The Michigan Department of Attorney General utilizes the services of Special Assistant Attorneys General from time to time when the unique circumstances of a particular case create the need for specialized services not currently available within the department.
The Michigan Attorney General has determined that a full and complete investigation of what happened within the Catholic Church is required. This investigation is and will continue to be independent, thorough, transparent, and prompt. My department and this investigation will find out who knew what, and when.
The Conviction Integrity Unit (the “CIU”) investigates claims of innocence to determine whether there is clear and convincing new evidence that the convicted defendant was not the person who committed the offense.
In Michigan, a victim is an individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial, or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime.
The Task Force launched in 2019 and consists of more than 55 different organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors - all working together to combat elder abuse.
The laws regarding expungement of criminal offenses in Michigan changed in major ways in April of 2021. This page is designed to help applicants navigate their way through the new laws, help them determine if they are eligible to have convictions expunged, to answer frequently asked questions about the new laws, and to provide links for resources and assistance.
To investigate and prosecute hate crimes by following up on every credible tip and offer departmental resources to assist local and federal law enforcement partners in this effort.
The Michigan Attorney General is leading the fight against this horrific crime by prosecuting the state's first-ever criminal cases under state law banning human trafficking in Michigan. Victims of human trafficking are in bondage through force, fraud or coercion, for the purpose of sex or labor exploitation.
Knowing how to guard your personal information is your first line of defense against identity theft.
Michigan Attorney General's robocall initiative is leading several efforts to protect Michigan residents from the billion plus robocalls made to them every year.
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq, provides that requesters can receive copies or make inspections of most public records of public bodies upon written request.
The Open Meetings Act (OMA) took effect January 1, 1977. In enacting the OMA, the Legislature promoted a new era in governmental accountability and fostered openness in government to enhance responsible decision making.1 Nothing in the OMA prohibits a public body from adopting an ordinance, resolution, rule, or charter provision that requires a greater degree of openness relative to public body meetings than the standards provided for in the OMA. 2
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
February 10, 2025
LANSING – Last week, Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins, 39, of Kalamazoo, was sentenced by Judge Kenneth Barnard in the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County to 12-50 years’ incarceration for two counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for assaulting a minor in 2005, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. A Kalamazoo County jury found Hopkins guilty in November of last year.
The victim, 14 years-old at the time, reported the assault by the then-unknown man immediately in 2005. Robinson Hopkins was not identified until 2022, 17 years after the assault, via DNA evidence.
“After so many years following this tragic assault, I hope this sentence will bring a sense of justice to the victim,” Nessel said. “Her courage to come forward and seek accountability for her abuser is truly commendable. I am, as always, thankful for the Kalamazoo SAKI unit in pursuing justice for her and many other survivors of cold-case sexual assaults.”
“Knowing that the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General were able to bring this survivor a measure of justice makes me proud of the work that we do,” said Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey S. Getting. “This defendant will spend at least the next decade in prison for his actions. A sentence that is well deserved, and one that I hope brings the survivor peace and strength moving forward.”
At the Wednesday sentencing, the survivor of the 2005 attack told the Court, “My childhood was stolen from me, which altered my adult life. I sometimes wonder how my life could have been had I not had such a traumatic thing happen to me. I want nothing more than to go back in time and have a healthy childhood like everyone deserves but that’s not what I was dealt in life. I’ve had nightmares for years from the assault all the way into my adulthood.” She continued, “I’m now 33 years old and the images of what happened to me as a child will never go away. I’ve been to therapy and though it’s a coping mechanism, it’s not ever going to stop me from remembering the things this man has done to me when I was only a child.”
In closing, the survivor added, “I still need help dealing with this trauma that may never go away but I pray for my own deliverance from the pain and suffering that I’ve went through and still go through. Even though the case is over, and trial is done, and all the lawyers and jury and everyone who watched during trial gets to move on with life, this incident is something I’ll never forget.”
This case was prosecuted by the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), and this was their 22nd cold-case sexual assault conviction.
The state’s SAKI was established in 2016 to investigate and prosecute sexual assaults related to previously untested sexual assault evidence kits. The SAKI project provides sexual assault victims with the opportunity to have their cases re-investigated in a comprehensive, trauma-informed manner. The Kalamazoo SAKI is a collaborative project of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office, and the YWCA of Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo SAKI Team is in the process of investigating more than 200 cold-case sexual assaults that occurred in Kalamazoo County between 1976 and 2015.
###
Media Contact:
Coalition of Attorneys General Challenge NIH Funding Cuts for Universities and Research Institutions
Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Immediately Halt Public Health Research Funding Cuts within 22 Plaintiff States
The previous version of this release misstated the date of the officer-involved shooting. The correct date was November 2nd, 2024.