Harold Gurewitz's Cases
(1985) United States v. Debs (Eastern District of Michigan)
Mr. Debs, a union official, was charged with RICO along with a local judge, a lawyer and a businessman. The Government charged they schemed to fix local court cases. Mr. Gurewitz convinced a jury to acquit Mr. Debs on all charges. The other defendants were convicted.
(1989) People v. Weiss (Wayne County)
Mr. Weiss was charged with making cash campaign contributions to a candidate for local office. Mr. Gurewitz convinced the Court to dismiss the charges because they were legally insufficient. The dismissal was upheld by the appellate courts.
(1993) People v. Dr. X (Wayne County)
The State of Michigan charged the doctor with more than 70 counts of Medicaid billing fraud, complaining no real medical services were provided. Mr. Gurewitz called witnesses who explained that the doctor’s patient records were evidence of competent medical practice and the jury returned all not guilty verdicts after less than one hour of deliberations.
(1984-1991) Grand Jury Investigation (Eastern District of Michigan)
A federal grand jury conducted investigations focused on the administration of the City of Detroit, its mayor, and the city’s Police Department, Water Department, and transportation system. Mr. Gurewitz successfully represented former Mayor Coleman Young.
(1998) United States v. Garcia (Eastern District of Michigan)
Mr. Garcia was charged with racketeering and violent acts in aid of racketeering for several homicides. The Attorney General of the United States authorized the United States Attorney to ask for the death penalty. Mr. Gurewitz convinced the district court to dismiss all charges because of the Government’s failure to establish federal jurisdiction. Appeals were filed by the Government but were later withdrawn.
(2003) People v. Lawrence (Wayne County)
Mr. Lawrence was charged with RICO by the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney based on alleged fraud in minority contracting. Mr. Gurewitz convinced the prosecutor to dismiss all charges after the preliminary examination.
(2003) United States v. Hofmeister (Eastern District of Michigan)
Mr. Hofmeister was one of two former KMart executives charged with securities fraud following the KMart bankruptcy filing in 2002. Harold Gurewitz served as local counsel to a Washington, D.C. lawfirm in the defense of Mr. Hofmeister. The Government, in a dramatic move, dismissed all charges after defense cross-examination of a key Government witness.
(2004) Mike’s Train House v. Lionel, LLC (Eastern District of Michigan)
Although a civil case, Harold Gurewitz served as local counsel to Pennsylvania law firms on behalf of Mike’s Train House in its claim for damages based on theft of trade secrets. The jury returned a verdict in favor of our client in an amount of approximately $40 million. The case is on appeal.
Margaret Raben's Cases
(1998) People v Donnie R. Smith (Washtenaw County Circuit Court)
Mr. Smith, a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy, was accused of forcing a young woman to perform fellatio on him to avoid receiving a ticket. The complainant identified Mr. Smith as her assailant. Attorney Raben convinced the trial judge to allow the defense to present testimony of an expert witness regarding the unreliability of eyewitness identification. Attorney Raben obtained an acquittal on both charges.
(1999) In Dr. X, Attorney Raben represented a licensed psychologist accused of failing to report a patient who admitted he had sexually molested his two-year-old child. The State Board of Licensing initiated administrative proceedings to determine if the psychologist should be sanctioned. These sanctions ranged from a reprimand to revocation of the psychologist’s license. Attorney Raben vigorously contested the proceedings. The Board of Licensing closed its investigation with a finding of “no misconduct”.
(2002) People v. Kevin Wojcik (34th District Court).
Mr. Wojcik, a professional bowler, was charged with taking a weapon into a “sterile area” of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. He had a Swiss Army knife in his carry-on bag. Attorney Raben negotiated a resolution of the charge which resulted in its dismissal and the return of the Swiss Army knife to Mr. Wojcik.
(2003) United States v. Dwende Reid (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan)
Mr. Reid was one of fourteen defendants accused of transporting tons of marijuana from Arizona to Detroit. Mr. Reid was potentially subject to a 30 year prison sentence. His participation in the criminal conspiracy had been recorded in telephone calls. Attorney Raben negotiated a favorable plea agreement for Mr. Reid. Mr. Reid was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison.
(2003) United States v. Abdel Elmardoudi (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan)Mr. Elmardoudi was one of four Moroccan men accused of providing material aid in support of terrorism in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although convicted at trial, Mr. Elmardoudi’s convictions were set aside after Attorney Raben and the other defense attorneys provided proof of extensive government misconduct in the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Elmardoudi and his codefendant. The Government conceded the occurrence of the misconduct and asked the trial judge to vacate the convictions. The trial court vacated Mr. Elmardoudi’s convictions. No further charges were brought against him in the Eastern District of Michigan.
(2004) People v. Richard Yarbrough (Oakland County)
Mr. Yarbrough was charged with the offense of driving with an unlawful blood alcohol level of .08 or greater. The DataMaster results were .08. Attorney Raben presented evidence the police had not properly maintained the DataMaster and argued to the jury that the DataMaster results were unreliable. The jury convicted Mr. Yarbrough of the less serious offense of impaired driving.
