1/30/13 - The Michigan Court of Appeals has agreed to hear an attorneyâs request to reverse a local decision disqualifying him from representing two women charged with illegally selling synthetic marijuana in Genoa Township.
Defense attorney Timothy Corr filed the appeal on Friday. Yesterday, the appeals court granted his motion for immediate consideration and application for leave to appeal, although no dates were set. Corr is seeking to overturn a November ruling by 53rd District Court Judge Suzanne Geddis which deemed it would be a conflict of interest for him to represent both clients - the owner of Smokers Depot, 41-year-old Ronda Lee Roszak as well as the storeâs manager, 27-year-old Melissa Ann Dzierwa. Geddis made the ruling after the Livingston County Prosecutorâs Office said it planned to offer a plea deal to one of the two suspects. Corr says the decision is an abuse of its discretion and,â in violation of his clients rights under the Sixth Amendmentâ to select representation of their choice. He said yesterdayâs ruling to hear his appeal shows that "while the wheels of justice may sometimes turn slowly, our system can work." Corr says both women have already consulted with separate attorneys and have no plans to accept any plea deal and none has been formally offered. They maintain that the material which State Police confiscated during a raid last April had been purchased at a trade show along with a lab report indicating it did not contain any illegal chemicals. In the meantime, their preliminary exam is on hold. (JK)
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