News & Commentary

Update: The ACLU of Michigan is happy to report that after receiving our letter, Shiawassee County Administrator Margaret McAvoy has agreed that Mr. Gould has a First Amendment right to demonstrate in front of the Shiawassee County Courthouse on the Fourth of July and will allow his protest to take place without interference. In addition, as suggested in our letter, the County plans to explore establishing policies regarding protests on County property. We are pleased that this controversy resulted in the happy ending for free speech rights fitting of the Fourth of July, the day when we celebrate the freedoms that make our country great. Last week, our office was contacted by James Gould, a Shiawassee County resident seeking our assistance in defending his First Amendment right to demonstrate at the Shiawassee County Courthouse on Independence Day. Today, the ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to Shiawassee County officials requesting that the County respect Mr. Gould’s constitutional rights and not interfere with his planned protest. Mr. Gould is a member of the “Taxed Enough Already Party” or “TEA Party” and has organized an anti-tax rally planned for this Saturday, July 4th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the lawn of the Shiawassee County Courthouse in downtown Corunna, Michigan. Mr. Gould explained that when he sought a permit from the County to hold the demonstration, he was informed by County officials that they did not allow the Courthouse lawn to be used for rallies that there was no permit process in place allowing individuals to apply to use the property. This apparent absolute ban on rallies is concerning because there is perhaps no right more fundamental in a democracy than the right to gather and speak out against perceived abuses of power by the government in traditional public forums. As the Sixth Circuit stated in a case involving the steps of the nearby Owosso City Hall, “Streets, sidewalks, parks and other similar public places are so historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights that access to them for the purpose of exercising such rights cannot constitutionally be denied broadly and absolutely….” Our letter to Shiawassee County Administrator Margaret McAvoy reads in part: “We write to urge you to refrain from interfering with the fundamental right of Mr. Gould and the TEA Party to protest in a public forum. Our country was founded on the principle that individuals may peacefully speak out against what they perceive to be misguided government policy. Indeed, it would be ironic if Shiawassee County were to unconstitutionally punish Mr. Gould or suppress his speech on the Fourth of July, the day when we celebrate the freedoms that make our country great.” To view the full text of the letter, please click here. Libby Benton just completed her first year at Harvard Law School and will intern with the ACLU of Michigan through the summer.

This week, the Michigan legislature introduced one of the most comprehensive packages of prevention legislation. This is not about pro-choice or anti-choice, but about reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, which account for half of all pregnancies. Shouldn’t that be the ultimate goal? As Senator Gilda Jacobs said, these 15 bills are about basic human health rights and needs.

When can you tell if summer has officially begun? For me, it’s when I can enjoy dinner on a restaurant patio without fear of developing hypothermia. It’s also a good sign when the barbeque invitations start rolling in from friends. However, the warm weather brings more along with it than just dinner on a patio or hotdogs in the backyard. As with every other change of season, there are adjustments that have to be made in order to ensure that this summer will be one to remember for all the right reasons. While it may be time to dig in the closet to pull our shorts and sandals, it’s also a good idea to pick up a copy of The Voice, our very own student newsletter. In it you’ll find a lot of inspiring stories about cases we’ve championed along with a lot of useful information related to students and minors. You’ll also find a guide on how to throw a police-free house party and a thorough description of Michigan’s minor in possession laws. Michigan’s minor in possession laws and their enforcement aren’t always in sync. As a result, it’s important for minors to be aware of their rights as well as the consequences of their actions. For instance, did you know that police cannot force an underage pedestrian to submit to a breathalyzer if they don’t have probable cause? The publications on our website provide insight into a host of issues and provide valuable information about your rights in your community. So while school may be out that doesn’t mean that you don’t have some homework to do! Be sure to check out The Voice along with our other publications. You may be in for a surprise – our publications may just be a part of that summer reading you’ve been looking forward to.

Jay

Roland Leggett, ACLU of Michigan Field OrganizerHappy holidays! You may not be used to hearing that in June but for a lot of people in the LGBT community, myself included, this time of year is almost as exciting as the real thing. That’s because June is the month where cities around the world celebrate their LGBT communities with pride events.Pride month has come so far, that now it’s actually considered to be something of a national tradition. In fact, earlier this month the White House released a proclamation naming June as National Pride month!We here at the ACLU of Michigan have some exciting things in store for Pride Month as well. It all started last night with what is the first in a series of LGBT themed events called “Libations and Liberties”, an ACLU cocktail party for the LGBT community and its straight allies. The event is being put on by our LGBT Project, which works to fight discrimination and move public opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislatures and public education. We will also be out and proud at Motor City Pride, State Pride in Lansing and Hotter than July. While we’ll have our usual goodies to give out, we have a special surprise in store this year as well.This is also a great time of year take inventory of  the progress that has been made this year as well as some of the challenges. The country is still struggling to realize the promise of equality for all under the law. However, this Pride month we invite you to stand alongside us, as we continue to fight for the constitutional rights of all Americans.It doesn’t hurt that you can have a little fun along the way at a pride event; so stop by and say hi! 

Last week, I attended the Greater Flint Branch of the ACLU of Michigan’s annual dinner where the sold out and enthusiastic crowd showed that the defense of civil liberties was alive and well in Flint!As a native of Lapeer, meeting and honoring those who have worked and continue to work to preserve civil liberties in the Flint area was a wonderful way to begin my summer as a legal intern with the ACLU of Michigan.The dinner honored Judge Paul V. Gadola as the Thomas A. Baltus Civil Libertarian of the Year. Judge Gadola, a founding member of the Flint Branch who recently concluded over 20 years of service on the federal bench, shared a few of the highlights of his distinguished career and spoke about the experiences that shaped his commitment to civil liberties.Judge Gadola specifically pointed to the racial discrimination and inequalities that existed in Flint as prompting him to help found the Flint Branch of the ACLU in 1963. He described community efforts to address residential segregation in Flint through the Flint Fair Housing Ordinance. On his part this included a 3 a.m. trip to the courthouse to ensure that supporters of the ordinance could rally for its passage in front of city hall the next day.Judge Gadola also spoke about what he felt was the most important decision of his career, granting habeas corpus to a woman convicted of first-degree murder on the grounds that she was denied her right to effective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment.Although Judge Gadola’s decision in that case was overturned, the ACLU of Michigan continues to defend the right to counsel through their current challenge to Michigan’s indigent defense system in Duncan v. Michigan and by working as part of the Michigan Campaign for Justice to advance legislative reforms to the system.While Judge Gadola, a Republican and Reagan appointee, might not be the type of person who comes to mind as a “card carrying” member of the ACLU, his career demonstrates that a commitment to civil liberties transcends political labels and stereotypes.Thank you to the Flint Branch for a great evening and inspiration to last the summer!By Libby Benton, first year at Harvard Law School, intern with the ACLU of Michigan through the summer

Jess

You’ve seen the billboards and heard the public service announcements – time has run out! Starting today you will need a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliant document to cross the border. That means all Michigan residents crossing any land or sea border, including crossing to and from Canada, will be required to produce either a federal passport, a federally issued passcard, or a state issued Michigan Enhanced Driver’s License. The Michigan Secretary of State has been offering the Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) for a couple of months now and we’ve been sounding the alarm bells since. You see this optional license/ID card will use an unencrypted Radio Frequency Identification chip that contains a unique citizen ID number. RFIDs are tiny computer chips connected to miniature antennae with sufficient capacity to hold an enormous amount of data. These tags can be read by anyone with a reader from 30 feet to a football field away, through your wallet and even walls. The state could have secured these chips by encrypting them or insisting that they be short-range, but instead they decided to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that makes it mandatory to have unencrypted long-range chips. You may be asking yourself why -- why would they put our private information at risk? Their answer is that the card only includes a unique identification number. That’s true, but unfortunately the identification number will become a key, like the current social security number, to unlocking all kinds of information about you. The EDL is also issued with a protective sleeve to prevent the stealing of information from the unencrypted RFID, but that offers little protection given the frequency with which we are required to produce our driver’s license as a verifying document. More frightening is that a reader, able to capture the information from your RFID and able to easily clone RFID’s, are readily available and cheap. So, not only can your license be read at a distance by random scanners, there are no laws that prohibit the skimming of information on RFID, nor the use of such information by commercial brokers. By contrast, acknowledging that social security numbers are the key to identity theft, our laws prohibit their publication and criminalize their misuse. Given the emerging controversy about RFID (Canada has taken a step back to review their use); at the very least the Governor should employ her new Chief Privacy Officer to conduct a review and begin a public debate about the use of RFID. Since the technology is evolving at such a rapid pace, it seems critical that Michigan have laws in place that address and criminalize the misuse of the technology.

Rola