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.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Detroit Free Press reporter who asserted a Fifth Amendment right to refuse to name the Department of Justice officials who were the sources for an article he wrote about former U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino.
The reporter, David Ashenfelter, has been subpoenaed by Convertino in his lawsuit against his former employer, the DOJ. Convertino alleges that he was fired for being a whistleblower, for complaining to Congress that federal prosecutors lacked the resources to fight terrorism. As part of that lawsuit, he is alleging that the DOJ deliberately leaked information to Ashenfelter to discredit him and he wants the reporter to be forced to reveal his source at the DOJ.
Ashenfelter initially asserted only a First Amendment right for refusing to reveal his sources, arguing that doing so would undermine the ability of reporters to do their constitutionally protected duty of acting as a watchdog on the government. But U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland rejected that argument.
Ashenfelter’s attorneys then offered a new rationale, arguing that because there is potential criminal action that could be taken against him in the case he has a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Judge Cleland has now ruled in his favor on that argument, which will save him from going to jail as Convertino demanded should he continue to refuse to testify.
This is a victory not only for Ashenfelter but for all journalists who sometimes must protect the identity of sources in order to do their job effectively.
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