SADO Attorneys to argue before the Michigan Supreme Court

December 10 & 11, 2025, Hall of Justice (Lansing, MI)

SADO’s Jessica Zimbelman, Emma Lawton, and Ali Wright will present argument before the Michigan Supreme Court on December 10 and 11, 2025, on issues including the retroactivity of People v Betts (2021), the interpretation of Offense Variable 15, and the effect of intoxication on the waiver of rights under Miranda v Arizona.

The cases are:

Jessica Zimbelman, People v Gary J. Shaver, Jr., MSC No. 167736 (COA No. 361488)

The Court directed the parties to address: “whether [the] Court’s decision in People v Betts, 507 Mich 527 (2021), applies retroactively to cases that have become final after the expiration of the period for direct review.”

Emma Lawton, People v Timothy Joseph Walker, MSC No. 166722 (COA No. 363199)

The Court directed the parties to address: “whether, when scoring Offense Variable (OV) 15 (aggravated controlled substance offenses) under either of the circumstances described in MCL 777.45(1)(h), a defendant may be properly assigned points only for the sentencing offense or whether the sentencing court may consider conduct that was part of the same offense and formed the basis of a charge that was dismissed as a result of a plea bargain. See People v Gray (After Remand), 297 Mich App 22 (2012), and People v McGraw, 484 Mich 120, 135 (2009).”

Ali Nathanial Wright, People v Zebadiah Joseph Soriano, MSC No. 167373 (COA No. 359165)

The Court directed the parties to address: “(1) whether the trial court clearly erred when it found that the defendant made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his rights under Miranda v Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966); (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied the defendant’s motion to suppress, see People v Cipriano, 431 Mich 315, 333-334 (1988); and (3) whether trial counsel was ineffective in failing to obtain an expert to address the defendant’s level of intoxication while in the hospital.”

Case briefs and related materials are available here. The arguments can be watched here.