Some things – like solid, reputable reporting – are made to endure. Other things just expire, quietly and inauspiciously. Such was the case with the lawsuit filed against Michigan Messenger last fall by James Carabelli, former chair of the Macomb County Republican Party.

 

By now you’re no doubt familiar – whether you know it or not — with Eartha Melzer’s breakthrough reporting last September about alleged Republican voter suppression efforts in Macomb County.

In Melzer’s story, “Lose Your House, Lose Your Vote,” Carabelli was quoted as saying the GOP planned to use lists of foreclosed homeowners as the basis for Election Day challenges.

Word of the plans quickly wended its way through the national media, drawing the attention of CNN and Keith Olbermann, among others. Soon, the Democratic National Committee filed suit against Michigan Republicans and the Republican National Committee over the practice Melzer exposed. Then in October Carabelli filed suit against the Messenger and the nonprofit news network that sponsors it, the Center for Independent Media, on charges of defamation.

“As soon as we see the complaint, we will issue a response on Michigan Messenger,” said CIM editorial director Jefferson Morley said at the time.

But CIM and its lawyers were never served.

The 90-day deadline for a summons to be served expired in early January, leading Judge Mark Switalski of Macomb County’s 16th Circuit Court to dismiss the case on Jan. 13.

A lot has changed in those three months. Carabelli resigned from his post in the Macomb County GOP in November. The DNC and RNC arrived at a settlement in their lawsuit, agreeing that “the existence of a person’s address on a foreclosure list does not provide a reasonable basis for challenging the person’s eligibility to vote.” Meanwhile, the story we stood by remains, and we continue to be proud of it. As Michigan finds itself facing new challenges and opportunities in a new year and under a new President, we hope you continue reading the Michigan Messenger for more enduring coverage that only independent journalists can provide.