Law Offices of F. Martin Tieber

Transcription

1 Law Offices of F. Martin Tieber Potential Client Questionnaire PLEASE BE SURE TO FILL OUT BOTH SIDES, USING ADDITIONAL PAGES IF NECESSARY Return to: Law offices of F. Martin Tieber, 246 E. Saginaw Street, East Lansing, MI Address and phone number. If incarcerated provide prison # and location with complete institutional address: Charge convicted of and sentence length: County where convicted and trial court docket number: Date of conviction and date of sentence: Conviction by plea or trial? Include type (for pleas, guilty plea or nolo contendere and for trials, bench or jury?): If conviction by trial, indicate length of trial in days and, if known, total number of transcript pages: Was there a preliminary exam? If so, indicate length and number of transcript pages: Were there pre or post trial motion hearings in your case? If so, indicate length and number of transcript pages: Approximate number of pages in lower court record in your case, excluding transcripts noted above: Name of defense lawyer at trial and name of judge who sentenced you:

2 Did you appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals? If yes, provide Court of Appeals docket number, date of opinion or order concluding case and name of lawyer who represented you on appeal: Did you appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court? If yes, provide supreme court docket number, date of supreme court decision or order concluding case and name of lawyer who represented you on appeal: Have you filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal court? If so, provide docket number, date of final decision, indicate whether case was filed in eastern or western district, and provide name of attorney who represented you? Also note whether your case went on to the Sixth Circuit and, if so, provide pertinent dates and docket number: Did you ever file a motion for new trial or a motion for relief from judgment (MCR 6.500) in the trial court after conviction? If so, provide date of final decision and name of attorney who represented you: List any other appellate proceedings conducted in your case not outlined above and provide the information requested previously: Indicate whether you currently have the briefs, orders or opinions from the appellate court proceedings conducted in your case and provide a list of the items which you do have in your possession, including dates:

3 RESUME F. Martin Tieber 246 E. Saginaw Street East Lansing, MI TEL (517) FAX (517) EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND LAW SCHOOL UNDERGRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan Juris Doctor, August 1975 University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana B.A. English, May 1972 University of Detroit High School Detroit, Michigan Graduated, June 1968 STATE APPELLATE DEFENDER OFFICE EMPLOYMENT HISTORY December 1973-March, 1976 March 1976-August 1978 August 1978-October 2002 November, Present Student Researcher, Research Attorney Staff Attorney (Assistant Defender) Director, Lansing Office (Deputy Defender) Private Practice, Law Offices of F. Martin Tieber Position responsibilities at SADO from included 1/2 caseload, assisting with general administration of the entire agency (Detroit and Lansing), administration of the Lansing office and legislative/government liaison. Since 1976, I have represented clients in the United States Supreme Court as well as in the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. Following are some of the cases I have handled: MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS: People v Terry Burton, 74 Mich App 215 (1977); People v Adan, 83 Mich App 326 (1978); People v Hernandez, 84 Mich App 1 (1978); People v Florinchi, 84 Mich App 128 (1978); People v Graham, 84 Mich App 663 (1978); Resume of F. Martin Tieber Page 2

4 People v Ramon, 86 Mich App 113 (1978); People v Schuster, 86 Mich App 601 (1978); People v Kraai, 92 Mich App 398 (1979); People v Robert Haggart, 142 Mich App 330 (1985); People v McPeters, 181 Mich App 145 (1989); People v Moore, 189 Mich App 315 (1991). MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT: People v Rand, 397 Mich 638 (1977); People v Emil Kachar, 400 Mich 78 (1977); People v Dale Warner, 401 Mich 186 (1977); People v Richard Helzer, 404 Mich 410 (1978); People v Baldwin & Woolfolk, 405 Mich 550 (1979); People v Gardner, 406 Mich 369 (1979); People v Coles, 417 Mich 523 (1983). UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT: Fargo v Phillips, 129 F. Supp 2d 1075 (E.D. Mich. 2001). 6TH CIRCUIT: Charles v Anderson, 610 F2d 417 (6 th Cir. 1979); Haggart v Borgert, 869 F2d 1490 (6 th Cir. 1989); McGraw v Holland, 257 F.3d 513 (6 th Cir. 2001). UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT: Anderson v Charles, 447 US 404; 100 S Ct 2180; 65 L Ed 2d 222 (1980). THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL Adjunct Professor. Lecture courses in Postconviction Remedies and in Criminal Sentencing Law & Practice. I have also done substitute work teaching Evidence and coordinated a clinical course in appellate practice for several years. I have consistently scored very high on teaching evaluations. Since 1978 I have accepted frequent invitations to judge student moot court competitions. CRIMINAL DEFENSE TRAINING ACTIVITIES Since 1978, I have served as a trainer with respect to the substance and procedure of criminal defense work and, especially, on various aspects of legislative advocacy. I have run training workshops and seminars for the following groups, among others: National Legal Aid and Defender Association National Community Sentencing Association National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Michigan Community Corrections Board Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency Resume of F. Martin Tieber Page 3

5 Wayne County Criminal Advocacy Program Institute for Continuing Legal Education In 2002, in anticipation of entering private practice, I attended, by select invitation, the two-week, widely acclaimed National Criminal Defense College trial litigation training program in Macon, Georgia. SPEAKING/PUBLISHING/IMPACT LITIGATION AWARDS Since 1978 I have accepted a substantial number of speaking invitations issued by, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency. I have published several articles on criminal law topics in the Michigan State Bar Journal and the Michigan Criminal Defense Newsletter. I was named a recipient of the Cooley Law Review Distinguished Brief Award, for a Michigan Supreme Court brief on the issue of appellate review of sentencing, published in Volume 3, Number 3 at p. 377 (1985). In January of 1990, I published a report entitled "Michigan's Corrections Crisis--Causes, Effects and Specific Policy and Fiscal Solutions." The report was well received by state government and garnered favorable press coverage, including editorial support. Since 1978 I have handled special, major cases and "impact litigation." In 1991 I won release for my client in a complex major murder case that was the subject of a front page series run in the Detroit News and received substantial publicity for a successful attack on the good time policy of the Michigan Department of Corrections, a suit which saved the State of Michigan over 14 million dollars in incarceration costs. In November of 1991 I received a special award from the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, a state-wide organization consisting primarily of private practitioners who focus on criminal defense litigation. The award recognized "outstanding contributions" and focused on my accomplishments in winning a seat for the criminal defense bar on two critical boards: The Michigan Justice Training Commission, a state body which awards millions of dollars per year in training grants, and the Michigan State Bar Criminal Law Section Council. In January of 2003 I was selected as one of the top ten lawyers in the state of Michigan for the year 2002 by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a state-wide trade publication. Resume of F. Martin Tieber Page 4

6 COMPUTER LITERACY I have expertise in computer assisted legal research -- LEXIS, WESTLAW, in-house system with word search capability. In 1987 I designed a legislation program using the State Appellate Defender Office data management system. In 1989 I worked with an outside programmer to develop a more advanced legislation program using standard commercial data base software. PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES MICHIGAN INNOCENCE PROJECT Founder Chair of Innocence Project Commission, Member of Innocence Project Commission, 2002-Present MICHIGAN JUSTICE TRAINING COMMISION Vice Chair, 2001 STATE BAR DEFENDER SYSTEMS AND Chair, SERVICES COMMITTEE and STATE BAR PRISONS AND Member, CORRECTIONS COMMITTEE STATE BAR CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE Member, COMMITTEE STATE BAR CRIMINAL LAW SECTION Elected Council Member, COUNCIL STATE BAR APPELLATE PRACTICE Founding Elected Council Member, SECTION MICHIGAN PRISON OVERCROWDING Policy Team Member, PROJECT GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE ON Member, PRISON OVERCROWDING Resume of F. Martin Tieber Page 5 INGHAM BAR ASSOCIATION Coordinator for

7 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PEER Harley Franks School MEDIATION PROJECT NEW WAY IN (HALFWAY HOUSE) Board of Directors, DOWNTOWN LANSING YMCA Board of Directors, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS CRIMINAL DEFENSE Board of Directors, ATTORNEYS OF MICHIGAN Vice President, President, NATIONAL LEGAL AID AND DEFENDER ASSOCIATION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INGHAM COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION REFERENCES Elizabeth J. Arnovits Honorable William R. Bryant Michigan Council on House Minority Leader Emeritus Crime & Delinquency Kiawah Island, SC S. Pennsylvania, Suite 201 Telephone: (803) Lansing, MI Honorable Michael F. Cavanagh Honorable E. Thomas Fitzgerald Justice, Michigan Supreme Court Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals 2 nd Floor, Law Building 109 W. Michigan Avenue 525 W. Ottawa Lansing, MI Lansing, MI Telephone: (313) Dorean Koenig, Professor James R. Neuhard, Defender Thomas M. Cooley Law School State Appellate Defender Office 17 S. Capitol Avenue 3300 Penobscot Building Lansing, MI Griswold Telephone: (517) Detroit, MI Telephone: (313) Resume of F. Martin Tieber Page 6 Honorable William Van Regenmorter State Representative House Office Building Lansing, MI 48909

8 Telephone: (517) Additional references furnished upon request.

9 Looser Prelim Rules Would Be Injustice December 7, 2006 State senators are considering a draconian measure that would eliminate an important safeguard in the criminal justice system by giving police officers undue influence in preliminary examinations. A lame duck session, without public hearings, is no way to handle such a drastic proposal. The Senate should let it die. The bill is opposed not only by defense attorneys but also by most district judges. For most assaultive crimes, it would allow police officers, after victims' testimony, to provide hearsay evidence of what happened, instead of getting information from actual witnesses. For crimes not involving physical attacks, police officers could establish probable cause without any witness testimony. Those changes would essentially remove the ability of judges to analyze the quality of evidence and the credibility of witnesses. "Citizens should not be forced to go to trial without an independent, judicial assessment of whether there's probable cause," East Lansing Attorney F. Martin Tieber, past president of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, rightly said. Preliminary exams are hearings to establish whether a crime has been committed and if there is enough evidence to take the suspect to trial. A judge can drop or reduce charges at preliminary examinations. Such hearings lessen the chance of a wrongful conviction. Now, prelims give both defense attorneys and prosecutors a chance to evaluate the accuracy of witness statements. Undoing those safeguards is a bad idea that, worse yet, prosecutors are attempting to ram through without public debate or hearings. At the very least, the Senate should wait until next year to act and give the proposal a proper hearing. Copyright 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.

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27 June 15, 2006 Section: Main Page: 1A Dunnings: Releasing case details unfair Staff Prosecutor says he may resort to using grand juries By Kevin Grasha Lansing State Journal Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III - upset over the release of details in a local murder case - is considering using grand juries to ensure evidence remains secret. The Tuesday morning release of previously sealed transcripts in the murder case against Dr. Charles William Mercer has led Dunnings to consider the prosecutorial tool, rarely used in state courts in Michigan. "I might have to start using grand juries," Dunnings said Wednesday, "to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in other cases." Mercer, 72, has been charged with open murder in the 1968 death of his wife, Sally Sue Mercer. The transcripts revealed Sally Mercer suspected her husband was having an affair and that she was afraid he might kill her. The sealed testimony, which led to Charles Mercer's arrest, also indicated a now-deceased pathologist may have covered up the cause of death. Dunnings said the release of such information before the case has gone to court jeopardizes a defendant's right to a fair trial - which he said is a prosecutor's obligation to ensure. "I don't think it's fair to a defendant to have information... be released to the public without the opportunity for cross-examination and without giving the defense the opportunity to present information on its own behalf," he said. Dunnings also said he is "giving serious consideration" to appealing District Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's decision to release the transcripts. Grand jury seldom used Grand juries, which are closed proceedings, are rare in Michigan. During a grand jury hearing, prosecutors present evidence and call witnesses - often without the defense present - to bring charges against a defendant. Before 2001, state law said that even if a grand jury indicted someone, a defendant still was entitled to a preliminary hearing, which determines if a case advances to trial. "As a prosecuting attorney, that defeated the purpose of having a grand jury," Clinton County Prosecutor Chuck Sherman said. "There was no benefit to it." In 2001, a state Supreme Court decision took away a defendant's right to a preliminary hearing after an indictment. But Sherman admitted that in his 17-year tenure as prosecutor, he has not yet found a reason to use a grand jury in an individual criminal case. Both Sherman and Dunnings empaneled a grand jury in a mid-1990s drug case that

28 involved multiple counties. Drug cases that cross county lines is where the use of grand juries is becoming more common, said attorney F. Martin Tieber, former president of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan. "The key is secrecy," he said. "It chokes off the right of the defense to cross-examine witnesses." But empaneling a grand jury is cumbersome, he said: Jurors have to be chosen and witnesses each can have their own attorney. In his 32 years of doing criminal appeals, Tieber could recall only one case that involved a grand jury indictment - and that case went to a preliminary hearing. Appeal type is familiar If Dunnings appeals Aquilina's decision to release court transcripts in the Mercer case, it would be the second time he has fought this battle. He also sought to suppress a detective's testimony that led to charges being filed against Tim and Lisa Holland, who are scheduled to stand trial this fall in the death of their 7-year-old adopted son Ricky. Aquilina overturned another judge's decision that would have kept the testimony from the public. A hearing on that appeal is set for August. Dunnings expects to make a final decision about the appeal in the Mercer case next week. Contact Kevin Grasha at or kgrasha@lsj.com. What's next * A preliminary hearing for Dr. Charles William Mercer, charged in the 1968 death of his wife, Sally Sue Mercer, is scheduled to begin June 26. The hearing will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to advance to trial.

29 Printer Version: of 2 8/15/2006 8:41 AM 06/21/2006 Another appeal filed in 1998 slaying BY PATRICK SULLIVAN psullivan@record-eagle.com TRAVERSE CITY A man convicted of the grisly murder of a hotel desk clerk seven years ago filed another appeal, this time in federal court. Kevin Carter Holtzer, 33, is serving life without parole for the 1998 murder of Kalee Bruce, 18, a Northwestern Michigan College student who was found raped and beaten at the Beach Condominiums in East Bay Township, where Holtzer was a monthly renter. Investigators connected Holtzer to the murder through mitochondrial DNA typing that matched Bruce to a strand of hair in Holtzer's apartment and Holtzer to a strand of hair found at the crime scene. For years, attorneys for Holtzer challenged the science of mitochondrial DNA, but in a petition for writ of habeas corpus, attorney F. Martin Tieber changed tactics. Tieber, described by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as "one of the nation's top criminal appellate experts," said Holtzer's trial council was ineffective and prosecutors exaggerated evidence. The arguments are included in a 10-page petition and 73-page brief filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. "The state courts have found his latest issues to be without merit," said Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider, who was a chief assistant prosecutor when he tried Holtzer in the late 1990s. "As I learned from the first trial, his family does have substantial financial resources and is apparently willing to spend them in his defense." Grand Traverse County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power, who presided over the Holtzer trial, rejected a motion with the same arguments last year. Power wrote that he "probably erred" when he barred evidence from Holtzer's trial that Holtzer had been convicted of beating another woman in a Traverse City alley a month

30 Printer Version: of 2 8/15/2006 8:41 AM before Bruce's slaying. Prosecutors wanted to argue that Holtzer had a "deviant hatred of woman." Since recent court decisions would likely allow the evidence, Power wrote, "the defendant would have no 'reasonably likely chance of acquittal'" in a new trial. Copyright Traverse City Record-Eagle