New Michigan prosecutor has lenient policies on everything from drugs to prostitution. But is it allowed?
Updated Feb 05, 2021;
Posted Feb 05, 2021
(File photo) Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Burton-Harris were ceremonially sworn into office by Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack at the University of Michigan Law Quad courtyard in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – Eli Savit promised voters he’d make progressive changes in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office before ultimately being elected to the office.
With more than 30 days under his belt as the county’s newly elected prosecutor, it would be hard to deny he isn’t living up to his campaign promises.
2 men plead no contest in fatal Ypsilanti-area park shooting
Updated Feb 01, 2021;
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ANN ARBOR, MI – Two men accused of killing a man during a botched robbery at an Ypsilanti Township park a year ago will not be facing a jury.
James Solomon Warren and Stevie Lynn Brooks both entered no contest pleas to armed robbery and second-degree murder Jan. 27 before Washtenaw County Trial Judge Archie Brown, court records show.
The pair, both 18, were each charged with one count each of open murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and two counts of felony firearm, in connection with the shooting death of 21-year-old Brian Aldin Matthews III.
Washtenaw prosecutor won t charge juveniles for low-level crimes
The change is the third major police shift announced by Savit since he took office Jan. 1.
Under the new policy, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office will “avoid charging juveniles with minor offenses that are best resolved outside of the criminal-justice system,” Savit said.
The low-level crimes include status-based” offenses such as truancy, curfew violations, and running away from home; tobacco or vaping-related offenses; disorderly conduct and crimes related to juvenile use of marijuana or alcohol.
In a 10-page policy directive issued Monday to his office s assistant prosecutorys, Savit stressed that “voluminous scientific research and legal doctrine” indicates that “children (and teenagers) are not small adults.”
More local COVID variant cases discovered; AADL’s top items of 2020; one-on-one with Eli Savit
Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor
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Microbiologist Marielle Bedotto-Buffet prepares samples at the University Hospital Institute for Infectious Diseases in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday Jan. 13, 2021, to study the highly contagious COVID-19 variant that has been discovered in the UK. France’s government scientific adviser is expressing strong concern over the variant of the coronavirus that is circulating widely in the U.K. and is now spreading in France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
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Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office announces new policy to fight racial profiling
Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor
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ANN ARBOR – The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office announced today a new policy aimed at combatting racial profiling.
Issued on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the 10-page policy directive “prohibits Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys from filing possession-of-contraband charges that stemmed from so-called ‘pretext stops’ by police officers,” read a news release.
A “pretext stop” is a stop in which a person is detained by a police officer, under the guise of an ordinance or traffic violation, but where the officer’s intention is to uncover evidence of drug or contraband possession.