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The Clutch Justice Weekly briefing for Issue 018: a 6-1 ruling, two new attorney discipline notices, and one week until the Detective Club begins.

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Direct Answer

Daren Fenderson asked for a lawyer. Two hours later, a Detroit police sergeant said something that changed the legal meaning of everything that followed. Fenderson talked, and confessed. On July 14, the Michigan Supreme Court threw that confession out, 6-1, reversing a Court of Appeals panel that had sided with police. The recording shows exactly how officers moved from an invocation of counsel to a new waiver, and why the Court refused to accept it.

Key Points
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in People v. Fenderson that Detroit police violated a suspect’s rights by undermining his already-invoked right to counsel.
More than two hours after Fenderson invoked, an officer’s exact wording, not the later signed waiver, is what the Court found decisive.
A signed waiver form is no longer close to dispositive. Courts must weigh the full exchange against the Miranda warnings already given.
The trial court suppressed the confession, the Court of Appeals reversed 2-1, and the Supreme Court reinstated suppression, adopting the dissenting judge’s reasoning.
Two new Michigan Attorney Discipline Board notices landed this week, one a suspension reduced from disbarment on review.

What did the Michigan Supreme Court decide in People v. Fenderson?

In a 6-1 ruling issued July 14, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court held that Detroit police violated Daren Fenderson’s rights when they undermined his already-invoked right to counsel. His statements afterward must be suppressed.

Does this ruling change police procedure generally?

Yes. Once a suspect invokes the right to counsel, statements that contradict the Miranda warnings already given cannot be used to justify a later waiver, even if the suspect eventually agrees to talk without a lawyer present.

What is the Detective Club?

A free 20-week crochet-along beginning August 1, 2026, pairing one crochet square with one chapter of an original serialized mystery every Saturday through December 12.

The Lead Investigation: Police Can’t Trick You Out of a Lawyer

Daren Fenderson was arrested in Detroit on murder, felony-firearm, and escape charges and read his Miranda rights. The next day, Sgt. Reginald Beasley re-read the warnings on video, and Fenderson began answering questions. About an hour in, he asked for an appointed attorney. That should have ended the interrogation. Instead, more than two hours of continued contact followed, which the trial court later described as a scare tactic. Read the full investigation.

The Question, and the Answer That Changed Everything

Fenderson asked a direct question about the lawyer he had already requested. The sergeant’s answer did more than provide bad information, it altered what Fenderson reasonably understood about whether counsel was available at all. The Court focused on the officer’s exact wording, not merely the later waiver form.

Finding: a Miranda warning that can be contradicted by the officer who gave it, less than an hour after invocation, was never really a warning. It was a formality.

Institutional Integrity Index: Four Institutions, One Interrogation

Detroit Police’s interrogation conduct grades F. Wayne County Circuit Court, which correctly suppressed the statements the first time, grades B. The Court of Appeals 2024 majority, which treated the signed waiver as nearly dispositive, grades D. The Michigan Supreme Court’s 2026 majority, which applied the totality standard to the full exchange, grades B.

F
Detroit Police
B
Circuit Court
D
Ct. of Appeals
B
MSC 2026

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Starts August 1

The Detective Club Starts Next Saturday

Twenty weeks. One square, one chapter of an original mystery, every Saturday. Free, beginner friendly, no cost ever for the weekly content. If you’ve been meaning to sign up, this is the last briefing before it starts.

Join the Mystery Crochet-Along

Solutions Spotlight: Case Timeline Builder

The exact sequence that won Fenderson’s case, arrest to invocation to the exchange that undid it, only mattered because someone laid it out in order. This is the tool that does that for your own file. Organize your case chronology.

This Week’s Discipline Watch

Two new notices from the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.

Craig A. Tank, P58360, St. Clair ShoresA twelve-count disbarment, reduced to a four-year suspension on review, effective March 1, 2025. Case No. 22-91-GA. The Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal in June 2026. Restitution: $21,400. Costs: $10,145.80. John J. Finn, P33678, RiverviewTransfer to inactive status by consent, effective July 14, 2026. Case Nos. 25-104-GA, 26-59-PI. After a default for failing to answer a formal complaint, both parties stipulated Finn is incapacitated to practice due to physical disability. No costs assessed.

Search the full record at the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.

Sources Michigan Supreme Court, People of Michigan v. Daren Donell Fenderson, No. 167391 (July 14, 2026). Michigan Court of Appeals, unpublished per curiam opinion, No. 367926 (June 6, 2024) (Garrett, J., dissenting). Michigan Advance, “Michigan Supreme Court rules police cannot mislead suspects into waiving right to attorney” (July 15, 2026). Michigan Attorney Discipline Board, Notice of Suspension and Restitution, Case No. 22-91-GA; Notice of Transfer to Inactive Status, Case Nos. 25-104-GA, 26-59-PI.

Bluebook: Williams, Rita. Clutch Justice Weekly, Issue 018: Police Can’t Trick You Out of a Lawyer. The Michigan Supreme Court Just Said So, 6-1., Clutch Justice (July 26, 2026), https://clutchjustice.com/2026/07/26/clutch-justice-weekly-issue-018/.

APA 7: Williams, R. (2026, July 26). Clutch Justice Weekly, Issue 018: Police can’t trick you out of a lawyer. The Michigan Supreme Court just said so, 6-1. Clutch Justice. https://clutchjustice.com/2026/07/26/clutch-justice-weekly-issue-018/

MLA 9: Williams, Rita. “Clutch Justice Weekly, Issue 018: Police Can’t Trick You Out of a Lawyer. The Michigan Supreme Court Just Said So, 6-1.” Clutch Justice, 26 July 2026, clutchjustice.com/2026/07/26/clutch-justice-weekly-issue-018/.

Chicago: Williams, Rita. “Clutch Justice Weekly, Issue 018: Police Can’t Trick You Out of a Lawyer. The Michigan Supreme Court Just Said So, 6-1.” Clutch Justice, July 26, 2026. https://clutchjustice.com/2026/07/26/clutch-justice-weekly-issue-018/.

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Categorized in:

Blog, Field Notes,

Last Update: July 27, 2026

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