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 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has struck down Michigan’s law banning funeral protests as unconstitutionally vague after it was used to arrest someone for having a protest sign on their vehicle while participating in a funeral.
Lewis and Jean Lowden were arrested in 2007 while attending the funeral of a soldier killed in the Iraq war. They had known the deceased and his family for 15 years and were there by invitation. The van they were driving had signs taped to the windows as well as bumper stickers critical of then-President George W. Bush and his policies, prompting the Clare County Sheriff’s Department to pull them over and arrest them for violating a new state law prohibiting protests at a funeral.
The ACLU filed suit on their behalf, arguing that the law was unconstitutional both in its language and in the manner in which it was applied in this case. In a press release, the ACLU praised the decision:
“Although the statute was designed to keep the controversial Westboro Baptist Church out of Michigan, it was ultimately used to disrupt a peaceful funeral and arrest innocent mourners whose privacy the statute was designed to protect,” said Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. ”Today’s ruling serves as a reminder that innocent people suffer when our legislators pass overly broad laws that give police officers unchecked power to arrest people who express unpopular views.”
It is not known whether the case will be appealed. You can read the full ruling here.
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