Director University
Resume:
GEORGE E. WARD
E-mail: abqcib@r.postjobfree.com
Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree (major in English) from the University of Detroit, and Juris
Doctor Degree from The University of Michigan Law School.
Employment
Law Offices of George Ward, March 2001 - present. Address: 13900 Sibley Rd.,
Riverview, MI 48192.
Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Administration of Wayne County
Prosecutor John D. O'Hair whose term ended in December, 2000.
Previously, in private practice with: Butzel & Long; Travis, Warren, Nayer &
Burgoyne (who were municipal attorneys for the Charter Township of Canton); and
Milmet, Vecchio, Ward & Carnago, P.C.
Ward extensive litigation experience (including an appearance before the U.S.
Supreme Court in Michigan v. Bennis) in such areas as contracts, municipal law,
negligence law, and eminent domain, and general commercial and corporate matters.
He also has represented charter and public school districts in audits of financial
transactions, and the formulation of corrective measures.
Draftsman, General Counsel and Executive Director, Detroit City Charter
Revision Commission.
Law Clerk, a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, 1966-67.
Teaching
At present: Adjunct Professor, State and Local Government and Franchise
Investment Law: Michigan State University College of Law; Pre-trial
advocacy: Wayne State University Law School; Legislative Drafting:
University of Detroit-Mercy; and Role of the Prosecutor, Moral and Political
Dilemmas, Introduction to the Legal System, Principles of Criminal Law:
University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Public Service
Member, Michigan Law Revision Commission (1994 -to present).
Member (1988 to 1995) and Chair (1990-1993), Board of Control, Saginaw Valley State
University.
Consultant, City Charter Commission, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1973.
Elected Member and President, Wayne County Home Rule Charter Commission, 1980-
1982.
Draftsman, General Counsel and Consultant, Pontiac City Charter Revision Commis-
sion, 1981-1982.
Activities
Elected Commissioner (Wayne County), State Bar of Michigan Board of Commis-
sioners, 1990, 1993. (Two 3-years terms).
President, Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers, 1999-2000.
Director and Board Chair, Wayne Center (developmentally disabled), 1995 to 2003.
Director, Wayne County Catholic Social Services, 1995 to present.
Director, Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, 1996 to 2002.
Selected Appellate Decision (*client)
Matheson * v Comm r of Internal Revenue, 74 USTC 836 (1980)
Center Line v Michigan Bell, * 26 Mich App 659 (1970), affd 387 Mich 260 (1972)
Detroit Bd of Ed v Mich Bell,* 51 Mich App 488 (1974) affd 395 Mich 1 (1975)
Mich Bell * v Detroit, 106 Mich App 690
Grosberg v Mich Nat Bank,* 113 Mich App 610, 29 ALR 4th 623,(1982), affd 420 Mich
707 (1984 )
Mich Nat Bank* v Paradigm Corp, 419 Mich 936 (1984)
Littky v Mich Nat Bank,* 94 Mich App 29 (1979)
Cran v Wood Motors and Mich Bank,* 53 Mich App 17 (1974)
Held Constr v Mich Nat Bank,* 124 Mich App 472 (1983)
Jacobs v Headlee and Blanchard,* 135 Mich App 167 (1984)
Detroit Edison v SEMTA, * 161 Mich App 28 (1987), lv vacated 430 Mich 868 (1988)
City of Plymouth (and 76 Suburban Water Users)* v Detroit, 130 Mich App 155
(1983), revd 423 Mich 106 (1985)
Brownstown Twp* v Wayne County, 68 Mich App 244 (1976)
Fera v Village Plaza,* 52 Mich App 532, revd 396 Mich 639, 92 ALR 3d 1278 (1976)
In re Sun Valley Foods,* 801 F2d 186 (6th Cir 1986)
Ford Motor * v Transport Idemn, 795 F2d 538 (6th Cir 1986)
Ford Motor* v Transport Indemn, 45 B.R. 843 (1984)
Ford Credit* v Traffic Transport, 150 Mich App 205 (1986)
Weinstein v Norman M Corris Corp and Omega Watches,* 432 F Supp 337 (1977)
Amicus Curiae, Kent Pros v Sheriff (on Reh), 428 Mich 314 (1987) (Jail
overcrowding)
People v Couch, 176 Mich App 254 (1989) mod. 436 Mich 414 (1990) (substantial &
compelling sentencing standard)
O Hair v Detroit, 185 Mich App 265 (1990) (FOIA)
People v Williams, 186 Mich App 606 (1990), lv den 438 Mich 862 (1991) (probation
revocation)
Amicus Curiae, People v Rodriguez, 192 Mich App (1991) (Automatic Appeal of guilty
plea)
Amicus Curiae, Austin v U.S., 509 U.S., 113 S. Ct 2801, 125 L Ed 2d 488 (1993)
(Drug Forfeiture)
People v Williams, 196 Mich App 404 (1992), lv den 442 Mich 851 (1993) (discretion re
adjournment for defendant s absence)
People v Haynes, 199 Mich App 593 (1993) (Benjamin Gravel Case)
People v Avigone and Plants, 198 Mich App 419 (1993) (Sentence Bargain
Enforcement)
O Hair v Detroit, 204 Mich App 94 (1994) (Uniform Budget Act)
O Hair v General Video, 203 Mich App 49 (1994) (Civil Obscenity Enforcement)
O Hair v Department of Corrections and Gregory Young, 206 Mich App 144 (1994)
(Enforcement of Maximum Sentences)
Amicus Curiae, Council of Organizations/Parochiad, et al. v John Engler, et al
Ingham #94-78461-AW.
Michigan v Bennis, 447 Mich 719 (1994); affirmed 116 S.Ct 994 (1996).
People v Jefferson, 450 Mich 500 (1995).
Wayne County Prosecutor v Dept. of Corrections, 451 Mich 569 (1996).
In Re O Hair v Parole Board, --- Mich App --- (11/10/98).
Publications
Books:
Liberty and Law: Culture, Court and Consent of Governed, (Proctor Publications, Ann
Arbor.)
The Duties of Liberty, (Harlow Press, Highland Park.)
Law Review articles:
Court gives Tenant s Statute a Very Anti-Tenant Spin, DCL/MSU Law Rev. Vol 1997,
Issue 3.
Justification-Analysis Should Be Restored to Intentional-Tort Immunity Cases, Mich Bar
Journal, Sept., 1997.
Fireworks Law: Its Not that Complicated, Mich Bar Journal, May, 1996.
Bennis and the War Against Drugs, Catholic University of America Law Rev., Fall, 1996.
The Young Decision Should Save County Tax Dollars, Mich Bar Journal, Nov. 1996.
A New Phenomenon - Prosecution Appeals of Decisions To Parole, Oct, 1993 Michigan
Bar Journal, p 1064; reprinted Detroit Legal Advertiser, Nov. 1993; author quoted in
Reader's Digest "Plague of Revolving Door Justice", p 33, Feb. 1994.
The Penal System, The Prosecutor, quarterly publication of the National District
Attorneys Association, Winter 1992-3.
Immune as Governmental Function or Liable as State Action: What's the Difference,
DCL Law Rev., Vol 1989, Issue 4 Winter.
Drug Sentences: Reining in Knight-Errantry, Mich Bar Journal, Oct. 1989, p. 976, cited
in People v Schultz, 435 Mich 517,546 (1990).
A Reformed Wayne County, Detroit College of law Rev., Vol 1981, No. 4, cited in
University Medical Associates v Wayne County Executive, 142 Mich App 135, 141
(1985).
Report Card on Recall Procedures, The Civic Searchlight, 1984; Grosse Points News
editorial, Jan. 12, 1984.
It s Not a Tort for Government to Govern, Michigan Township News, June 1980.
Selected Book Reviews, Columns, Detroit TV/Radio, etc.
Let Boot Camps Slow Prison Growth, The Detroit News Op. Ed, June 16, 1995.
Permissive Prisons Fail To Deter Crime, Op-Ed column, The Detroit News, Sept. 9,
1994.
Lock Justice System s Revolving Door, Op-Ed column, The Detroit News, Aug. 5, 1994.
To Test or Not To Test, added Confidence Can Save Doctors Grief, Op-Ed column,
Detroit Free Press, May 5, 1994.
Black Holes, Baby Universes, explore role of Science In life. (Review of Stephen
Hawkings book.) The Observer/Eccentric Chain May 30, 1994.
Strengthening Family Key To Cutting Crime, Op-Ed column, The Observer/Eccentric,
Jan. 20, 1994.
Should a Prisoner's Rights Outweigh His Debt? Op-Ed column, Detroit News/Free
Press, Sunday, Dec. 12, 1993, p 3b.
Rights Revolution Undermines Social Structure, book review in The Detroit News of
Sept. 9, 1993 (p 10a) of Rights Talk: The Impoverishment or Political Discourse by Mary
Ann Glendon (The Free Press, 1991).
Above The Law does police an injustice, book review in The Detroit News, June 16,
1993 (p 11a) of Above The Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force by Jerome
Skolnick and James Fyfe (The Free Press, 1992).
Government disciplinarian, an Oxymoron, The Detroit News, Op-Ed column, Apr. 30,
1993.
It's not an education if it's value-neutral, Op-Ed column, Detroit Free Press, Oct 21,
1992; reprinted by Jefferson Center in Character Education, Pasadena, California,
June-July 1993.
PUSH-OFF (Drug-Buyer asset forfeiture), Footprints, published by the National Center
For Community Policing, Michigan State University and the National Institute of Justice,
Fall/Winter, 1992, author quoted by Boston Globe "New Tactics in drug war make users
the target", April 2, 1989, p 12.
Electronic
David Newman Show, WJR Radio re Prosecutor s Election, August 3, 2000 and
Extradition of Alfred Martin, Dec. 10, 1998.
CNN, Burden of Proof, with Roger Cossack and Greta Van Susseran, November 30,
1995, re Michigan v Bennis.
NBC's Today Program, interviewed by Pete Williams, November 30, 1995 re Michigan v
Bennis.
ABC, World News Tonight, November 29, 1995, interviewed by reporter Tim O Brien,
Michigan v Bennis.
NPR, All Things Considered, November 29, 1995, interviewed by Nina Totenberg,
Michigan v Bennis.
C-Span, America and the Courts, November 25, 1995, prostitution abatement.
Kelly & Company, WXYZ-TV, Crime Victims, June 27, 1994; Rehabilitated Wife-Killer
(Fr. Vaughan Booker) various showings 1995.
Free for All, WDIV-TV, Mort Crim, Violence Reduction, Jan. 31, 1994.
David Newman Show, WXYT, Bennis case, Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, 1995; Car Seizure to
Suppress Vice, Jan. 1995; Gang Intimidation, Oct. 10, 1994; Charter School, April 29,
1994; Prison Reform, Dec. 15, 1993; and Parole Appeal, 1991.
Spotlight on The News, WXYZ-TV, Wayne County Prosecutor s Election, August 6,
2000; Detroit Charter Revision, October, 1993; Parole Reform, July, 1992; Wayne
County Charter Reform, June, 1981.
Target 4 Action, WDIV-TV, Mort Crim, "Victims of Justice", July and Dec. 1992.
CBS Radio, Gil Gross Show, Bennis case, June 1995 and Nov. 30, 1995.
Law on Trial, TV-2 Series, November, 1994.
Back-To-Back, WTVS-TV, November, 1994.
Night Time, WJR,-Kevin Joyce, "Duties of Liberty", June 1982.
Focus, WJR, J.P. McCarthy, "Duties of Liberty" July 1992.
Up Front, WXYZ-TV, Bill Bonds, Entrapment Defense, June, 1992; Parole Reform, July,
1992.
Straight Talk, WJBK-TV, Rich Fisher, Parole Reform, July, 1992.
Consultant, Alan J. Pakula Productions, Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford,
1991.
Affiliations
Alpha Sigma Nu, 1963 to present, (Academic Honor Society)
Life Member, NAACP
Who s Who in American Law, 1985-present
Martindale, Hubbell Law Directory, AV rated
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