Marlinga Law Group - Michigan Civil and Criminal Trial Lawyers

VIOLENT CRIMES (OVERVIEW): Macomb County trial attorney Carl Marlinga was for twenty years the elected prosecuting attorney for Macomb County -- Michigan's third largest county with a population of over 800,000. As prosecutor he directed the investigations and trials of all major felonies in the county - approximately 10,000 cases per year. In each year of this 20 year tenure, he personally was involved in at least 150 cases from pretrial motions through trial and appeal. The cases included murder, criminal sexual conduct, arson, armed robbery, and white collar crimes. During those years Mr. Marlinga's now partner, Joseph Kosmala, became one of the premier defense attorneys in the county (and throughout southeastern Michigan). As a trial attorney Joseph Kosmala has defended clients against an array of charges, including murder, conspiracy, criminal sexual conduct, armed robbery, aggravated assaults, and domestic violence. Trial attorney Joseph Kosmala is perhaps the most accomplished and experienced defense attorney in homicide cases, having defended 30 such cases in his career.

HOMICIDE: Although each case is of utmost importance to the person charged and the families involved, there are certain cases which have attracted national attention. In 2008, the Marlinga Law Group attorneys (Carl Marlinga, Joesph Kosmala, and Ryan Machasic) were involved in just such a case. The full story has been told in a two hour special of NBC Dateline, and has become known as the "Comic Bookstore Murder" because of the location of the crime. Although the jury in the first trial returned a conviction, we were successful in getting the trial judge to grant a new trial on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct and newly discovered evidence. The Michigan Court of Appeals refused to reverse the judge's order for a new trial, which is now expected to start in early 2009.

CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT: In 2008, Joseph Kosmala was successful in winning complete vindication for a client accused of two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, both being life felonies. The first of the two counts was dismissed by the judge as a result of a motion brought by Mr. Kosmala. The second count was decided by the jury, with the jury returning a unanimous verdict of NOT GUILTY, with the client and the jury saying afterwards that the case turned on Mr. Kosmala's cross-examination of the alleged victim.

FEDERAL DRUG CONSPIRACY CHARGES: In 2008, Carl Marlinga defended a person charged with being the "kingpin" of a major cocaine distribution ring in Saginaw, Michigan. The indictment came about as a result of a five year federal investigation headed up by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Over 25 defendants were charged in the conspiracy. The United States Attorney's Office identified our client as the ringleader in the conspiracy. As the trial began, however, the government was forced to DISMISS the conspiracy count for insufficient evidence - a result argued for and predicted by Mr. Marlinga in all of the pretrial hearings and motions. Although the main conspiracy count was dismissed, the client was, nevertheless, convicted on two hand to hand transactions that were recorded on audio and video tape. The case was tried in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Northern Division in Bay City, Michigan.

FEDERAL GAMBLING CONSPIRACY CHARGES: Sometimes the best that can be done for a client in to keep him out of prison. In 2008 Carl Marlinga was successful in doing just that for a client charged with aiding and abetting a conspiracy to violate federal gambling laws. Trial attorney Carl Marlinga took the case to trial with the goal of showing the trial judge that our client played a minimal role in the overall conspiracy. As a result of our advice, the client agreed to waive a jury trial in favor of a bench trial before the federal judge. In a bench trial (that is, a trial where the judge decides the case without a jury) the federal rules require the judge to make findings of fact on the record in explaining his or her verdict. Such detailed findings of fact are not required of juries. As a result of this trial strategy, the judge heard the evidence and made the proper findings, which naturally led to the conclusion that our client was a minor participant. As a result, the judge had the ammunition to depart from federal sentencing guidelines which called for up to two years incarceration. The judge granted straight probation - a result that the United States Attorney's Office vigorously opposed. As a result of this strategy - a bench trial rather than a jury trial or a guilty plea - our client has the added advantage that the conviction can still be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on the issue of whether his conduct meets the legal test for aiding and abetting. We are handling this federal appeal. If necessary, we will take the case to the United States Supreme Court.

FELONY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES: Oftentimes defense attorneys waive preliminary examinations in order to work out plea bargain deals in the circuit court. While we understand the value of negotiations and will take that route in appropriate cases, we also know when to draw the line and force the prosecution to present its proofs in a preliminary hearing. In October, 2008, in a district court in northern Macomb County, our experience paid off in getting a dismissal of felony domestic violence charges that were filed against a mother for disciplining her daughter. The judge agreed that our client's use of corporal punishment was not intended to inflict serious physical or mental harm upon her child, and the felony charges were dismissed.

DISMISSALS SECURED THROUGH POLYGRAPH EXAMINATIONS: Our experience allows us to make good judgments as to whether or not polygraphs might be helpful in getting prosecutors to take a second look at their charging decisions. In 2008, we have had four cases dismissed as a result of polygraph exams. We are able to counsel clients on what to expect in terms of the questions and exactly how a polygraph works. We also have access to private polygraph examiners that will help us decided whether or not a client is the right candidate for a police polygraph. If you are a wrongfully accused person, you need to explore this option.

Macomb County trial attorney Carl Marlinga has more than thirty years of litigation experience. Below are some brief summaries of results he's achieved both in civil and criminal cases.

Domestic violence, 2006: Proved through phone records and forensic evidence that our client could not possibly have violated a Personal Protection Order by making telephone threats to his ex-wife.

Violent crime, 2006: Rigorous cross-examination of alleged victim was instrumental in jury verdict of not guilty in aggravated assault case.

Business litigation, 2005: Obtained jury verdict in client's favor by demonstrating that problems with video surveillance system were due to plaintiff's lack of maintenance, not client's breach of warranty.

Criminal appeal, 2006: Client was convicted of felony firearm and assault charges and faced two years of mandatory imprisonment. When he hired us to handle the appeal, we spotted a problem with the jury instructions and moved for a new trial before filing the appellate brief. The judge granted the motion, and we were able to negotiate a sentence of probation without the need to retry the case.

Drug crime, 2006: Where our client faced a minimum guideline sentence of seven years and a maximum of 40 years, we were able to argue at sentencing that certain aspects of entrapment that resulted in his arrest in a sting operation should be considered in the sentence, even if rejected as a complete defense. Our client received a sentence of one year to run concurrently with time he was serving on a previous offense.

Business litigation, 1984: Carl Marlinga sued a bank for commercially unreasonable disposition of collateral when it foreclosed on a stock pledge prior to a sharp rise in its value. His client recovered a net judgment of $765,000 after satisfaction of all outstanding loan obligations.

Violent crime, 1991: As Macomb County prosecuting attorney, Carl Marlinga personally tried and won two separate first-degree murder trials for the torture and beheading of a young girl. In the first case, he successfully defeated an insanity defense; in the second, he proved through forensic testimony that the second defendant had to have been involved in the murder directly, not just the cover-up.

Business litigation, 1984: Carl Marlinga obtained an extremely rare emergency injunction from the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court that allowed his car manufacturer client to provide pretrial discovery under international treaty rules rather than the Michigan Court Rules - as a result, his client's case was decided on rules of evidence which were more favorable to his client.

When your entire career and reputation are on the line, and you need to be exonerated, contact the criminal defense attorneys at Marlinga Law Group.