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A Marijuana Microbusiness in Michigan is like a Microbrewery in the alcohol industry.  A Marijuana Microbusiness is an excellent opportunity to allow an entrepreneur to launch an integrated marijuana business where, as a licensee, you can grow, process, and sell your products to adults 21 years of age or older without depending on other suppliers.

This type of marijuana license opens opportunities to the individuals with a small business mindset to develop a unique product only available from a single microbusiness location.  An entrepreneur in this business segment could carve out a niche market and create a demand for a product that consumers are willing to drive the extra hour to obtain.  Marijuana Microbusiness is the perfect opportunity to differentiate your product from the products offered by the masses.

Do Michigan’s marijuana laws provide for a marijuana microbusiness?

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In the most basic terms, statutory rape means consensual sex with a minor child. Michigan does not actually call this “statutory rape” to describe this crime. Instead, Michigan’s rape laws use the phrase criminal sexual conduct as the term for statutory rape.

Michigan’s rape laws, which are sex crimes, are divided into four degrees of criminal sexual conduct. All four degrees can be triggered by the age of at least one of the actors, fitting the generic definition of statutory rape. Regardless of the degree of criminal sexual conduct, the basic idea of statutory rape is preserved under these laws, which is that an individual under the age of consent does not have the capacity to consent and, therefore, cannot give consent.

Thus, even if a person under Michigan’s age of consent is 100% willing and voluntarily agrees to engage in the sex act, they still cannot legally consent. In this instance, yes does not mean yes.

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Cyber-attacks in general are on the rise.  In 2020 we witnessed security breaches at Solarwinds, Twitter, and Marriott and many other businesses. But hackers are no longer just focusing on the big giants.  Today’s headlines include prominent law firms who are falling victim to cyber-attacks.  Recently, we saw Jones Day law firm on the defense of a cyber-attack.  Jones Day, who has many prominent clients including former President Donald Trump, had files stolen and posted on the dark web.  But Jones Day is not alone, many law firms lack strong cybersecurity programs, thus making them prime targets to cyber-attacks.

Today, bad actors continue to scope out new targets.  Law firms are an attractive target because of the sensitive data that they retain.  Many law firms have access to highly confidential corporate data in addition to sensitive individual personal data.   Law firms house highly sensitive information like financial data, corporate strategies, trade secrets, business transaction information, and other private information.  In all these cases, law firms have both a legal and ethical obligation to protect their client’s data.  As lawmakers attempt to enact legislation to protect consumer’s data, this ever changing legislative landscape is often difficult to maintain and implement.

Relying on in-house counsel or your IT department is not enough.  To ensure your law firm is ready for a data breach, it is critical to have a cybersecurity attorney on retainer.   IT security professionals are stretched thin.  Many outsourced IT resources have multiple clients that they service.  In an environment where we find a shortage of security expertise, recruitment and retainment of IT security staff is a challenge.  They are often difficult to find and if you are lucky to have a dedicated IT security professional, rarely do they understand the law.  State, local and sometimes international laws have specific legal requirements for the protection of private and privileged information, an IT team cannot manage on their own.

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If you have been charged with a violation under Chapter 110 of the United States code for possessing, receiving, distributing, or producing child pornography, then pursuant to 18 USC 18 U.S. Code § 2259, you are likely to be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the crime. The term “victim” refers to the individual who is harmed because of the child pornography related crime.

As a general concept, the purpose of restitution in a criminal case is two-fold.  Firstly, restitution is intended to make a person “whole” meaning reimburse them directly for losses suffered because of the crime committed. Secondly, restitution has a punitive function, it is intended to punish the wrongdoer for the crime.

If the crime involved the trafficking of child pornography, which in this context means a violation of 18 USC 2251(d), 2252, 2252A(a)(1) through (5), 2252A(g), then the specific law cited above applies. Under this law, the court is required to determine the full amount of losses that were actually incurred or that could be “reasonably projected.” Then, after this calculation, the court is required to order restitution in an amount that reflects the defendant’s “relative role” in causing the victims loses.  The minimum amount that must be ordered $3,000.

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A man charged with second degree Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) in Ann Arbor successfully avoided jail time and conviction on the charge as filed. The accused was originally arraigned on the CSC 2nd degree charge on July 29, 2020. The charge was a result of an investigation into a complaint from a 10-year-old girl who was under the care of the accused. The allegation was that the victim was touched in a sexual way by the accused while being cared for by the accused in the home of the accused.

What are the penalties for 2nd degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in Michigan?

The potential consequences for second degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in Michigan are severe. CSC 2 is a felony that cannot be expunged. If convicted, you could be sent to state prison for up to 15 years. A conviction also requires that the defendant registers as a sex offender under Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA). If the victim was less than 13 years old and the defendant was at least 17 years old, as in the case above, then the convicted defendant will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device for a lifetime. The convicted defendant must also pay for the cost of that monitoring device.

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Early in the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic Michigan’s Governor Whitmer promulgated a slew of executive orders that significantly reduced or eliminated the ability of Michigan’s citizens to work, travel, shop and engage in many leisure activities. The Governor’s orders were among the most restrictive in the Nation, earning her both praise and criticism locally and nationally.

Within Michigan, many protests followed, including a well-publicized armed protest in April 2020. No firearms arrests followed this protest, and many were surprised that Michigan law did not ban the open or concealed carrying of firearms at the State Capital.

To understand why no arrests were made, it is helpful to know that Michigan is an open-carry State, meaning that in many instances non-concealed firearms can be carried anywhere not otherwise precluded under Michigan Complied Laws §750.234d.  The laws pertaining to concealed carry are someone different, but the capital building is also not a prohibited place for concealed carry under Michigan Complied Laws § 28.425o.

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While no statistics are readily available to answer this question, anecdotal evidence suggests that human trafficking is more common in Oakland County Michigan than most people realize or want to admit. This contention is informed by a recent press announcement by Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald.

Ms. McDonald addressed the media when announcing a significant human trafficking bust in Madison Heights, a suburb of Detroit Michigan. During this press conference, Ms. McDonald indicated that her new administration had formed Oakland County’s first ever human trafficking unit. Furthermore, that under her administration, rather than assemble a special drug unit, her administration will focus on the identification, investigation, interdiction, and prosecution of those involved in human trafficking.

This public announcement comes days after Michigan’s Attorney General announced Michigan’s Human Trafficking Commission’s 2020 Annual Report.  This 20-page report, available online, explains the framework under which Michigan’s Human Trafficking Commission operates, and a summary of the Commission’s work in 2020.

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If you have been accused of a sex crime in Michigan, based on any one of the many sexual offenses contained in Michigan’s criminal laws involving sex assault, then you are probably wondering how to win your case or avoid the worse penalties including SORA registration and lengthy incarceration.

This is especially true if you’re facing false allegations, which unfortunately are common in the reporting of sex crimes. In Michigan allegations of sex crimes often come up in context of divorce. False memories can also sometimes result in false sex crimes allegations.

While there are many ways to obtain an optimal outcome, an important issue in sexual assault cases, or what Michigan broadly calls “criminal sexual conduct,” is to address the issue of force.

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The Superbowl has dominated the recent headlines, but an unfortunate story involving one of the Chiefs’ coaches, and the son of Head Coach Andy Reid, has also captured national attention.  Britt Reid was involved in a car accident wherein two young children were injured including one who is listed in serious life-threatening condition with a brain injury.

According to some initial Reports, the coach was driving onto an on-ramp and struck a disabled vehicle and then collided into a car that was providing assistance.  The accident resulted in the two minor children being seriously injured.

Mr. Reid admitted to drinking 2-3 alcoholic drinks prior to the accident, and a police report and warrant indicated a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages.  If there is evidence that alcohol may have been involved, then it is common that a warrant for a blood draw will be obtained.

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If someone calls the police to report a rape case in Michigan, it will immediately be taken very seriously. Police have a duty to thoroughly investigate claims of rape, known as “Criminal Sexual Conduct,” under Michigan law. If you’re being accused of rape, an experienced Michigan rape attorney will be able to take some of the unknown out of the situation and advise as to what will happen next and the best steps to take to avoid a criminal sexual conduct charge being filed.

Police Will First Meet with the Accuser

After the initial call to the police, the case will be assigned to a detective with sex crimes investigative training and experience. The detective will ask the accuser to meet- usually at the accuser’s home or at the police department- to discuss the claim in person. The detective will want to obtain the “who, what, where, and when” of the claim. Who did it? Who else was there? What exactly happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen?

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280 N Old Woodward Ave #200
Birmingham, MI 48009
Phone: 248-306-9158
2155 Butterfield Dr #305A
Troy, MI 48084
Phone: 248-306-9158
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Clarkston, MI 48346
Phone: 248-306-9158
Federal Eastern District Court for Michigan has courthouses located in Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron, and Bay City, whereas the Western District Court has courthouses located also in in Lansing, Kalamazoo and Marquette in Michigan's upper peninsula. View More

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