COURT NEWS UPDATE – ATTORNEY LANNY FISHER VIOLATES CURFEW

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES – Buchanan area attorney Lanny Fisher will be facing trial later this year on 16 felony and misdemeanor charges after action last week in Berrien County Trial Court. The decision to bind Fisher over for trial was made by Van Buren County District Judge Michael McKay who was assigned to the case after Berrien County judges recused themselves.
Judge McKay presided over two days of hearings last fall that saw testimony from a number of women who said that Fisher forced or coerced them to have sexual relations with him in exchange for his representation of them on criminal matters. Attorneys were then given the chance to submit briefs in advance of last week’s ruling.

The counts against Fisher include one count of CSC first degree in the commission of a felony (kidnapping) which carries a maximum penalty of life or any term of years and one count of kidnapping which carries a maximum penalty of life or any term of years.
Fisher is also charged with nine counts of CSC third degree using force or coercion which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison; one count of CSC fourth degree which has a maximum penalty of two years in prison; and four counts of prostitution which is a 93 day misdemeanor.
The first degree CSC and kidnapping charges were added by the prosecution after going over the testimony from the preliminary hearings last fall.

Judge McKay’s decision last week to bind Fisher over for trial came after both parties’ attorneys made oral arguments on their respective positions.
County Prosecutor Steve Pierangeli spoke about the definitions of force and coercion and cited the alleged victims’ testimony. He said they felt they had no choice but to go along with Fisher’s requests to engage in sexual conduct out of their fear of going to jail.
“In the narrative the defendant set up, he says he knows a lot of people, he knows judges, attorneys, police and even criminals, he has a lot of pull and can keep the woman out of jail,” Pierangeli said. “He says a court appointed attorney wouldn’t cut it … the victim felt she had no choice but to comply.”

Defense attorney Josh Blanchard also addressed the force and coercion issue and argued that Fisher didn’t force the women to engage in sexual relations with him. He noted that the law addresses certain relationships such as those between a prison guard and an inmate, a doctor and a patient and a teacher and a student, but not a lawyer and a client.
He also pointed to what he called very serious credibility issues with number of the victims who include one woman who allegedly made a false accusation of rape against another man and two women who ended up in prison. He said that at least one of the women went back to Fisher for representation after the alleged incident.
After hearing the arguments, Judge McKay ruled that Fisher be bound over for trial, saying that the women testifying against Fisher did not know each other and all spoke about engaging in sexual acts with him in exchange for his representation. He said the women either initially told Fisher no or were afraid to say no.
He likened the women who went back to Fisher to represent them to women suffering from battered wife syndrome or who don’t report rape. “Here, he demonstrated such power and dominance with the assaults that they felt powerless,” the judge said. “… One woman said ‘when you are fearful, you do what you’re told.”
“There were similar themes, the women were inexperienced with the court system, they were afraid of going to jail and they didn’t have the money to pay him,” Judge McKay said. “They thought he was larger than the court system and he was well known. They felt he held their fate in his hands.”
Fisher, 54, is accused in incidents dating back 10 to 12 years that occurred at his Buchanan law office, his Buchanan area home and a Benton Township hotel. He was arrested and arraigned last April after police began interviewing women in the fall of 2022 about his alleged actions.
Fisher has been free on $150,000 cash or surety bond since then but was taken into custody last week on a bond violation in order to be fitted with a tether monitoring device. It is alleged that police stopped Fisher out after curfew Jan. 2. His curfew is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
It is unclear when Fisher will next be in court and when a trial might start. The case will be sent back to the State Court Administrative Office for assignment to a new judge to handle the rest of the case.