Tag Archives: State: Michigan

MLIVE.com: “Detroit is where the Nation of Islam started. Detroit is almost considered now, a dead city. So we’ll come back to Detroit where we began and look at the condition of Detroit, pool our resources and try to buy properties in Detroit and start rebuilding one of the greatest cities in America where we’re concerned.”

Religion Clause Blog: In Bible Believers v. Wayne County, (ED MI, May 14, 2013), a Michigan federal district court dismissed a suit for declaratory and injunctive relief and nominal damages brought by a group of traveling Christian evangelicals who were escorted away by police and threatened with dsorderly conduct citations at last year’s Arab International Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.

American Freedom Law Center: A Michigan federal judge today dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by several Christian evangelists who were violently assaulted by a hostile Muslim mob while preaching at an Arab festival last year in Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Muslim population in the United States.  Video of the Muslim assault went viral on YouTube.

American Freedom Law Center: After more than two years of intense motion practice and discovery, the City of Dearborn has agreed to enter into a settlement that includes a public apology for arresting several Christian missionaries who were peacefully preaching to Muslims at the Dearborn Arab International Festival in 2010.

Forbes: Michigan’s Republican governor, Rick Snyder, was among the many GOP state executives who made national headlines this winter by endorsing Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, America’s government-run health insurance program for the poor. But what isn’t making headlines is that Michigan’s legislature, like its counterparts in Florida, Ohio, and Arizona, is not going along.

Eastern Echo: EMU Student Government denied Students for Life the $4,954 the organization requested to support the traveling exhibit, which prompted the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal ministry, to file a lawsuit March 19 against the university on behalf of Students for Life. The ADF lawsuit, Students for Life at Eastern Michigan University v. Parker, said EMU officials denied the student organization funding for mandatory student activity fees.

Today, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and its Chief of Police for prohibiting a pro-life advocate from displaying a “Free Ultrasound” sign in his vehicle, which he legally parks on the public street outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Ann Arbor.

CitizenLink is proud to work with the Michigan Family Forum and other organizations across the country to stand for marriage, life and religious freedom. Summary: A woman’s marital status at the time of her pregnancy is a significant factor in putting her child at risk. Nearly two-thirds of out-of-wedlock births and many of the subsequent health problems are paid for with public funds. Furthermore, unmarried mothers are more likely to depend on public assistance years after the child is born. While most out-of-wedlock pregnancies are unintended and to young women, a surprising number are intentionally conceived.

The Eastern Echo: The GAP is also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit brought against EMU in March. The Alliance Defending Freedom group filed the suit on behalf of the Students for Life organization citing that EMU’s Student Government denied Students for Life funding from mandatory student activity fees.

WWMT.com: The legislation will require “any health facility–at the patient’s request–to put in writing, services that they can receive to save their life.”

Religion Clause Blog: In MK Chambers Co. v. Department of Health and Human Services, (ED MI, April 3, 2013), a Michigan federal district court refused to issue an ex parte temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate against a closely-held machinery components company and its two Catholic owners.

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a lawsuit against a Michigan university for denying funds to a pro-life student group because of its “very controversial” views.

Washington Post: Agema on Wednesday posted the text of an article titled “Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals,” that is attributed to Frank Joseph, M.D. The article states that students need to be informed about the negative effects of homosexuality in order to “preserve their health and avoid cutting off about 15-20 years of their life span.”

The Eastern Echo: Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal ministry, filed a lawsuit against EMU on March 19 on behalf of Students for Life. ADF’s lawsuit said EMU officials have denied Students for Life funding for mandatory student activity fees. The fees would be used to fund a pro-life exhibit called the Genocide Awareness Project. The display is a traveling exhibition that shows photos comparing abortion to genocide.

David Hacker appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 8:10 mins

Baptist Press on Opposing Views: Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty legal group based in Arizona, filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a student group that was denied university funding for an exhibit that compares abortion to other historically recognized forms of genocide, according to a report on the Detroit Free Press website.

Ypsilanti Carrier: Eastern Michigan University has been sued by the Alliance Defending Freedom after a student group was denied funding to create an exhibit comparing abortions to the Holocaust, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group in Arizona, filed the lawsuit Tuesday.

LifeSiteNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker in a statement. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Fox News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national non-profit public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today announced that it has filed its fourth legal challenge to the HHS Mandate. This fourth case was filed yesterday on behalf of Michael Potter, Chairman and President of Eden Foods and his for-profit company, Eden Foods, Inc. in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Charisma News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

9and10News (AP): The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defending Freedom on Tuesday filed the lawsuit in federal court in Detroit against the Ypsilanti school . . . David Hacker, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, says: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas.” | See also Detroit Free Press: EMU sued over denial of funds for anti-abortion display

Desert Sun (source: Detroit Free Press): Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group that says it works to defend the civil rights of Christians and conservatives, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit . . . “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, attorney with the alliance.

LifeNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a pro-life student organization. University officials denied the group funding from mandatory student activity fees based on its “political or ideological” views even though the university funds other groups involved in political and ideological speech.

AP: Democratic Sen. Carl Levin’s decision to not seek re-election in 2014 has set the stage for a wide-open race to replace the longest-serving senator in Michigan history.

Christian Science Monitor: The Michigan case aims to allow same-sex couples to adopt children and, therefore, to marry, but it’s likely to be impacted by two landmark gay-rights cases before the US Supreme Court.

ABC: Two Detroit-area nurses filed a lawsuit to try to overturn restrictions on adoption by same-sex partners. But at the judge’s invitation, the case took an extraordinary turn and now will test the legality of a 2004 constitutional amendment that stipulates Michigan only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman.

The Oakland Press: The Oakland Township Board of Trustees is under fire by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan for beginning a meeting with a prayer that singles out one religion.

Religion Clause Blog: The Wyndgate Country Club of Rochester Hills, Michigan cancelled its contract for CFI to hold a dinner at the country club after the club learned that the speaker for the event was famous atheist Richard Dawkins. The club justified the cancellation by saying “the owner does not wish to associate with certain individuals and philosophies.a

How Appealing reports: Sixth Circuit rejects Freedom from Religion Foundation’s claim that the City of Warren, Michigan must add a “Winter Solstice” sign criticizing religious belief to the city’s pre-Christmas holiday display of secular and religious symbols . . . | Freedom from Religion Foundation v. City of Warren MI

Holland Sentinel: A House panel on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation to overhaul Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, leaving out anti-abortion provisions that torpedoed an earlier effort to change the status of the state’s largest health insurer.

AFLC: Yesterday, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, requesting that the court issue an order preventing the Wayne County Sheriff and his deputies from restricting a group of Christian evangelists from displaying banners and signs with Christian messages on the public sidewalks during the 2013 Arab Festival to be held in Dearborn, Michigan.

WoodTV.com: A member of the state Senate Health Policy Committee says she will ask for a hearing to investigate why the former chairman of the state Board of Medicine closed out a complaint against a Muskegon abortion doctor despite their past professional relationship.

MyFoxDetroit: In a motion filed Tuesday, newly elected Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown said the county no longer wants to challenge the suit filed last year in federal court against Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette and former Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard.

MLive.com: U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has introduced legislation that would prohibit federal dollars allocated to the Department of Homeland Security from being used for abortions.

The New American: Kevin Theriot of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, said it appears that InterVarsity has a strong reason to file a suit against the University of Michigan for religious discrimination. Such religious discrimination, particularly against Christian groups, has increased in the wake of a 2010 Supreme Court decision,Christian Legal Society vs. Martinez, in which the High Court ruled that a public university may implement a policy effectively requiring religious groups to receive “all comers” as long as it applies the same rule to all campus groups. It’s really amazing that we have come to this place in our society where a Christian group can’t require Christian leaders,” Theriot told Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink. “It’s really kind of silly, but we are seeing more and more universities do this.”

Detroit News: Bridget Mary McCormack was sworn in as Michigan’s newest Supreme Court justice Wednesday afternoon in a festive and traditional investiture ceremony attended by family and friends.

Lansing State Journal: Lawmakers have reintroduced a proposed overhaul of the state’s largest health insurer, this time without the “objectionable language” that led Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to veto the first package that cleared the Legislature last month.

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway announced today she will retire from the bench Jan. 21 after the Judicial Tenure Commission filed a formal complaint calling for her immediate suspension from the bench for alleged “blatant and brazen violations” of judicial conduct rules the commission said were “unprecedented in Michigan judicial disciplinary history.”

Engage Family Minute: Some of the standards abortion clinics will have to meet include . . .

LifeSiteNews: The Muskegon Fire Department has posted closure notices on the Women’s Medical Services in Muskegon, Michigan, and boarded up the abortion clinic until further notice, Operation Rescue has announced.

LifeNews: The governor of Michigan has signed a major piece of pro-life legislation that will stop abortions by protecting women and holding abortion facilities accountable for following basic health and safety standards.

AP: A federal judge has ruled a property management company owned by the founder of Domino’s Pizza doesn’t have to immediately implement mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law.

Lansing State Journal: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly leaves office Tuesday after 16 years on the state’s top court, much of that time in the minority responding to opinions set by the conservative majority.

Religion Clause Blog: The suit was filed by Domino’s Farms Corp. and its sole stockholder, Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, alleging that the mandate violates plaintiffs’ rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments, RFRA and the Administrative Procedure Act. The complaint (full text) in Domino’s Farms Corp. v. Sebelius, (ED MI, filed 12/14/2012) . . .

The Hill: The passage of the right-to-work legislation in a 58-51 vote sends the bill to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who has said he will sign it.

Ed News: With Michigan teachers unions outraged over the state’s new right-to-work law that allows teachers to work without joining the union, the state’s current teachers are preparing to close down schools in protest.

MLive.com: Health insurance coverage for elective abortions would only be allowed through an optional rider on plans under legislation passed by the Michigan House and Senate last week.

Detroit Free Press: Legislation that could limit access to abortion — several measures that shot through Thursday in a chaotic day in Lansing — drew sharp criticism Friday from Michigan residents who said the proposals run roughshod over women’s rights and could allow doctors to pick and choose patients based on religious or moral beliefs.

Detroit Free Press: One bill would allow physicians and other health care providers to refuse to provide services to patients when there’s a “moral” or “conscientious” objection, and allow employers to refuse to pay for services on the same grounds; another three-bill package would require women seeking insurance through Michigan’s soon-to-exist health care exchange — part of federal health care reform — to purchase an optional abortion insurance rider to have such services covered.

AP:In an audacious flex of political muscle, Republicans in a single day reached the brink of a goal that for years has seemed an all-but-impossible dream: making the labor bastion of Michigan a right-to-work state.

The Hill: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned his conference on Wednesday that leaders are “watching” how the rank-and-file vote to determine committee assignments, according to sources in the closed-door meeting.

American Freedom Law Center: A longstanding, local tradition returns to Warren, Michigan for the 2012 Christmas season as John Satawa is scheduled to reinstall his family’s nativity scene on the public median between Mound and Chicago Roads on Saturday, December 15.

American Freedom Law Center: The order permits AFLC, a nonprofit Judeo-Christian law firm representing the Christians, to amend its lawsuit to name as an additional defendant the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC), which is the organization responsible for the conduct of the Dearborn Arab Festival, an event where the police and festival workers have historically discriminated against Christians.

SCOTUS Blog: On Thursday, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, by a vote of eight to seven, held that the 2006 voter-approved amendment to the Michigan constitution, which prohibited any use of race in the admissions process to any of Michigan’s public colleges and universities, was itself unconstitutional.  The court held that the amendment had impermissibly “reorder[ed] the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests.”

The Hill: Union officials are campaigning to lock collective bargaining rights into Michigan’s state constitution on Election Day and are talking about repeating the feat elsewhere if they succeed.

Detroit Free Press: The FBI is investigating Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway over a questionable real estate deal involving a $1.5-million waterfront home in Grosse Pointe Park, according to a source familiar with the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Wall Street Journal (via Google): The court is a particular union target this year because of Proposal 2, which would apply retroactively. If it passes, unions plan to challenge as illegal as many as 170 current state laws, sending an unprecedented wave of litigation to the state Supreme Court. Big Labor wants its judges making the calls

Religion Clause Blog: Last week, Dr. Levon Yuille, pastor of The Bible Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Michigan statute (MCL §168.931(1)(e)) that prohibits any member of the clergy from threatening excommunication, expulsion or religious disapproval for the purpose of influencing a voter at an election. American Freedom Law Center announced the filing of the lawsuit. Plaintiff also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and prelliminary injunction and a brief in support of the motion (full text).

Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Thursday said that the side of the bus, in this case, wasn’t a public forum because the transit authority – Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART – rejected all political advertisements. The state never opened the space for discourse. | American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Suburban Mobility Authority For
Regional Transportation (SMART), No. 11-1538

Volokh Conspiracy: The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority said “no,” citing the violation of two policies — a requirement that “[a]ll advertising must be … considered in good taste and shall uphold the aesthetic standards as determined by AATA,” and a ban on ads that “hold up to scorn or ridicule a person or group of persons.” In Coleman v. Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (E.D. Mich. Sept. 28, 2012), the court held that the policies were unconstitutional

Detroit Free Press: A federal judge put a merciful end to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s inane war on voters last week, when he ruled that the citizenship checkoff box that Johnson put on ballots was confusing and unnecessary.

Detroit Free Press: Jones, who sparked international protests from Muslims over the burning of Islam’s holy book, intends to protest outside Edsel Ford High School, claiming that Muslim students are bullying non-Muslim students.

Thomas More Law Center: The City of Frankenmuth, Michigan formally rejected a demand by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) to remove a 55 foot steel American Bicentennial Cross on city-owned land. In a July letter, AU claimed the Cross on public land unlawfully endorses and promotes Christianity, and asked Frankenmuth to remove the cross or face “a significant risk of litigation.”

One News Now: Several Christians were at the festival in Wayne County, handing out leaflets and engaging people in conversations, when Muslims began throwing stones, bloodying some of them. But instead of jailing the attackers, attorney Rob Muise of the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) says police threatened the Christians with arrest if they did not cease their activities.

Thomas More Law Center: This Friday, September 28, 2012, Federal District Judge Robert H. Cleland, of the Eastern District of Michigan, will hear oral arguments in Thomas More Law Center’s motion for Preliminary Injunction to stop implementation of the HHS mandate. The oral arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:30am, in Courtroom #712, at the U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, Michigan.

The Church Report: On a prime piece of real estate in suburban Detroit stands a large, vacant elementary school with no vestiges of life — save for a tiny sign that identifies the building as the ‘future home’ of the Islamic Cultural Association.

Detroit Free Press: Attorneys for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse plan to amend their federal case to get joint custody, according to a news release. The new pleadings, expected to be filed Friday in federal court in Detroit, would aim at Michigan’s voter-approved constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.

The Thomas More Law Center announced today that it is representing the City of Frankenmuth, Michigan concerning a constitutional challenge to the 55 foot cross located on public land. The stainless steel cross, constructed with private donations, was erected in1976 as a part of the City’s celebration of America’s Bicentennial.

Detroit Free Press: A lawyer for a lesbian couple from Oakland County urged a federal judge today to allow them to jointly adopt three children despite a Michigan law that prevents unmarried couples from doing so.

AP: A jury on Thursday awarded a gay University of Michigan student body president $4.5 million in his lawsuit against a former Michigan assistant attorney general who posted about him in an anti-gay blog.

WSJM.com (includes audio): Same sex couples in Michigan who sued the state over denial of health coverage by public employers are hoping for a favorable ruling from a federal judge who’s heard arguments in the case.

Thomas More Law Center: A stunning new development has come to light surrounding allegations of public corruption over the sale of Farmington Public Schools (FPS) property to the Islamic Cultural Association (ICA). On Wednesday, August 8th, Reverend Bruce D. Burwell, Senior Pastor of Light of the World Christian Center in West Bloomfield, read aloud a prepared statement on how the person in charge of FPS properties told him the property was not for sale when he expressed an interest in purchasing it for his church. FPS subsequently sold the vacant Eagle Elementary school property to the Islamic Cultural Association.

WorldNetDaily: Regarding the Denver case, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom represents Hercules Industries, and said the government mandate on contraception is blatantly unconstitutional, and he expects the case to be watched very closely by the Catholic Church and other challengers to the mandate. “This case does not involve stopping anybody from doing anything in terms of employees,” Bowman told WND. “What it involves is using Obamacare to impose mandates on families who are just wanting to earn a living, forcing them to violate their faith and to facilitate things that violate their faith simply because they’re Americans who want to have a business and follow their religious values.”