In the News

Monday, July 02, 2007
NOT GUILTY IN MSU FIGHT CASE!
Nichols Law :: 10:20 AM :: 206 Views 		 
Jury acquits after two hours of deliberations despite three eyewitnesses
(c) NLF UPDATE
A jury in Ingham County found an East Lansing man not guilty of a 10-year felony following two weeks of trial over a fight during Welcome Week, 2005.  The Nichols Law Firm defended the 24 year old Michigan State University student on a charge of Assault with Intent to Commit Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder.  The felony carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and would have meant certain expulsion from school for the client. 
 
“This was a rewarding verdict because we were hoping to resolve the case with a misdemeanor and avoid the stain of a felony conviction for our client” said attorney Mike Nichols. The jury returned a guilty verdict for simple assault, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.  “We offered to resolve the case by way of a plea to aggravated assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 1-year in jail and so to do even better with the jury than what we offered during plea negotiations really pleases me. It is a great thing for the client”. 
 
Nichols filed a motion to suppress the identification testimony of at least one of the witnesses about 6 weeks before trial. “We did not win the motion but we learned that the police lost track of the name of 1 of the witnesses who placed our client at the scene of the crime. It helped the jury show just how chaotic the situation was and how difficult it was for any particular person to say who was doing what to whom. It goes to show you that motion practice really can be effective” said Nichols.
 
Nichols expects to file a Motion to set aside the simple assault conviction as contrary to the evidence at trial.

The Nichols Law Firm, PLLC represents clients throughout Mid Michigan and South Central Michigan including the cities of Lansing, Owosso, Haslett, Okemos, Grand Ledge, Mason, Charlotte, Portland, St. Johns, Battle Creek, Howell, Brighton, Williamston, Ithaca, Jackson, Flint, Grand Blanc, Breckenridge, Carson City, Shepard, St. Louis, Alma, Pine River Township, and Sumner Township.

 

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