News & Commentary

It’s an exciting time to be the ACLU of Michigan – new website, new blog, new president and a new outlook on civil liberties in Michigan. Admittedly, it’s hard to have a new outlook on anything in this state other than the economic crisis that we’re facing, but lucky for us, guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms that this country was founded upon doesn’t cost a thing. In fact, civil libertie could save the state a lot of money.

Op-ed Appearing in the Ann Arbor News

"Can I wear campaign gear into the polls?" "What if I don't have any photo ID?" "Are the rumors about foreclosure true?" Today marks five weeks before Election Day, and questions about voting rights are everywhere. Click "Read More" below to find out the truth about voting in Michigan and then share the truth with a friend. Fact: You have the right to vote without photo ID in Michigan

FLINT – In a letter today to the City of Flint Police Chief, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan warned that the Police Department’s enforcement of jail time and fines for wearing saggy pants and the practice of stopping and searching individuals wearing saggy pants are unconstitutional and should be stopped immediately.“Under no stretch of the imagination does wearing saggy pants that reveal the top of one’s boxer shorts violate the Flint Disorderly Conduct Ordinance,” said Gregory Gibbs, ACLU of Michigan Flint Branch President and Cooperating Attorney. “It is clear that the ordinance provision that is cited by the police chief requires that a person openly expose certain body parts to be guilty.  Flint residents should be embarrassed by this colossal waste of time and scarce resources.”

Cantrell v. Granholm On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, at 2:30pm at the U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, Federal District Judge David Lawson will hear oral argument on the constitutionality of Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan. The case, Cantrell v. Granholm, (Case No. 2:06-cv-15637) was filed in December 2006, soon after Proposal 2 was adopted, by a diverse group of students, prospective students and faculty at the University of Michigan. They are being represented by a legal team comprised of the Detroit Branch NAACP, ACLU of Michigan, the New York law firm of Cravath Swaine and Moore, U-M Law Professor and ACLU Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe, the Michigan State Conference NAACP and the national office of the ACLU. A separate but related lawsuit, filed by an organization known as “BAMN,” will be argued at the same time.

Over the years, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has been called many names, but nothing brings out the taunting more than the holiday season.

The ACLU doesn't believe that voters intended to take health benefits away from families when they voted on Proposal 2 in 2004. And this is just what we'll argue in front of the Michigan Supreme Court this Tuesday, November 6. National Pride at Work v Granholm et al is our case asking the courts to declare that the 2004 Proposal 2 does not prohibit public employers from offering benefits to the partners and children of lesbian and gay employees. The ACLU of Michigan brought this case after Attorney General Mike Cox issued a ruling stating his belief that health benefits for same-sex couples were not allowable under Proposal 2. The Ingham County Circuit Court ruled in our favor, but the decision was reversed by the Michigan Court of Appeals in February of this year. We urge you to do two things:

It's the magical season again when a generous spirit fills the air, and the media are abuzz with stories of the purported "War on Christmas." The American Civil Liberties Union receives dozens of notes from across the country. Some kindly wish us a Merry Christmas, while others resort to taunting, name-calling and threats. However, each note reminding us of the spirit of Christmas fails to remember the spirit of the most fundamental freedom guaranteed by our Bill of Rights: the right of each and every American to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all. The framers of our Constitution believed religious liberty can only flourish if government leaves religion alone, and the ACLU continues to defend this bedrock of democracy. James Madison was the first to express the fundame

Once again, Right to Life has launched a false campaign designed to erect more hurdles for women attempting to exercise their constitutionally protected right to decide whether to bear children. New bills in the Michigan Legislature, called the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act, are the first in the country to attempt this particular strategy. The bills would amend the public health code to require medical practitioners to perform what they call a "coercion and intimidation screening" on patients before they can obtain an abortion. Under this misuse of the informed consent law, doctors must assure that a patient understands that it is illegal to be coerced into having an abortion and determine if the patient indicates that she is a victim of coercion. If so, the bills would require a pregnant woman to delay her abortion for at least another 24 hours.