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Karl P. Numinen

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Biography

Mr. Numinen is a trial lawyer and senior partner of the firm Numinen, DeForge & Toutant, PC., in Marquette, Michigan. His practice has focused on criminal defense and courtroom litigation for over 30 years. He is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been recognized as one of Michigan's top lawyers by Best Lawyers in America®, Super Lawyers® and Leading Lawyers® magazine. Mr. Numinen is recognized as a Preeminent Attorney with an "AV Rating" by Martindale-Hubbell. He is a past President of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM) and has served on its Board of Directors for many years. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). He currently serves as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly.

Mr. Numinen has tried cases in numerous state and federal courts, obtaining acquittals on virtually every kind of criminal case, including murder, sexual assault, drugs, tax evasion, child abuse, robbery, and drunk driving. He has also obtained multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements for clients, including a top ten verdict in Michigan, as recognized by the Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He has appeared in special episodes of "Dateline NBC", A&E's "Accused: Guilty or Innocent?", and "Fatal Vows." Coverage of his trials and cases have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and the Michigan Bar Journal. He was also featured in a profile in Leading Lawyers magazine.

In addition to his trial work, Mr. Numinen has a record of successful appellate cases in the Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Supreme Court, and the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. His published appellate opinions include victories representing adoptive parents in a step-parent adoption case, a former state employee's claims for non-duty disability retirement benefits, and defending a client against her former boyfriend's claims to her real estate and other property rights.

Mr. Numinen has extensive experience as an instructor in trial skills advocacy. He has taught on the faculty of the prestigious Hillman Trial Advocacy Program of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Michigan as well as the CDAM Trial College and Evidence Boot Camp. He created the CDAM MasterClass program and has taught numerous seminars, including classes on the cross examination of snitches, handling false confession cases, preparing your client to testify, the use of experts, and effective voir dire. He has also presented many webinars on criminal law issues for CDAM and NACDL. He wrote two monographs published by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education on "How to Challenge a Search Warrant of a Home" and "How to Prepare a Client to Take the Stand in a Criminal Case."

Practice Areas

  • Criminal Law
  • Divorce
  • Employment Law
  • Personal Injury

Education

  • Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan
    • Juris Doctor - 1992
    • Honors: American Jurisprudence Award, Trial Workshop
    • Honors: American Jurisprudence Award, Family Law
    • Honors: Dean's List
  • Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
    • Bachelor of Arts - 1988

Bar Admissions

  • Michigan, 1992
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan, 1992
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit

Representative Cases

  • Nason vs. State Employee Retirement Board, 290 Mich App 416, 2011
  • In Re: Caldwell, 225 Mich App 801; 571 NW2d 218 (1997), rev’d 228 Mich App 116 (1998), cert denied 457 Mich 865 (1998)

Professional Associations

  • Executive Committee, Federal Bar Association, Western District of Michigan, 2012 to Present
  • Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
  • Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association
  • Member, Family Law Council, State Bar of Michigan, 1995 to 2000
  • Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • President, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan

Current Employment Position

  • Partner

Honors

  • Super Lawyers of Michigan, 2011 – Present
  • The Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys, Martindale-Hubbell “AV Rating”, 2014 – Present
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2012 – Present
  • AVVO — Rated “Superb” 10/10 Rating, 2011 – Present
  • President, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, 2020 – Present

Affiliations

  • Karl P. Numinen is Of Counsel to the Barone Defense Firm, the premiere DUI defense firm in Michigan

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.