Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore returned to court for another hearing on Friday morning hand-in-hand with his wife Kelli.
The married father of three, who faces charges of home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering, was fired by the Wolverines on December 10 over an alleged affair with personal assistant Paige Shiver.
Later that day, he was arrested for allegedly entering Shiver’s apartment, terrorizing her and threatening to harm himself in the aftermath of his dismissal. He was released from jail on $25,000 bond two days later.
Authorities say Moore blamed her for his firing and grabbed butter knives and kitchen scissors while threatening to kill himself. A prosecutor quoted the ex-coach as telling the woman: ‘My blood is on your hands.’
Shiver, who no longer works for the University of Michigan, has never confirmed the affair, nor has she spoken publicly about the allegations.
Moore arrived back in court for his latest hearing on Friday, where the validity of his arrest warrant will reportedly be determined.
According to The Detroit News, the warrant is in doubt after the officer who requested a magistrate sign it failed to disclose that the fired Wolverines coach was the boss of the woman he was accused of stalking.
Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore returned to court on Friday with wife Kelli (left) by his side
The father of three is facing charges of home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering
Shiver is expected to break cover for the first time since the scandal became public knowledge by attending Friday’s hearing.
Moore – whose wife, Kelli, has stood by him – was first arraigned on December 12 on charges of third-degree home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering.
He has pleaded not guilty and, back in January, his lawyer said the charges were based on an effort by a staff member to get a financial windfall from the school’s ‘deep pockets.’
In a court filing, defense attorney Ellen Michaels wrote: ‘This Court is not confronted with a close call or a technical defect… it is confronted with a prosecution that never should have begun.’
On February 17, Moore was handed a potential lifeline by Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who scheduled this latest hearing to examine police procedure leading up to the 40-year-old’s arrest. ‘[The] defendant’s due process may have been violated,’ Simpson said.
Moore’s defense team had argued that his arrest warrant relied on false and misleading statements and asked for the charges to be dismissed.
In what he described as a ‘glaring’ omission, Simpson said law enforcement failed to indicate that the female staffer was Moore’s employee when they were securing charges.
Moore is accused of breaking into the home of his former assistant Paige Shiver (pictured). She is alleged to have had an affair with the football coach
Shiver, who no longer works for the University of Michigan, has never confirmed the affair
That professional connection could potentially undermine the misdemeanor stalking charge by offering an explanation as to why Moore would need to repeatedly make contact with the alleged victim.
‘It’s not stalking if the communication has a legitimate purpose,’ Michaels said at the hearing, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.
Authorities did include comments made by the woman’s lawyer to police accusing Moore of misconduct. And, as Simpson explained, this may have been violated Moore’s rights.
‘What worries me is the magistrate did not get that opportunity [to hear more information],’ Simpson said, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.
‘And if the magistrate didn’t get that opportunity, that means what the people got may not have been a validly sworn out complaint…and that the defendant’s due process rights may have been violated. That’s my problem, or my concern.’
Although Simpson said he thought law enforcement omitted details and included others as ‘an intentional misdirection to the court,’ he went on to explain that police motivation doesn’t change the question of a potential rights violation.
‘What is clear from this court’s perspective is that an omission in certain contexts can be more damaging, more problematic, more troublesome, than what might be an intentional misrepresentation,’ Simpson said.
On February 17, Moore was handed a potential lifeline by Judge J. Cedric Simpson (pictured)
Moore’s latest hearing was scheduled to examine police procedure leading up to his arrest
Moore’s attorney does not dispute that Moore turned up at the woman’s apartment, but claims there is no evidence that she had told him to stay away.
‘A magistrate must be given a fair and accurate picture. When the picture is distorted, the warrant cannot stand,’ Michaels wrote.
She accused the woman’s personal lawyer, Heidi Sharp, of giving information to police to ‘villainize Mr. Moore and maximize the chances of obtaining a large settlement from the deep pockets of the University of Michigan.’
The prosecution said it wanted to hear from the detective, the victim, and officers on scene. The defense, meanwhile, was slated to hear from the detective and the officers.
Moore coached the Wolverines for two seasons as the successor to Jim Harbaugh, who won a national championship before quitting to become coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.
Kyle Whittingham, who coached Utah for two decades, is the new Michigan coach.
