Stephen Borrello

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Stephen L. Borrello is a judge on the Michigan Fourth District Court of Appeals. He was appointed to this position in 2003 and elected in 2004. His current term expires January 1, 2013.[1]

Biography

Judge Borrello earned his B.A. from Albion College and his J.D. from the Detroit College of Law.[1]

Legal career

Judge Borrello served as an attorney and partner with the law firm Gilbert, Smith & Borrello, P.C. in Saginaw, Michigan. He also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney from 1988 to 1990 in Saginaw County. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Saginaw Valley State University.[1]

Awards and associations

In 1997, Senator Carl Levin appointed Judge Borrello as co-chair with Governor Granholm of Senator Levin's Select Committee for the Appointment of Federal Judges to the Eastern District of Michigan. In 1999, Governor John Engler appointed Judge Borrello to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, where he served until his appointment to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Judge Borrello was also a member of the 1996 Electoral College.[2]

Publications

He has authored articles on a variety of labor and employment law issues. His publications include: OSHIA Update in Michigan (NBI Press 1995), Basic Labor Law (NBI Press 1996), Avoiding Secondary Activities, a Labor Leader's Manual; Public Sector Labor Law; Prevailing Wage Update and Practitioner's Guide. He is a frequent lecturer at Michigan State University's School of Law and The Walter and Mary Reuther UAW Education Center at Black Lake.[3]

First Amendment ruling

In a two-to-one decision, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Eastern Michigan University. During a National Public Radio newscast, disc jockey Terry Hughes commented favorably on the war in Iraq rather than running the hourly newscasts. He is quoted as saying, “we are supposed to be running news during the program. But that’s not going to happen. ... We know that if you want a current and accurate assessment of what’s going on, you sure as hell ain’t listening to us.” According to court documents, he instead referred listeners to Fox News. The appellate court agreed with the trial court, that Hughes had committed insubordination. Judge Stephen Borrello dissented, saying, “Due to the nature of his job as host of the music show, plaintiff’s on-air speech was an integral part of his job...Nevertheless, the fact that speaking on the air was generally part of his job duties does not compel the conclusion that the specific speech at issue was made pursuant to his employment duties.”[4]

Court ruling on home schooled athletes

A unanimous decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that home-schooled students do not have the same rights as public-schooled students. Home-schooled students do not have a right to play for sports teams of schools in their district. The court consulted the Michigan Supreme Court's decision "that students at nonpublic schools without extracurricular activities must be allowed to enroll in that public school activity." According to state law, schools are required to allow students to develop their intellectual capacities. Sports do not fall under that. Judge Stephen Borrello, joined by Judge Patrick Meter, said Michigan state laws do not require schools to allow home-schooled students to join sports programs. Judge Michael Talbot concurred in the decision. "But plaintiffs have not asserted that interscholastic sports develop either their children's intellectual capacities or vocational skills," the court said. "The Court did not opine or even suggest that nonpublic school students were entitled to participate in extracurricular interscholastic athletic events, and nothing in (its) opinion dictates that conclusion. Unlike a state requirement that all students be taught by certified teachers that the Supreme Court found did violate religious rights, the sports rules do not inescapably compel conduct that the parents find objectionable for religious reasons," the Court of Appeals said. "Rather, by exercising their right to practice their religion through homeschooling their children, plaintiffs made a choice between homeschooling their children and having them participate in extracurricular interscholastic athletic competition," the court said.[5]

Fourth Amendment dissent

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court disagreed with a District Court ruling that suppressed evidence that had been obtained by using dogs to sniff outside a house for drugs. Police used the drug dogs' signal to obtain a search warrant to enter the residence, where they found marijuana and a gun. According to the Toledo Blade, Judges E. Thomas Fitzgerald and William Murphy, citing U.S. Supreme Court cases, said a canine sniff is not a search as defined under Fourth Amendment law. They said there is no reasonable expectation of privacy at the entrance to property that is open to the public, including the front porch of a home. In his dissent, Judge Stephen Borrello wrote, "A person's home is not some abstract place or location for which it is unclear whether the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy."[6]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Judge Borrello's Bio
  2. ↑ Saginaw Valley State University
  3. ↑ Saginaw Valley State University
  4. ↑ First Amendment ruling for radio station
  5. ↑ Home Schoolers Do Not Have Right to Play on HS Teams
  6. ↑ Court relaxes guide for police dog drug search, can search private property

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