” MCR 6.502(G)(2), where the law relied upon does not automatically entitle him to relief; and (2) if so, whether the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Miller v Alabama, 567 US 460 (2012), and Montgomery v Louisiana, 136 S Ct 718 (2016), should be applied to 18 year old defendants convicted of murder and sentenced to mandatory life without parole, under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Const 1963, art 1, § 16, or both. The case is set for argument at the morning session on November 12, 2020.

The Supreme Court’s case summaries and the briefs filed by the parties are available at https://courts.michigan.gov/courts/michigansupremecourt/oral-arguments/pages/default.aspx

Watch live streaming arguments at https://courts.michigan.gov/courts/michigansupremecourt/oral-arguments/live-streaming/pages/live-streaming.aspx