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Sunday, October 4, 2015
By Michael Nichols
Categories: Michael J. Nichols
The East Lansing Police Department is still looking for peple to charge after the September 12-13th, weekend over post-game celebrations that followed Michigan State University's win over Oregon in college football. East Lansing Police Detectives are pursuing suspects who violated the so-called 300 feet within a fire ordinance. "The fact that Detectives are still seeking suspects to enforce a misdemeanor says a lot about the degree to which East Lansing police and political leaders are trying to crackdown on this activity in light of the damage to the city's reputation," says prominent East Lansing criminal defene attorney MIke Nichols.
The ordinance criminalizes the act of literally being present within 300 feet of an open fire in the city. It is intended to punish and crackdown on so-called "cedarfest" parties that feature burning couches in the Cedar Village area just west of campus. Nichols says "even though the ordinance violation is simply a 93 day misdemeanor, the courts are almost uniformly imposing bond conditions that prohibit you from consuming alcohol even if you are over 21 and subjecting you to testing to verify abstinence from alcohol. You can bet we will challenge the uniform application of such provisions," says NIchols. It is also one of the few convictions that lead to jail time even for first time offenders.
The ELPD issued a press release that lauded the lack of any intentionally set fires for the last 2 weekends of September, 2015, calling them "dangerous" and indicating that such conduct will not be tolerated. (http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=226). However, the ordinance, which literaly is a strict liability crime, may 'burn out' if legislation is passed at the state capitol that will require a mens rea element for every crime. Mens Rea is the Latin term that means 'mental state.' A House Bill was recently in front of a committee that would require a criminal mental state for any law to be violated unless the legislature specifically puts a clause in the bill that no mens rea is required.
For the attorneys who stay on the cutting edge, in the know and who are committed to results, call the Nichols Law Firm at 517 432 9000 or e-mail Mike Nichols at mnichols@nicholslaw.net