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Court Lets Lawyer's Suspension Stand In Text-Message Case

DETROIT (AP) - A 30-day suspension for a lawyer involved in the Detroit text-message scandal will stand after the Michigan Supreme Court refused to intervene.

In an order released Thursday, the court declined to take an appeal from lawyer Mike Stefani or the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

Stefani represented police officers who sued Detroit's then-mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, over firings and demotions. Kilpatrick and the city settled for $8.4 million after Stefani obtained text messages that contradicted Kilpatrick's denials of an affair with his chief of staff.

Stefani was faulted by the Attorney Discipline Board for not giving the text messages to the judge who was overseeing the litigation. Publication of the text messages by the Detroit Free Press led to criminal charges against Kilpatrick and his resignation as mayor in 2008.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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