Militia members lose appeal in lawsuit tied to FBI probe
DETROIT (AP) — Three members of a southern Michigan militia acquitted during a high-profile trial have failed to persuade an appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit against federal investigators.
Mike Meeks, Thomas Piatek and David Stone Jr. say FBI agents violated their constitutional rights during the investigation, which led to charges in 2010. But the appeals court on Tuesday agreed with a Detroit federal judge and upheld dismissal of the lawsuit.
The court says the threshold to show that officials clearly violated constitutional rights is very high. Some family members also sued.
Meeks, Piatek, Stone and four other members of the Hutaree (hoo-TAR’-ee) militia were accused of conspiring to launch a violent rebellion against the government. Judge Victoria Roberts acquitted them in 2012 before jury deliberations.
Firm donates $100K to tackle backlog of untested rape kits
DETROIT (AP) — A Virginia-based social media firm has donated $100,000 to assist in the investigation of hundreds of Detroit-area rapes as the prosecutor’s office works to address a backlog of untested rape kits.
MOKO Social Media said in a news release that the donation will support the work of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who’s trying to bring justice to victims in cases resulting from more than 11,000 previously untested rape kits discovered in a Detroit Police Department storage locker in 2009.
As of last month, the prosecutor’s office had identified more than 1,130 suspects, including 255 possible serial rapists, and 15 convictions already have been secured.
“We are trying really hard to eradicate this issue, and we want people to have a re-established faith in the criminal justice system,” Worthy told the Detroit Free Press in an interview Monday. “Our main goal is to take care of these victims.”
MOKO Social Media’s donation, the largest single contribution since a private fundraising drive was launched in January to collect money to tackle the backlog of rape kits, will help the prosecutor’s office along its quest to investigate more than 600 cases, Worth said.
Wayne County Circuit Court and DMBA to celebrate Law Day
Wayne County Circuit Court and Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association will celebrate Law Day May 7. Approximately 300 students from Detroit high schools are expected to gather at Coleman A. Young Municipal Center where Mayor Mike Duggan will be the keynote speaker. There will be an essay contest and a mock oral argument raising a First Amendment issue over whether a school can prohibit a child from wearing an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ t-shirt. Groups of 30 students will present their arguments to one of the judges of the court.
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