News & Commentary

Why Michigan SB 218 Should be Voted Down

In 2006 and 2011, the Michigan state legislature expanded the Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) originally passed in 1994, creating harsher measures that imposed geographic exclusion zones barring registrants from living, working or spending time with their children in much of the state and others.

No state requires its residents to carry an ID when they leave their front door, so police shouldn’t be allowed to fingerprint people just because they’re not carrying one. We can’t let Black and Brown people bear the brunt of the next generation of police abuse.

When it comes to deciding who stays in jail and who goes free while awaiting a criminal trial, the job of a judge is not an easy one. They have the profoundly important task of protecting the constitutional rights of the criminally accused who are presumed innocent and who cannot be casually locked up before trial. It is unconstitutional for a court to detain a person unless there is clear and convincing evidence that a person presents a specified danger to a member of the public or a concrete flight risk. Inevitably, when a judge is striking this balance correctly and following the Constitution and the law, some of those decisions will draw criticism and generate controversy. 

ACLU of Michigan Launches 2021 Smart Justice Bail Reform Campaign.

The time to increase oversight of surveillance technology is now.

As COVID-19 cases soar, Michigan ends its moratorium on water shutoffs.

A Detroit Panel Discussion Looks at the Issue’s Many Moving Parts as the Specter of Shutoffs Again Looms.

For many in America, the automobile represents freedom, fun, and adventure, the chance to travel wherever, whenever. Having a car provides autonomy and access to jobs, opportunity, and the open road —For some, cars are a source of pride, prosperity or envy. For others, a chance to be carefree, blaring the radio with the windows down, while driving nowhere in particular.