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Earlier this week, the Michigan House of Representatives hastily passed a bill that ignores U.S. Supreme Court rulings, abandoning over 360 men and women serving cruel and unusual sentences in Michigan.Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the sentencing of children to mandatory life without parole is unconstitutional.Yet Henry Hill, Barbara Hernandez and hundreds of others still sit behind bars for crimes they committed when they were too young to vote, buy a lottery ticket, or sit on the very jury that convicted them.

Jay Kaplan, LGBT Project Staff AttorneyShare this on Facebook | Tweet ThisAcross the country, we are seeing incredible progress made in terms of marriage equality and relationship recognition.To talk about the sweeping changes we've seen in the last decade and look at some upcoming challenges, we're talking about Marriage Matters this month. This series of blogs will range from the history of the fight for LGBT rights in Michigan to an in-depth look at the upcoming DeBoer case, which could impact marriage equality in Michigan when heard later this month. To date, 17 states as well as the District of Columbia permit same-sex couples to marry, and more will soon join with almost 50 current legal challenges in both state and federal courts regarding the issue. At the ACLU of Michigan, we maintain that a legal civil marriage is a fundamental constitutional right, recognized by the United States Supreme Court.These marriage certificates are more than just a piece of paper or the opportunity to celebrate love. They are the legal recognition of the dignity and worth of same-sex couples and their love and commitment to one another.In Michigan, we still have a long way to go. Current Michigan law denies same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry. The right to marry has significant impact on both the financial and emotional stability of LGBT families. It affects the relationships of parents and children, leaving children without the legal protections and security of two parents.The right to marry also determines the eligibility of loved ones to access important financial securities, such as social security benefits and health insurance. Without this fundamental right, LGBT families suffer the indignity of being legally fragmented in the most basic of ways.The ACLU of Michigan is unique in that it one of the only ACLU state affiliates that has a project specifically devoted to the legal issues and concerns of the LGBT community, established in 2001.For the past 13 years, the ACLU of Michigan has worked tirelessly to ensure that LGBT couples and families have the rights or will gain the rights to practice their love and raise their families the same as everyone else. We will continue to work tirelessly until every couple and every family in Michigan is considered equal under the law, from the schoolhouse to the altar.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to read more in our Marriage Matters series.Key News & DocumentsLearn more about issues you care about and take action: become a member, subscribe to our email action alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. 

In 2005, the city of Detroit faced a monumental dilemma: It desperately needed to borrow more than $1.4 billion to help shore up its two pension systems, but doing so would far exceed the legal limit on the amount of debt it could amass.The solution arrived at by the administration of then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was to sidestep the law by turning to something called certificates of participation, or COPs, which are similar to municipal bonds.But instead of borrowing the money directly, Kilpatrick and his crew – following the advice of investment bankers who would reap massive profits from the deal – set up two nonprofit “service corporations,” which in turn created trusts that would sell the COPs to investors. Technically, it was these two nonprofits that were obligated to ensure repayment of the debt. The city then entered into a contract with the nonprofits – both of which were controlled entirely by city officials -- agreeing to pay them for services rendered.In other words, they were mere shells.

In 2005, the city of Detroit faced a monumental dilemma: It desperately needed to borrow more than $1.4 billion to help shore up its two pension systems, but doing so would far exceed the legal limit on the amount of debt it could amass.The solution arrived at by the administration of then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was to sidestep the law by turning to something called certificates of participation, or COPs, which are similar to municipal bonds. But instead of borrowing the money directly, Kilpatrick and his crew – following the advice of investment bankers who would reap massive profits from the deal – set up two nonprofit “service corporations,” which in turn created trusts that would sell the COPs to investors. Technically, it was these two nonprofits that were obligated to ensure repayment of the debt. The city then entered into a contract with the nonprofits – both of which were controlled entirely by city officials -- agreeing to pay them for services rendered.In other words, they were mere shells.“At the time, it was seen as a clever legal circumvention of the debt limit,” says Laura Bartell, a Wayne State University Law School professor who specializes in bankruptcy.Last Friday, lawyers representing the city filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the deal was illegal from the start, and because of that Detroit should not be required to continue paying off the debt. The case is now in the hands of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Rhodes.The lawsuit came as a complete surprise to most people, even those who have been following the bankruptcy proceedings closely. Until this point, attention in this aspect of the bankruptcy proceedings has been focused instead on interest rate swaps, a controversial side deal to the COPs transactions.A type of hedge, these swaps were essentially a very high-stakes gamble. In effect, the city bet that interest rates were going to rise over time. If they did, the banks would be on the hook for the increased costs. Instead, the economy crashed in 2008, and interest rates fell to almost nothing. As a result, the cost to the city has been about $300 million in payments to what are known as the swap counterparties – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and UBS, an investment bank based in Switzerland.For the better part of a year, the city has been trying to end the swaps. The banks claim that the cost of doing so should be about $300 million, and that the city is in a bad negotiating position because, even in bankruptcy, the swap payments are secured by casino tax revenues (as a result of another deal, struck in 2009).This is where the weeds thicken.

Jose Luis Sanchez-Ronquillo is a devoted husband and father to two young children. For 16 years, he has worked hard at the same job and was recently promoted to a manager position. Jose has no criminal record. In fact, he's a beloved member of his Ann Arbor neighborhood. 

So just what do we do all year?If you’re ever wondered how the ACLU of Michigan is advancing civil liberties and rights in the courts throughout Michigan, the latest edition of the ACLU of Michigan legal docket should clear up all your questions right away.Every year we publish a comprehensive listing of the amazing work done by our legal team and volunteer attorneys to protect our civil and constitutional rights.In our January 2014 edition, you can read the stories of over a hundred cases involving education, poverty, racial justice, LGBT rights, immigrant rights, women’s rights, free speech, police misconduct and more.

A new study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation reports the very disturbing information that only 31 percent of all Michigan students and only 19 percent of low-income students are reading proficiently in fourth grade in 2013.Unfortunately, this data was not very surprising to us. At the ACLU of Michigan, we've heard it before as we've worked in school districts across the state.In Highland Park, where 90% of eleventh graders are not reading proficient, we are trying to enforce a little known state law that requires that school districts provide special assistance to children who are not reading at grade level in the 4th and 7th grades.As Governor Snyder and the legislature work to determine how best to spend this year’s $1 billion surplus in Michigan, it’s time that they looked hard at what it will take to ensure that there is high quality literacy intervention in every school. We must be strategic, rather than continue a hit-or-miss approach that falls desperately short of what is needed to help these children.Part of the problem rests with the State. Michigan has no literacy intervention programs in place to meet the compelling need for highly qualified teachers, particularly in literacy and mathematics instruction at the lower grades, and in disciplinary literacy instruction at the upper grades.It is time for the State to begin working with the tremendous experts we have in our public universities to develop the best possible models. Part of the problem is that the lack of expert voices who can accurately evaluate high quality literacy intervention programs and the cost of an adequate education.It is time that the State convene a blue-ribbon commission to identify the most important elements of such a program and then for an impartial expert to determine what it will cost. Part of the problem is that the scheme for funding public education is broken. Between 2002 and 2011, real per-pupil funding fell by 24.5%. Now over fifty districts in Michigan are classified as in “financial distress,” forced to cut into instruction. In places like Pontiac, the average class size is now regularly at 40 students.In addition, the main reason so many school facilities are in terrible condition is because they depend on local property taxes for their funding. This means that children in affluent districts are assured of state-of-the-art facilities while children in poor districts are compelled to learn in unsafe and uncomfortable conditions.It is time that the State stopped defunding public education and rectify these tremendous inequities. And part of the problem is that education policy is now driven by wishful thinking -- the misguided belief that markets will weed out the bad and reward the good.There is no evidence to support the notion that emphasizing 'school of choice' programs will raise student performance and close gap between the best-performing students and those at the bottom. Instead, research shows that the real effect is to leave the poorest students in the lowest performing schools.Our state must remember that a rising tide may lift all boats, but a sinking ship kills all those on board. We must pull together to ensure all our state's students have an opportunity to succeed. We are in this together.