U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday discussed turning the United States into a right-to-work nation regarding public sector unions. The issue came up in a case related to union “dues skim” issues happening in Illinois, Michigan and other states around the nation. … more

With the exception of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was an expansion outlier, Gov. Rick Snyder is on par with his predecessors on expansions. … more

State Rep. Bill Rogers introduces legislation to modernize police warrant approval procedure

Video conversations are a normal part of communications for many in 2014. Judges are even using video for arraignments in court. Under legislation introduced by state Rep. Bill Rogers, police officers will be able to take advantage of this modern technology by using video equipment to swear to warrants.  The current process for swearing a warrant is very complicated and time-consuming. An officer must complete the necessary reports for a warrant, drive to the prosecutor’s office to have it approved, then drive to the court house to wait for a judge, where they will then give a 1-2 min presentation for “probable cause.” Once that is done the warrant is officially signed by the court and may be executed. HB 5246 will allow police departments to use the same video equipment used for video arraignments in the court room to get their warrants approved by a prosecutor and a judge.

“I want to thank Green Oak Township Police Chief Bob Brookins for bringing this issue to my attention.  He informed me of this time-consuming and costly issue police departments have and it was common sense to find a solution for the hard-working men and women in all of Michigan’s police departments,” said Rogers, R-Brighton. “This legislation will move the process into the modern era and streamline the warrant process for police departments, saving them both time and money.”  Currently, there are numerous departments in which the jail/court is up to two hours away from their department; and a lot of departments only have one officer on duty– forcing the officer to leave their patrol area/jurisdiction in order to swear to a warrant.   There are many times where there are delays – sometimes weeks – in getting the court to get the warrant authorized simply because of the lack of availability of an officer to travel to the prosecutor’s office or court.  “I look forward to seeing this legislation through the process,” Rogers said. “It is a wonderful opportunity to help Michigan police departments improve efficiency, allowing them more time to keep our communities safe.”

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