Ex-Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway will remain in prison

Judge denies request for at-home detention, early release

DETROIT – Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway won't be getting out of prison early for her bank fraud conviction.

Hathaway had requested she be able to spend the last 6 months of her year-long sentence in an at-home detention, or be released early. But District Judge John Corbett O'Meara on Tuesday filed an order denying Hathaway's request.

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O'Meara said Hathaway had not shown that "the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack."

Read: Full order denying Hathaway's release

Hathaway is at Alserson Federal Prison in West Virginia. It's dubbed "Camp Cupcake" because of its comfy surroundings. Both Martha Stewart and Monica Conyers spent time there.

Hathaway was convicted of hiding assets while urging a bank to allow a short sale on a lakefront home in Grosse Pointe Park.

Prosecutors say Hathaway and her husband transferred a debt-free Florida home to a relative so that they'd qualify to short sell a Grosse Pointe Park home that carried a big mortgage. After they unloaded the Michigan property in a 2011 short sale, the Florida property was transferred back to them.

Hathaway's husband wasn't charged.

In short sales, banks let distressed owners sell property for less than what's owed on it.

Hathaway quit the Supreme Court in January, a week before pleading guilty. In a court filing, her attorney, Steve Fishman, says it's a serious crime but not one that threatened the banking system. He says Hathaway has been publicly humiliated and given up her law and real estate licenses.


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