The ACLU of Michigan files lawsuits that impact people’s rights by setting a legal precedent, or affecting the policies and actions of public officials. Our current Fall 2020 Legal Docket details our legal cases and actions taken in 2019-2020.
In February 2021 the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Michigan Supreme Court to rule that Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) prohibits discrimination against LGBT people.
The ACLU sued ICE in June 2017 on behalf of Iraqi residents and their families in the U.S., after ICE agents arrested more than 100 Iraqi nationals without warning — including many who came to the U.S. as children and who’ve lived in the U.S. for decades — in raids throughout Metro Detroit.
When Michigan voters approved Proposal 3 in 2018, the Michigan Constitution was amended to provide a constitutional right to vote by mail at any point during the 40 days before an election.
Some police departments in Michigan refuse to disclose citizen complaints about police misconduct, asserting that these complaints are “personnel records” exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
In April 2019 the ACLU of Michigan filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) based on the discriminatory treatment by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) of a 15-year-old Latino youth.
The public high school in Paw Paw, Michigan still uses the racial slur “Redskin” and offensive imagery of a Native American as a mascot for its athletic program. Advocacy by Native Americans in the area to change the mascot was beaten back with excessive hostility, aggression, and racial animus.