This past week, Jonathan Hastings resigned from Jackson Public Schools amid allegations that he was engaging in illegal activity with a student who is believed to be 17 years old.  It appears that Mr. Hastings was charged with Using a Computer to Commit a Crime and Promoting or Distributing Child Sexually abusive activity.  It is the latter of the two charges that carries a life changing penalty.  He could face a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison (but, given his lack of...

Michigan has just a handful of statutes that permit an individual from leaving the criminal justice systems unscathed--absent an acquital or dismissal.  HYTA, or Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, has been discussed in detail here. The other is MCL 333.7411 which applies strictly to possession of certain controlled substances.  The third is the delayed sentence statute.  After a plea of guilty or a guilty verdict the court may delay the sentence for not more than 1 year to give the...

In a unanimous decision from the United States Supreme Court, the nation's highest court has addressed whether liftime electronic monitoring of an individual convicted of committing crimes of a sexual nature is a violation of the fourth amendment.  In Grady v North Carolina, Mr. Grady was ordered by a North Carolina Court to wear a GPS tether to monitor his locations while on probation for his convictions.  Mr. Grady objected to the condition that he wear the tether citing fourth...

Convicted sex offenders who qualify under the Sex Offenders Registration Act (Act 295 of 1994), are listed on the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry (“Registry”). The Registry includes an offender's offense, photo, a physical description, the offender's last reported address, whether the offender is enrolled at a post secondary school, employment address, vehicle information, and any known aliases.

The length of time an offender remains on the registry depends on which Tier...