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 ACLU has filed suit against the federal Customs and Border Protection agency over the practice of searching electronic devices carried by those crossing American borders without any individualized suspicion to justify the search. The case is Abidor v Napolitano.
The ACLU has released the results of a Freedom of Information Act request on the subject and part of the evidence they cite in the case is a memo from the Detroit CBP office which says:
Consistent with existing policy, where technical assistance is necessary to determine the existence of a violation of customs, immigration, or other law enforced or administered by CBP, officers may copy and transmit documents and information in electronic devices to an appropriate agency or entity without individualized suspicion.
This CBP directive from August 2009 set out the agency’s procedures in regard to electronic searches and says:
5.1.2 In the course of a border search, with or without individualized suspicion, an Officer may examine electronic devices and may review and analyze the information encountered at the border, subject to the requirements and limitations provided herein and applicable law.
The ACLU calls these policies a violation of the 4th Amendment:
Americans do not surrender their privacy and free speech rights when they travel abroad. These days, almost everybody carries a cell phone or laptop when traveling, and almost everyone stores information they wouldn’t want to share with government officials. The government should not have unfettered access to innocent Americans’ constitutionally protected materials and records.
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