The Michigan Supreme Court declined to say whether the government can use drones to spy on people without a warrant.
The unanimous Friday ruling follows a 17-year dispute between residents Todd and Heather Maxon and Long Lake township officials who say the 5-acre residential property is being used as an illegal junkyard.
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The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about whether the government can use drones to surveil private property without a warrant and use that evidence in court for zoning disputes.
For two years, Long Lake Township zoning officials flew a drone over Todd and Heather Maxon’s property in northern Michigan near Traverse City, taking photographs and videos as part of a zoning dispute that he was running an illegal junkyard.
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The Michigan Supreme Court approved a new rule Wednesday requiring justices to use preferred pronouns or “other respectful means” to address attorneys.
The first-of-its-kind state court rule, which faced pushback prior to its approval, is now scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. In his dissent, Michigan Supreme Court Justice David Viviano warned the decision to “dabble in politics” would cause the court to “forfeit legitimacy with large portions of the public,” noting that addressing such topics is “sadly consistent with this Court’s recent practice.”
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The Michigan Supreme Court has announced the cases they will hear in their new session beginning in October. One of those cases is a lawsuit that was filed by students against Lake Superior State University, Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan. In their lawsuit, they seek reimbursement for tuition, room and board and fees paid for classes during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The students feel the colleges breached their agreements by failing to provide live and in-person instruction.
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The Michigan Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the government can use drones to surveil private property without a warrant and then use that evidence in court for zoning violations.
For two years, Long Lake Township zoning officials flew a drone over Todd and Heather Maxon’s property in northern Michigan, taking photographs and videos as part of a zoning dispute.
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Three years after COVID struck Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer now admits that many of her early lockdown rules, in retrospect, “don’t make a lot of sense.”
“We had to make some decisions, that in retrospect, don’t make a lot of sense,” Whitmer said in a CNN interview clip posted by the Twitter account @Breaking911.
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A Genesee County Circuit Court judge has ordered charges dropped against former Gov. Rick Snyder for his role in handling the Flint water crisis.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Flint legal team vowed to appeal.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she will appoint Kyra Harris Bolden to fill a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to serve on the state’s high court.
Justice Bridget McCormack resigned this year, leaving an open seat. Bolden, a current state Representative, was a Democratic pick for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court during the Nov. 8 election but lost.
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Less than a week before the election, the Michigan Supreme Court approved allowing local clerks to follow Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s election challenger rules enacted this year.
Last month, a Court of Claims ruling struck the election challenger rules, saying they violated state election law because they didn’t go through the rulemaking process.
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An appeal filed with the Michigan Supreme Court says the government must get a warrant before it can surveil private property for evidence.
The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, says the government violated the Fourth Amendment when it used warrantless drone surveillance to snap pictures of Todd Maxon’s 5-acre property in Long Lake Township where he repairs cars, as proof of zoning violations.
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The Michigan Supreme Court will likely be weighted toward Democrats after Chief Justice Bridget McCormack announced she’s leaving the bench later this year.
The vacancy will allow Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to appoint a judge to the bench whether or not she wins re-election in November.
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The taxpayer cost of the 2014 Flint water crisis litigation might grow to as much as $90 million after the Michigan Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Dana Nessel’s appeal of a decision that she must use a “taint team” to separate legal documents.
The court said justices were “not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court.”
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The Michigan State Supreme Court Thursday ordered a proposed amendment enshrining abortion as state constitutional right to be certified for voters’ November ballots.
With a 5-2 majority, the court said a petition to place the proposed amendment on ballots had undisputedly received enough signatures, deciding that the amendment’s words were spaced properly for certification. In July, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan (PPAM) said over 753,000 signatures were collected by Reproductive Freedom for All campaign supporters, MLive reported.
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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation must fully disclose the total value of taxpayer subsidies it has offered to General Motors, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled.
The court’s unanimous opinion in Sole v. MEDC held the MEDC must disclose, without redactions, the total amount of corporate subsidies promised to GM.
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In April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the Michigan Supreme Court for declaratory and injunctive relief from the state’s 1931 law banning abortions, claiming the law violated the 1963 state constitution.
She subsequently filed a motion to prevent anti-abortion groups from intervening in the case.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a right to abortion under the Due Process Clause of the Michigan Constitution.
The request follows a U.S. Supreme Court May decision to hear Mississippi’s appeal of a 2019 decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In that decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a previous decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, overturning a state law prohibiting abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
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Judge Michael Warren, who serves on the Oakland County Circuit Court, on Wednesday launched a campaign for a position on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Warren is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for one of the two openings on the Court, according to an emailed release from the member of the judiciary branch.
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The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the state’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission must release documents and recordings related to a closed-door meeting the group conducted earlier this year.
According to the 4-3 ruling written by Justice David Viviano, the commission’s decision to hold a secret meeting violated the state Constitution. The Michigan Constitution states the “commission shall conduct all of its business at open meetings.”
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The Michigan Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in a lawsuit between three news agencies and the Michigan Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission (MICRC). Arguments will be held Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m.
The lawsuit follows an Oct. 27 MICRC closed-door meeting to discuss two legal memos despite a Constitutional mandate the committee “shall conduct all of its business at open meetings.”
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Several newspapers sued the Michigan Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Committee (MICRC), alleging the MICRC violated the state’s Constitution by hiding two memos from the public.
The Detroit News, Bridge Magazine, and the Detroit Free Press filed the suit in the Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday. The plaintiffs seek to obtain two memos discussed in an Oct. 27 closed-door meeting.
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Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has filed suit with the Michigan Supreme Court to ensure the public has time to provide feedback on the new voting district maps that will be drawn by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC).
The suit describes the current constitutional deadline as unrealistic since it requires the commission to make maps available for 45 days of public comment starting on Sept. 17, even though the U.S. Census Bureaus won’t have official data until Sept. 30. The U.S. Census Bureau cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the delay.
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A poll released Tuesday by Michigan Rising Action (MRA), a Lansing-based organization dedicated to advancing conservative principles, asserts Michigan strongly supports a ballot proposal to limit the use of gubernatorial emergency powers.
MRA commissioned the poll from Marketing Resource Group, which conducted research between March 15-18, and skews +4 Democrat.
A majority of the 610 likely voters polled within each age group supported restricting the governor’s unilateral use of emergency powers.
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The Michigan tax code is finally aligned with a 2020 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that prohibited county treasurers from pocketing excess equity when foreclosing on tax-delinquent homes.
The ruling followed Oakland County seizing Uri Rafaeli’s property in 2014 over an initial tax debt of $8.41, which rose to $285.81 after interest, penalties, and fees.
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The Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society said it filed a lawsuit on Thanksgiving asking the Michigan Supreme Court to physically secure all evidence of irregularities in the 2020 election and declare the results invalid on the basis of alleged unlawful conduct by state and local officials.
“In numerous instances, state and local officials brazenly violated election laws in order to advance a partisan political agenda,” said Phill Kline, Director of The Amistad Project. “The pattern of lawlessness was so pervasive and widespread that it deprived the people of Michigan of a free and fair election, throwing the integrity of the entire process into question.”
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After the Michigan Court of Claims on Monday rejected an emergency motion to stop certification of votes in Wayne County, the challengers on Tuesday appealed their case to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Time is of the essence. The Wayne County Board of Canvassers meets at 3 p.m. Tuesday to vote on certifying election results.
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President Trump on Wednesday praised the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers, calling it a “big win” for the state.
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday struck down Whitmer’s emergency ruling, saying the governor had issued her numerous executive orders pertaining to coronavirus restrictions unconstitutionally, rendering them null.
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The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-1 in favor of a Michigan resident attempting to acquire public records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Susan Bisio had sued the city of the Village of Clarkston in the Oakland Circuit Court claiming it is violating FOIA requirements in 2015.
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A federal judge asked the Michigan Supreme Court to settle questions regarding whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has the authority to issue executive orders under two state laws.
U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney certified two questions to the Michigan Supreme Court.
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The Michigan Supreme Court will allow cellphones, tablets and laptops in courtrooms across the state starting May 1.
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The Michigan Bureau of Elections announced Friday that a group seeking to recall Rep. Larry Inman (R-Grand Traverse County) from office did not submit enough valid signatures, officially ending the months-long effort.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s motion to reinstate a ban on flavored vaping nicotine products has been denied by the Michigan Supreme Court.
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The Michigan Supreme Court allowed a recall effort against Rep. Larry Inman (R-Grand Traverse County) to move forward in a Monday decision, quickly reversing a lower court’s decision.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it’s “constitutionally prohibited” for the state to provide financial assistance to nonpublic schools in a recent legal brief.
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