Victory!

In March 2017 the ACLU of Michigan received a complaint that representatives of Gideons International were permitted to enter Union City Middle School to distribute bibles and “Life Books” with religious teachings to fifth grade students in their classrooms. 

Throughout the country, federal courts have consistently held that the distribution of Gideon Bibles in public school classrooms during school hours is unconstitutional because it is a governmental endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. 

The ACLU wrote a letter to the superintendent requesting that the school district immediately put an end to the practice. In response, the superintendent assured the ACLU that the practice would not continue. 

(ACLU Attorneys Michael J. Steinberg and Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio.)

In an effort to end the extreme partisan gerrymandering that threatens to undermine the legitimacy of our system of representative government, the ballot committee Voters Not Politicians submitted more than 425,000 signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2018 ballot. 

If approved by the voters, the initiative would give responsibility for drawing legislative districts to an independent citizens redistricting committee.  In May 2018 an organization funded by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit to prevent the ballot initiative from going on the ballot, arguing that the proposed constitutional amendment was a “revision” of Michigan’s Constitution rather than an amendment. 

When the case reached the Michigan Supreme Court, the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief in favor of ballot access. 

In July 2018 the Michigan Supreme Court agreed and, by a vote of 4-3, ordered the state to put the initiative on the November 2018 ballot. 

(Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution v. Secretary of State; ACLU Attorney Sharon Dolente; Cooperating Attorney Andrew Nickelhoff of Sachs Waldman.)

Maysaa Ouza, as a daughter of immigrants in Dearborn, always knew she wanted to give back to her country. Upon graduating from law school, she applied for and was accepted into the competitive Air Force JAG Corps. 

However, she later learned that in order to enter basic training, she would have to remove her hijab, even though wearing the traditional Muslim head covering was a central tenet of her religion. 

In November 2017, the ACLU intervened on behalf of Lieutenant Ouza, arguing that the government did not have a compelling interest in preventing her from wearing the hijab. In response, the JAG Corps reversed its decision and granted a request for a religious accommodation to hear a hijab for basic training. 

In May 2018 she became the first Air Force JAG Corps officer authorized to wear hijab.  

(ACLU Attorneys Heather Weaver, Daniel Mach, Art Spitzer, and Michael J. Steinberg; Cooperating Attorney Kassem Dakhlallah.)

Read case background here.