News & Commentary

High school has not been all fun and games for 19-year-old Renee.Yet even though she struggled in school, she worked extra hard in her classes since she was determined to graduate. However, just before she was supposed to receive her diploma she was met with one final, humiliating challenge.The new principal pulled a group of students aside, including Renee, to tell them that they had all had "irregular" test results. Every one of them would be required to take new tests or miss the opportunity to graduate.The irregularities? Renee's scores were too excellent. The principal added that Renee and other students may have somehow used a teacher’s password and obtained the test answer key.Renee immediately recognized that she was being called a cheater. Not only that, but as a person of African descent, she noticed her scores were doubted while the school was celebrating a white student whose test performance was the same.That's when I heard about Renee's story. As the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s Racial Justice Project, I called the principal to hear what he had to say.The principal was the newest in a series of administrators at the school. As he stepped into the principal’s role, he didn't know anything about Renee’s particular academic history or the fact that her performance on a test was deemed to be too excellent once before. In this earlier incident, she was required to submit to another closely-monitored exam – which she passed.When I spoke to the principal, I was able to tell him about Renee's particular academic history: she'd scored highly partly because she'd taken the class before, not because she was a cheater.Since I had his ear, I also explained the importance of giving students an opportunity to be heard as individuals before being punished.This is basic due process every student deserves. If provided in schools, many black students would be able to keep learning and succeeding instead of being pushed into the school-to-prison pipeline.After I spoke to the principal, he not only agreed to meet with Renee and allow her an opportunity to speak for herself but also agreed to consider the individual circumstances of other students as well.Two days later, a very proud and exuberant Renee clutched a high school diploma in her hand. A little bit of due process can go a very long way.

I’ve started noticing a troubling trend in the news lately:June 9, 2011 – Police are looking for a white male who has taken liquor and baby formula from Kroger stores in Birmingham and Troy.

Our justice system should be a place where freedom has no price and equality prevails. Sometimes reality falls short of these lofty goals, and it's often the most vulnerable who pay the price. This week we've been working hard to guarantee justice for all, representing five people thrown in jail simply for being poor. And they're not the only ones...

In the past few weeks, I've seen people in tears, calling family members and begging them to come to the court with cash. I've seen defendants end up in jail over minor violations - violations that other defendants simply had to write a check to get out of. For the last five weeks my fellow interns and I have been observing courtrooms all over southeastern Michigan. We saw many defendants who are forced to choose between paying a hefty fine or spending time in jail. This type of sentence, called pay or stay, is constitutionally questionable and ethically dubious. Unfortunately, it is also very common.

Everyone likes to get out in public this time of the year, and that includes protesters, picketers and petitioners on the street and in city parks. Read this week's Rights Review to hear more about how you can participate in our work defending the First Amendment.

Coming back from summer vacation a little red? The oppressive weather hasn't slowed us down.

Just about everyone has at least one pseudonym online. Our usernames and avatars allow us the privacy and freedom to share information online that we might not dare to in public life. As a near-constant internet user, I probably have a dozen identities on a hundred websites. With one identity, I can anonymously submit a review of a local restaurant without worrying about spit in my food. As another, I can discuss private habits or political opinions without the fear or retaliation. This unique anonymity has fostered the amazing diversity of opinions online, allowing people who might otherwise be silenced, stigmatized or punished to express their views. However, corporations and public officials are increasingly using frivolous lawsuits to intimidate individuals online and discourage debate.

This week, we're defending your right to talk smack about politicians online. It's what the Founding Fathers did, after all (except for the online part).

Do you love Fellini films? How about M.C. Escher drawings, Rachmaninoff concertos or The Lord of the Rings?All these amazing artworks were in the public domain before a federal law allowed some people to make a profit at the expense of everyone's First Amendment rights.Other stories include big news on the medical marijuana front and one Michigan college now offers second chances to students.