Due process is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This principle gives individuals the ability to enforce their rights against violations by the government. The ACLU of Michigan recognizes this fundamental principle and works to protect fairness, justice and liberty for all.
UPDATE: (1/5/2010) Trespassing charges were dismissed today against Caleb Poirier, a homeless man who was arrested for living on public property.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:December 23, 2009Ann Arbor, Mich. – In a friend of the court brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged the 15th District Court in Ann Arbor to dismiss charges against a homeless man who was arrested for living on public property. The brief was filed in support of Caleb Poirier, a resident of the local homeless encampment “Camp Take Notice.”
> Full StoryACLU Praises Ruling as Major Civil Liberties Victory for Young Adults
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2007
Detroit - In a ruling that will impact young adults throughout the state, a federal judge struck down a state law today that allows police to force pedestrians under the age of 21 to take a Breathalyzer test without first obtaining a search warrant, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today.
> Full StoryIMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 7, 2006
Detroit -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today filed a lawsuit against two Lansing police officers on behalf of a Lansing resident who was evicted from his home by police without a court order.
> Full StoryJanuary 11, 2006 - Press Release
DETROIT -- In a move reserved for extraordinary cases, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today filed a class action in the Michigan Court of Appeals to force a Michigan judge to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting poor people the right to attorneys on appeal.
> Full StoryEvery Michigan Citizen Is Entitled to Legal Representation, Says ACLU
June 23, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Michigan law denying legal representation to poor people in a criminal appeal is unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed the one of a kind case after the law was passed in 1999.
> Full StoryMay 2, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT - Though the Saginaw County sheriff claims that a policy of stripping and holding pre-trial detainees naked in a segregated cell has ended, there is now evidence that this long-standing practice may still exist, according to a motion to grant class certification filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan late Friday.
> Full StoryClick here to read the New York Times editorial on this case
April 25, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is hopeful that the Supreme Court will strike down a Michigan law denying legal representation to thousands of poor people in their criminal appeals. The Court will consider the issue during oral argument today.
> Full StoryMarch 29, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it will join in three lawsuits that have been filed against the Saginaw County Jail for allowing egregious and unconstitutional treatment of detainees. In two of the cases, detainees were stripped and held naked in a cell referred to as "the hole." In the third case, several policies are being challenged that have allowed strip searches of thousands of detainees.
> Full StoryJanuary 10, 2005 - Press Release
DETROIT -- Despite a loss in the U.S. Supreme Court today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan remains hopeful that the Supreme Court eventually will strike down a Michigan law denying legal representation to thousands of poor people on appeal.
> Full StoryOctober 20, 2004 - Special to the Detroit News by Kary Moss, ACLU of Michigan Executive Director
Bush administration tries to increase government powers that erode liberties, even as a judge finds parts of the Patriot Act require greater public oversight
The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonpartisan organization. We have defended Rush Limbaugh and Oliver North. We have defended the rights of Michigan citizens to put up Bush/Cheney lawn signs as well as Kerry/Edwards lawn signs. It is the principle that matters.
> Full StoryMichigan Law Would Have Prevented Appointment of Counsel for the Poor
June 17, 2003 - Press Release
DETROIT - Today, in a significant victory for the right to counsel, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a Michigan law that would have prevented judges from appointing lawyers to represent poor people on appeal in guilty plea cases. The challenge to the law was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
> Full StoryUpdate - January 24, 2004
Court Denies Government Request to Rehear Closed Immigration Hearings Case
The Court denied the government's petition for a rehearing in the ACLU's successful challenge to the government's blanket policy of conducting secret deportation hearings in post-9/11 cases.
Last August, a unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court struck down the policy, declaring in a much-quoted decision that "democracies die behind closed doors." If the government chooses to pursue the case, it now has 90 days from today to file a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
The ACLU has also challenged the government's secrecy rules on behalf of a group of New Jersey newspapers. In that case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld the government's secrecy policy and recently denied an ACLU request for a full court rehearing.
By reinforcing a split between the Circuits, today's order by the Sixth Circuit increases the likelihood that the Supreme Court will have the final say on the legality of secret deportation hearings. The deadline for filing a petition for certiorari from the Third Circuit decision is the first week of March.
January 29, 2002 - Press Release
In a case that could open the doors to legal proceedings of detainees around the nation, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of two local newspapers and Rep. John Conyers, D-MI, saying that a categorical block on public access to immigration hearings is unconstitutional and un-American.
> Full StoryDecember 10, 2002 - Press Release
DETROIT -- Three lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan will be heard this Wednesday, December 11, in three different courts. Two of the cases involve free speech, while the third involves due process.
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