In People v Pagano, Docket No. 159981, decided April 22, 2021, Attorney Horowitz won a unanimous Michigan Supreme Court decision that reversed the Michigan Court of Appeals. Pagano involved an illegal traffic stop based on an anonymous call to 911. The anonymous reporter provided insufficient evidence to justify a traffic stop, and the responding officer did not observe any additional justification for the stop.
On trial counsel’s motion, the district court agreed that the stop was illegal and suppressed. The prosecution appealed to the circuit court, which agreed with the district court and affirmed. The prosecution then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which reversed the trial courts’ suppression orders and remanded the case for trial.
Attorney Horowitz took over after the Court of Appeals loss. He petitioned the Michigan Supreme Court for leave to appeal and won the opportunity to appeal the Court of Appeals decision. Since this was during the COVID pandemic, Attorney Horowitz argued the case in the Michigan Supreme Court by Zoom videoconference.
The Michigan Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Pagano’s favor and overturning the Michigan Court of Appeals. Several Justices included concurrences. The decision will have long-lasting impacts on Michigan law involving constitutional protections and search and seizure.
With this win, Attorney Horowitz has now argued and won cases in the Alaska Court of Appeals, Alaska Supreme Court, Michigan Court of Appeals, and Michigan Supreme Court.
The opinion can be found here. An article about the victory in the Detroit Free Press can be found here.
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