Daily Briefs

State’s top court orders fresh look at Jackson murder case


JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered another look at the murder conviction of a man who says he was insane and affected by prescription drugs when he shot a man in Jackson County.

The case was sent back to the appeals court last week. The Supreme Court wants the appeals court to determine whether the testimony of a prosecution witness spoiled the 2013 trial for Michael Hamilton.

Rosemary Heise never evaluated Hamilton but told jurors that addicts will take extreme steps to get drugs.

Her job at the Jackson court was to determine whether people would benefit from drug treatment rather than jail. Heise isn’t a doctor or psychologist but was presented to Hamilton’s jury as an expert.

Hamilton is serving a life sentence for the death of Robert Marcyan.

 

New charge says ex-sports doc destroyed possible evidence
 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A former sports doctor at Michigan State University is accused of destroying possible evidence in the months before he was charged with possessing child pornography.

The charge was added Tuesday to Larry Nassar’s indictment in federal court in western Michigan.

Nassar had a clinic at Michigan State until late summer and is a former volunteer doctor with USA Gymnastics. Besides the child porn case, he’s charged in state court with assaulting a girl at his Lansing-area home.

Separately, he’s facing civil lawsuits from more than two dozen former athletes who say they were assaulted during treatments. Nassar has denied the allegations.

In the latest development, authorities allege that Nassar in September had all files destroyed on a laptop computer. He was charged in the child porn case in mid-December.

 

Last chance for jurors who failed to appear
 

The Third Circuit Court is offering jurors who failed to appear in 2016 one last chance to rectify that situation before Chief Judge Colombo issues an order to show cause for failing to appear for jury duty.

In 2016, the Court required 101,523 jurors to appear for jury service, and 22,255 jurors failed to report. During the month of February, these jurors may contact the Jury Services Department at (313) 224-5254 or (313) 224-5650 to schedule a new date to appear and avoid the risk of receiving a show cause order and being fined or jailed.

“Jury service is the purest form of government because jurors are not subject to political considerations or contributions, but rather decide the case based upon the evidence,” said Judge Colombo. “Jurors represent the thinking of the community. It is a service that should command the pride and pleasure of every citizen and should not be avoided.”

Jurors who have failed to appear should call the Court today and request to participate in the Last Chance Jury Service Process.

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