Free Republic

Declaring herself "broken" and "disgraced," former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway tearfully took responsibility for fraud Tuesday before a judge sentenced her to a year and a day in prison for concealing assets while she was pleading with a bank for a sale on her underwater home. But U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara rejected community service and instead chose prison. Crying and reading from a statement, Hathaway, 59, blamed her crime on "personal issues" but added: "That is no excuse." The 2011 sale of Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home, near Detroit, erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000....

Macomb County Chief Circuit Judge David Viviano has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Michigan Supreme Court. Gov. Rick Snyder announced the appointment at 3 p.m. Wednesday in a livestreamed event. "This is a tremendous honor for me, for my entire family," Viviano said. "I am committed to the rule of law. I believe in the separation of powers." Viviano replaces former Justice Diane Hathaway, who resigned in January amid charges of fraud regarding a home she owns. "He's truly a rule of law judge, which is critically important," Snyder said. Snyder said the candidates for the state's...

Federal prosecutors have filed a fraud charge against Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway, just a few days before she leaves the state's highest court in a scandal involving the sale of a Detroit-area home and suspicious steps taken to conceal property in Florida. The charge was filed Friday as a criminal "information," which means it was negotiated and that a guilty plea is expected in federal court. Defense attorney Steve Fishman declined to comment Saturday.

Federal prosecutors have filed a fraud charge against Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway, just a few days before she leaves the state's highest court in a scandal involving the sale of a Detroit-area home and suspicious steps taken to conceal property in Florida. [...] Hathaway was halfway through an eight-year term on the court, the result of a major election upset over then-Chief Justice Cliff Taylor in 2008. Her victory put Democrats in control of the court for a two-year period. She was a Wayne County judge before joining the Supreme Court.