TRAVERSE CITY — A U.S. District Court judge tossed charges against a local man accused of illegally collecting dozens of guns in what his attorney considers a rare federal court victory.
A grand jury indicted Mark Andrew McMichael on two charges after investigators found dozens of firearms and thousands of bullets in his home. Law prohibits citizens previously committed to a mental institution from owning firearms and federal attorneys pointed to McMichael’s time spent at a Munson Medical Center mental health ward in 2014.
McMichael’s attorney, Steven Dulan, argued the law applies only to those who were treated involuntarily. Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker of the U.S. District Court for the state’s western district sided with Dulan and dismissed the charges in a written opinion Oct. 5.
"The Court is making no judgment on policy grounds about whether Mr. McMichael should, or should not, be permitted to possess firearms and ammunition," Jonker wrote. "The Court merely concludes as a matter of law that Mr. McMichael was not prohibited ... from possessing firearms or ammunition because he has never been committed to a mental institution."
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators learned McMichael, a registered gun collector, possessed numerous firearms, despite his stay in the mental health facility.
Officials searched his Grand Traverse County home Dec. 1 and found approximately 76 guns, some stowed between wall studs and ceiling rafters — including “AR-15 and AK-47 type semiautomatic rifles" — and more than 17,500 rounds of ammunition, according to court records.
Investigators also found McMichael held a federal firearms collectors' license since 2007. He re-certified in May 2016 without indicating the 2014 commitment, court records indicate. But Jonker ruled he never was formally committed.
Dulan said McMichael legally owned the firearms, but a grand jury and federal attorneys disagreed, citing his mental health history. Grand jurors indicted him on committed person in possession of firearms and ammunition and making a false statement in a firearms license application charges.
The charges are tied to a 12-day hospitalization at Munson in May 2014 when two doctors determined McMichael needed to be committed to a mental health institution. One doctor diagnosed him with acute paranoia and schizophrenia. The other ruled he suffered from psychosis, court records indicate.
Dulan previously challenged those diagnoses and considered them “tainted” because McMichael’s ex-wife spoke to the physicians prior to their rulings.
One of the doctors recommended McMichael be transferred to Munson’s behavioral health services program. He elected to defer a court hearing on the matter and cooperated with the treatment and eventually officials discharged him, according to Jonker’s written ruling.
Federal attorneys cited case law in arguing the incident exemplifies a mental health facility commitment. But the law fails to define “committed,” prompting both sides to cite additional case law, according to Jonker's ruling.
The federal attorneys said the diagnoses from the two doctors were enough, while McMichael and Dulan argued a formal commitment must include an action by an authoritative body or board and due process, Jonker wrote.
Nils Kessler, an assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the case, did not immediately return calls requesting comment.
He previously argued McMichael’s treatment was involuntary, citing notes from medical personnel that appear to show McMichael acknowledging the treatment was against his will and repeatedly asking to leave.
Jonker cited additional case law and ultimately agreed with Dulan.
“I feel that justice prevailed,” Dulan said.
He did not immediately know whether Kessler or other federal attorneys would appeal the dismissal. Dulan expects to record another victory should they choose to.
Pursuing legal action against McMichael’s ex-wife also remains a possibility, Dulan said.
For now he and McMichael plan to celebrate the dismissed charges — a rare occurrence in federal court, Dulan said.
“Statistically, this was an unlikely event,” Dulan said.