Trial Court Penalized Parent For Working Outside Home: Custody Order Must Be Reassessed
The trial court erroneously discounted the role of the parent who worked outside the home and, improperly ruled that the child only had an ECE with the stay-at-home parent.
Dad’s Use of Corporal Punishment Constituted Domestic Violence: Custody Properly Modified
A father’s use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary method constituted as domestic violence and, as a result, the trial court properly modified custody.
Social Workers Violated Fourth Amendment By Conducting In-School, Warrantless Interviews Of Children
Social workers who conducted in-school interviews of the plaintiffs’ children violated the plaintiffs’ 4th Amendment rights because the social workers did not have a “reasonable suspicion” of abuse.
Motion To Enforce Divorce Judgment Improperly Denied
A trial court wrongly held that the plaintiff’s motion to enforce the parties’ judgment of divorce was untimely and frivolous, and that it did not have the authority to consider the plaintiff’s motion.
L-GAL Removed For Overstepping Agreed-Upon Boundaries
The trial court’s order denying the plaintiff-father’s motion to remove the lawyer-guardian ad litem (L-GAL) from this custody case is reversed and the matter is remanded for an evidentiary hearing.
Trial Court Properly Awarded Mom Sole Custody, Continued Dad’s Supervised Visitation
The plaintiff-mother was properly awarded sole custody of the parties’ child and the defendant-father was correctly ordered to continue supervised parenting time.
Vaccination Is In Child’s Best Interests, Rules Michigan Court of Appeals
A trial court properly issued an order requiring that the parties’ child be vaccinated by a pediatrician and for the parties to select a new, mutually agreeable pediatrician for the child.
Trial Court’s Numerous Procedural Errors Were Harmless: Mom Loses Custody, Parenting Time
In this custody dispute, the trial court properly granted the plaintiff-father sole legal and physical custody of the children and awarded the defendant-mother no parenting time.
Defendant Acquitted After Retrial Not Entitled To Compensation From State
The Michigan SCT declined to hear the plaintiff’s appeal, thereby affirming that the plaintiff wasn’t entitled to compensation for the 9 years he spent in prison before being acquitted of sexual assault.
Police Interrogation Wrongly Admitted: Defendant Entitled To New Trial
A defendant convicted of criminal sexual conduct was entitled to a new trial because an unredacted recording of the defendant’s police interrogation was improperly admitted into evidence.
Mediator’s Failure To Inquire About Domestic Violence Did Not Negate Divorce Settlement
A settlement agreement signed by the parties in this divorce action was valid and enforceable, even though the mediator did not conduct any domestic violence screening.
Fees In Divorce Case Properly Denied: Not Pursued Within “Reasonable Time”
A plaintiff’s request for attorney fees was properly denied by the trial court because, by neglecting the issue for nearly two years, the plaintiff did not pursue the fees within a “reasonable time”.
Trial Court Correctly Granted Minor’s Petition To Change His Name
A 14-year-old’s petition to change his surname was properly granted by the trial court even though the statutory requirements for a name change were not met.
MSC: Trial Court Must Consider Guardianship For Children Under Age 10
A trial court must examine whether terminating a mother’s parental rights was in the best interests of each child – including whether a guardianship with the maternal grandmother is appropriate.
Biological Father Never Married To Child’s Mother Gets Custody and Visitation
After DNA testing showed the plaintiff was the biological father of the unmarried parties’ minor child, the trial court properly awarded the plaintiff joint legal custody of and parenting time with the child.
Trial Court Must Give Reason For Awarding Only Portion Of Requested Attorney Fees
A trial court abused its discretion by not articulating a reason for awarding only a portion of the attorney fees that appointed appellate counsel had requested.