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 2023 Legal Docket details our legal cases and actions taken in 2022-2023.
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Mar 24, 2023
Police Department’s Use-of-Force Policies
Police Reform
After George Floyd was killed by police, Amy Hjerstedt, on behalf of the Eastern Upper Peninsula League of Women Voters, requested a copy of the local police department’s use-of-...
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Mar 24, 2023
Local Control Over the Detroit City Charter
Voting Rights
For two years the democratically elected commission to revise Detroit’s city charter worked with community groups to adopt more progressive policies for the city, and they presented their...
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Mar 24, 2023
Signature Gathering for Ballot Initiatives
Free Speech
In 2018 the legislature enacted a mean-spirited anti-petitioning law designed to make it more difficult to collect enough signatures to place new initiatives on the ballot. The new law put...
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Mar 24, 2023
Right to Representation in Eviction Cases
Due Process
Detroit’s eviction court, the largest district court in the state and one of the busiest in the country, hears approximately 30,000 eviction cases per year, but almost none of the tenants...
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Mar 24, 2023
Jail Refuses to Provide Medication for Opioid Use Disorder
Prisoners' Rights
Jails and prisons are legally required to provide medical care to all who come into their custody, but many refuse to provide medication for opioid use disorder, the medical condition...
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Mar 24, 2023
Police Brutality Downriver
Police Reform
In October 2021 the ACLU of Michigan filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, urging its Civil Rights Division to investigate the Taylor Police Department for racially biased...