I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has filed a lawsuit against Salem Township in Washtenaw County, Mich., on behalf of two residents who were escorted out of a meeting of the township Board of Trustees for criticizing the township supervisor during public comment time.
According to the legal complaint, which was filed against both the township itself and Fred Roperti in his capacity as township supervisor, plaintiff Bob Uherek addressed the board during time set aside for public comments at the Jan. 8, 2008, meeting and criticized Roperti, saying, “You have demonstrated that you cannot be counted on for openness and transparency.” At that point, the complaint alleges, Roperti told Uherek to “be quiet” and summoned a Michigan State Police trooper and a Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputy to have Uherek escorted out of the room.
Shortly thereafter another resident, O’Neill Muirhead, stood up and questioned the action of having Uherek removed from the meeting, and he was also told that he would be removed from the room if he did not stop speaking. The two officers were then summoned again to remove Muirhead from the room. The complaint says:
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Defendant Roperti, acting as a policy-maker for Defendant Salem Township, under color of state law, and in violation of the First Amendment, removed Plaintiffs from the January 8th board meeting because Plaintiffs exercised their First Amendment right to comment on the professional conduct of Defendant Roperti, an elected government official.
The meetings of the Board of Trustees are audio-taped. Uherek requested a copy of that audio tape and received one, which he gave to his attorneys. Cooperating attorney Jim Walsh, who has heard the recording, says that Uherek behaved like a gentleman the entire time: “He was not disruptive, did not use language that anyone would feel would be out of place or offensive and was calm throughout the process. Likewise, Mr. Muirhead calmly told Mr. Roperti that he was out of line to eject Uherek and he was also escorted out of the room.”
The complaint argues that those actions violate both the First Amendment and Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. That act (M.C.L. 15.263 (6)), directs that “a person shall not be excluded from a meeting otherwise open to the public except for a breach of the peace actually committed at the meeting.” Kary Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said: “At the heart of our democracy is the right to openly and publicly question the professional conduct of our elected officials. The United States has a long tradition of respect for this freedom and our democracy is only strengthened, not threatened, by a diversity of voices.”
For his part, Uherek says that he is fighting this to stand up to government intimidation: “At the end of the day, elected officials represent us, our concerns, our townships, cities and state. Because of this, I feel strongly that we must hold them accountable and when they try to silence us, we must stand up against their bullying.”
Several requests for comment from Roperti went unanswered.
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