I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Attorney General Mike Cox has joined with other Attorneys General around the country to file a brief (PDF) in a Supreme Court case arguing that prisoners convicted of a crime do not have a due process right to have access to DNA evidence for testing that could prove their innocence. The case is District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne.
This is an extraordinarily important case. William Osborne was convicted of the 1993 rape and kidnapping of a prostitute and sentenced to 26 years in prison in Alaska. On appeal, the state courts ruled that Osborne had no due process right to access DNA evidence in the case for testing that might prove his innocence, even if he paid for the test at his own expense. Alaska law does not have any provision allowing such access.
That prompted the current federal lawsuit. The district court ruled against Osborne but the appeals court reversed that decision, saying, “[respondent's] right to due process of law prohibits the State from denying him reasonable access to biological evidence for the purpose of further DNA testing.” The prosecutor in the case then appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which granted the cert petition and will hear oral argument in the case on March 2.
A large group of Attorneys General filed a brief arguing that the federal court should not recognize a constitutional right to access evidence that could prove their innocence once they’ve been convicted of a crime. The brief argues that the law in most states already provides for such access “in truly meritorious cases but not in the many others where DNA testing would be a pointless and
wasteful exercise.”
In this case, however, the cost to the state would be nil. The prisoner is only asking for access to the evidence, the testing will not be paid for by the state. When he was convicted, modern techniques of DNA testing were not available and even the prosecutor in the case admits that such testing might prove Osborne’s innocence.
That Cox would join in a legal argument to deny access to evidence that could prove that an innocent man has been sentenced to spend much of life in prison is appalling. Equally appalling is the fact that the Obama administration will be taking that same position during oral argument next week. Justice demands that their position be rejected by the court.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter