LEDFORD & ASSOCIATES

City Attorney Anita Hitchcock said this week a proposed ordinance in the works would ban the brandishing BB-guns or replica guns in public places, and require youth younger than 16 years old to be supervised by a parent when in possession of one.

The ordinance, as written, would also require certain markings on toy guns, like the common orange tip, and individuals would be required to turn over the replica gun to police upon request by an officer. In many instances, the orange tip is removed or colored black

Grand Rapids could add replica gun law after another teen stopped with BB-gun
Read more at mLive.com

At the end of 2018, the state of Michigan established new fireworks laws

Fireworks season has legally started in Michigan
Here's what you need to know about the new fireworks laws, fines and being mindful of veterans.
Read more at wzzm13.com

"Because (the driver) did not have apparent common authority over the backpack, the search of the backpack was not based on valid consent and is per se unreasonable unless another exception to the warrant requirement applies,” the court ruled.

The ruling is significant “because it cleared up an area in which the Supreme Court had gotten the law wrong,” said David Moran, a University of Michigan law professor who leads the Michigan Innocence Clinic. “…The Fourth Amendment is all about common sense and reasonable expectations of privacy and social norms. It’s just common sense that the police will now need to ask passengers: ‘Mind if I search that bag?’”

A recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling on police searches of passengers during traffic stops can give people more power to challenge such probes and is expected to affect police training in Metro Detroit and across the state, officials and legal experts say.
Read more at The Detroit News