No. 19-7065October Term 2019Decided Apr 27, 2020
Braspenick v. Johnson Law PLC
The justices closed the case without using it to answer Braspenick's constitutional arguments, so the Michigan result remains intact.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 27, 2020
- What it's about
This case involves a petition for review of a decision by the Court of Appeals of Michigan in a dispute involving Johnson Law PLC. The petitioner has also requested permission to proceed without paying the court fees.
Question presented
1. Whether the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court violated the Petitioner's 14th Amendment rights to Due Process and Equal Protection of the law by failing to address the Petitioner's claims of fraud and legal malpractice? 2. Whether the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court violated the Petitioner's 1st Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances by failing to address the Petitioner's claims of fraud and legal malpractice?
- Case path
Court of Appeals of Michigan / Decision released Apr 27, 2020
- Area
Civil Rights
Briefing
What it's about
The Supreme Court ended this docket action after Braspenick asked it to review a Michigan appellate decision in a dispute with Johnson Law PLC and said the state courts violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by not addressing her fraud and legal-malpractice claims. Based on the record provided here, the Court did not take up those constitutional questions for full review, leaving the lower-court result in place.
Impact
For Braspenick, the Michigan appellate outcome still controls. For other people who say state courts ignored fraud or malpractice claims, this docket action creates no new Supreme Court rule.
What's next
The Supreme Court has finished this docket action. There is no further full review shown here, and the lower-court judgment stays in effect.
What was Braspenick asking the Supreme Court to review?
She said Michigan appellate courts failed to address her fraud and legal-malpractice claims, violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Who was affected by the Court's action in Braspenick v. Johnson Law PLC?
Braspenick is directly affected because the Michigan appellate result stays in place. Other litigants get no new Supreme Court guidance from this docket action.
What happens next in Braspenick v. Johnson Law PLC?
Nothing further is shown in this Supreme Court docket. The Court has finished this action without deciding the underlying merits.
Decision
What the Court decided
The justices closed the case without using it to answer Braspenick's constitutional arguments, so the Michigan result remains intact.
Impact
For Braspenick, the Michigan appellate outcome still controls. For other people who say state courts ignored fraud or malpractice claims, this docket action creates no new Supreme Court rule.
Not official Court text.
Timing
Decided April 27, 2020
The Court released its decision on April 27, 2020 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology