Per the Governor's orders, as of 11:00 a.m., March 23, 2020, our office is now CLOSED to the public. We are still operating and conducting business, but it is now purely and solely via email, telephone and telecommunications (Skype, Zoom and other internet meeting options).
“All trial courts must take immediate action to protect the public and court personnel by limiting activity only to essential functions,” said Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack. “The Supreme Court speaks with one, decisive voice: Courts must respond so that the policy is uniform all across Michigan.”
Essential court functions outlined in the Court’s administrative order include:
Arraignments for in-custody defendantsReview and determination of requests for search warrants and personal protection ordersCertain child protective proceedingsCritical issues regarding child support and child custody
Read the entire Advisory here
In a continued effort to crack down on price gauging during the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order banning retailers from pumping up prices on emergency supplies.
The executive order states that if a business or individual has acquired any product from a retailer, the business or individual must not resell that product in Michigan at a price that is grossly in excess of the purchase price of the product
Read more at mLive.com
The state of Michigan has reached a settlement with a civil rights organization to inform people who receive traffic tickets and other citations that they can request a low- or no-cost alternative if they can't afford fines and fees.
Read more at Detroit Free Press
Beginning April 1, it will be illegal for youth younger than 16 years old to possess BB- or other pellet guns in Grand Rapids without adult supervision.
Brandishing and discharging those and other real-looking pneumatic guns in public, regardless of age, will also be a criminal misdemeanor.
Read more at mLive.com
In the United States, the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting most forms of speech. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was passed in 1996, protects websites from lawsuits if a user posts something illegal, although there are exceptions for copyright violations, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law.
Read more at The Verge
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a law Monday that will help low-income families avoid home foreclosures for unpaid taxes.
The law allows local governments to forgive penalties and interest for families that meet an income test.
Read more at Michigan Radio
"Real ID is a part of the federal government’s response to 9/11," said Jake Rollow, Director of Communications for the Michigan Department of State.
Rollow says the Real ID Act's requirements have been delayed for years.
"It’s a law that’s been in place for a long time,” Rollow said. “And it’s now coming into the final phase which is full enforcement.'
Read more at WNEM5.com
"In 2014, James King was a law-abiding college student who was brutally beaten and choked unconscious by members of a joint state/federal police task force after they misidentified him as a suspect sought in connection with a non-violent petty crime. Ever since that day, the government has used every tool at its disposal to ensure those officers are not held accountable to the Constitution.
As IJ Attorney Patrick Jaicomo explained, “The Fourth Amendment prevents the government from undertaking unreasonable searches and seizures. Here, at every step of the way, the officers were unreasonable in searching and seizing James, including when they beat him. We filed this lawsuit in 2016. It’s now 2020 and the government still hasn’t even filed an answer addressing all the claims that we’ve raised. Instead, they’ve spent the past four years filing different motions with courts, arguing under technicalities why they shouldn’t be held accountable rather than explaining why what they did actually wasn’t wrong.”
One of those technicalities is called “qualified immunity,” a special legal protection the Supreme Court created in the 1980s to protect government officials. Under qualified immunity, officers can violate the Constitution unless previous court rulings have explicitly prohibited that exact action by the police—a standard that has become nearly impossible to meet."
Read more at the Institute For Justice
Effective December 1, 2019, applicants for employment in the City of Grand Rapids have more protections. In a newly enacted “Human Rights” chapter of the city code, Grand Rapids deems it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a current or prospective employee with respect to hire; tenure; terms, conditions or privileges of employment; or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment, unless such act is based on a “bona fide occupational qualification.”
Read more at Lexology
