A Case Summary: People v. Blake Anthony-William Barton

On October 11, 2024, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a decision in the case People of the State of Michigan v. Blake Anthony-William Barton.

The case involved a drunk driving  investigation following a car accident in Britton, Michigan.

Case: Lenawee Circuit Court LC No. 23-021272-FH

Background

The incident occurred on September 10, 2022, at approximately 2:00 a.m.  Officer David Low of the Raisin Township Police Department responded to a car accident at the intersection of Sutton Road and Ridge Highway. He found a vehicle in a wooded area off the roadway, with the driver, later identified as Barton, partially pinned underneath the car.

Barton admitted to consuming alcohol earlier in the night and claimed he was on his way to a rodeo. However, it was already 2:16 a.m., well past the time any rodeo would have ended.

Medical Treatment and Blood Draw

Barton was transported to ProMedica Toledo Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, for treatment. While there, medical staff drew his blood for medical purposes, not under arrest.

Two days later, the prosecutor’s office requested the chemical analysis of Barton’s blood from the hospital.

The prosecutor’s office sent a letter to Toledo Hospital requesting that it provide Barton’s chemical analysis from September 10.

The Prosecuting Attorney for Lenawee County signed the letter. Specifically, he requested:

Please provide to the Raisin Township Police Department the complete chemical analysis of the above-named subject that was performed on or about September 10, 2022.

This request is submitted in accordance with Ohio Revised Code, 2317.02, which is attached for your reference.

This is an open and pending investigation. Please mail the records to the Raisin Township Police Department . . . (emphasis omitted).

The letter did not attach a copy of Ohio Rev Code 2317.02 as it stated.

Instead, the prosecutor’s office provided a Michigan Attorney General opinion detailing the enforceability of MCL 257.625a(6)(e) prior to a person’s arrest.

In response, Toledo Hospital sent the chemical analysis results to the police department. The chemical analysis disclosed that Barton’s blood and urine samples, which indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.23 and the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Legal Proceedings

The Lenawee Circuit Court initially granted Barton’s motion to suppress the blood evidence due to a perceived technical  noncompliance with Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) 257.625a(6)(e).

 (e) If, after an accident, the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident is transported to a medical facility and a sample of the driver’s blood is withdrawn at that time for medical treatment, the results of a chemical analysis of that sample are admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding to show the amount of alcohol or presence of a controlled substance or other intoxicating substance in the person’s blood at the time alleged, regardless of whether the person had been offered or had refused a chemical test. The medical facility or person performing the chemical analysis shall disclose the results of the analysis to a prosecuting attorney who requests the results for use in a criminal prosecution as provided in this subdivision. A medical facility or person disclosing information in compliance with this subsection is not civilly or criminally liable for making the disclosure.

However, the prosecution later submitted evidence showing that the court’s decision relied on a factual error.

Consequently, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s decision and remanded the case.

This goes to show you can still fight a case even when you think all is lost.

If you are interested in more in depth detail read the Opinion here.

COA 369926 PEOPLE OF MI V BLAKE ANTHONY-WILLIAM BARTON Opinion – Per Curiam – Unpublished 10/11/2024 (michbar.org)

Police say they can tell if you are too high to drive. Critics call it ‘utter nonsense’

Haley Butler-Moore sped up to pass a semi on the highway when she suddenly saw the police lights.

She’d left Albuquerque hours earlier, heading to a Halloween party in Denver. Tired from the long drive, she recalled being nervous as she pulled out her paperwork. The trooper asked Butler-Moore to come sit in the patrol car.

“Do you use any recreational drugs?” asked the officer, as captured on the body camera.

“No,” said Butler-Moore.

“OK, because your eyes are saying something completely different. So how much have you used today?”

‘Police science’

At the police station, the DRE officer, one of more than 8,000 scattered in departments across the country, asked Butler-Moore to recount everything she did that day.

“If there is no impairment, it will come out here,” the officer told her, the entire evaluation recorded on bodycam.

But the officer had concerns. Butler-Moore had put the wrong date, from the day before. That’s because, Butler-Moore said, she didn’t realize it was already after midnight.

Read the whole story here at MLive

Thieves make off with 1,000 pounds of premium flower in cannabis from a corporate grower in Michigan. Then, the GM sells off 650+ pounds to pay employees.

The recent theft of over 1,000 pounds of marijuana from 305 Farms, a corporate cannabis grower in West Michigan, has raised serious concerns in the industry.

This incident, which involved more than $600,000 worth of product, occurred at the farm’s expansive 39-acre facility in Lawrence, located about 30 miles west of Kalamazoo.

Investigations suggest that individuals with insider knowledge may have played a role in the crime. Like many cultivators across the state, 305 Farms has been facing significant challenges in this competitive market.

In July 2024, a group of employees filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that it had failed to compensate them for thousands of dollars in wages owed.

The oversaturation of Michigan’s legal cannabis market has led to historically low prices, creating significant hurdles for cultivators trying to thrive in this challenging landscape.

A few days later and this happens…

Michigan cannabis manager decisively sells off the harvest to resolve overdue payments to staff.

Oct 28, 2024 – The general manager of 305 Farms is currently under scrutiny for possible criminal charges related to the sale of over 660 pounds of cannabis, with nearly $270,000 in proceeds allegedly utilized to pay his employees for outstanding wages.

Employees allege that the company indicated termination would be a consequence for not returning the funds from the sale as 305 Farms has faced a considerable reduction in its workforce over the past year.

Allegedly they have been enduring a work environment characterized by threats, humiliation, lack of compensation, and excessive stress.

Via hearsay it is alleged that the company owed more than an estimated $1 million in unpaid wages beforethe GM’s defiant sale. 

There will be more to come.