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“Public Scapegoat”: Michigan Pays Out $300,000 To Only Official Fired Over Flint, Michigan Water Crisis

JonathanTurley

Six years ago, I wrote a column questioning charges in the Flint Michigan lead tainted water case as having more of a political than legal basis. After the initial press coverage dissipated, prosecutors quietly settled for misdemeanor pleas with key defendants. Smith was also hit with criminal allegations.

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Michigan Man Convicted After Using Tickle Me Elmo in an Indecent Fashion

JonathanTurley

There is a bizarre case out of the Michigan where Kevin VanLuven, 60, was convicted of aggravated indecent exposure. Both charges are misdemeanors. We often discuss bizarre cases that push the limits of definitions under the criminal code. That itself is unfortunately not strange or rare. This is one such case.

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The ‘Assembly-Line’ Justice of Plea Bargaining

The Crime Report

In 1916, at a single Ford plant in Highland Park, Michigan, workers also reported almost 200 severed fingers and 75,000 other injuries. Around the same time, coincidentally, the American criminal justice system began leaning into a till-then rarely invoked practice called “plea bargaining.”. They welcome comments from readers.

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Penn State Professor Arrested for Alleged Sex Crimes with Dog

JonathanTurley

Notably, it appears from the charging sheet that he is facing fairly redundant charges but they all appear misdemeanors or lesser offenses. A summary charge is even lower than a misdemeanor and often involve non-traffic offenses. Presumably, these offenses would run concurrently given the overlap.