When a community of “old order” Amish families moved to a rural area of Lenawee County, many from neighboring communities where they had lived in peace for generations, county officials insisted that they must use running water and modern sewage systems that conflict with the order’s religious practice of rejecting the use of modern technology. Despite efforts to educate local officials about the religious practices of the Amish, the county posted notices on Amish homes calling them “unfit for human habitation.” In October 2019 Lenawee County filed lawsuits against every Amish family in the county asking a court to kick the Amish off their own property and demolish their homes. The ACLU of Michigan is representing the Amish families to defend their right to adhere to their religious beliefs while not harming anyone else. In December 2019 we filed counterclaims for violating the Amish families’ constitutional rights to religious liberty as well as federal law. The case remains pending. (Lenawee County Health Department v. Eicher; ACLU Attorneys Phil Mayor, Ramis Wadood, and Dan Korobkin; Cooperating Attorney John Shea; co-counsel Rick Schulte, Steve Behnke, Dennis Mulvihill, and Jacob Bender.)
