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 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.
In July 2020 a squadron of Detroit Police Department officers approached a young African American man to make an arrest on a residential street.
Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3 in 2018, which enshrined in Michigan’s Constitution the right to vote an absentee ballot in the 40 days before an election, either at home by mail or in person at the voter’s local clerk’s office.
Michigan has the sad distinction of being a leader in the use of facial recognition surveillance technology, which has been shown to be inaccurate, racially biased, and an unprecedented threat to personal privacy.
Michigan has a statute that enhances punishment for assaults that are motivated by race, religion, national origin, or gender.