DETROIT – As the Senate debates a major overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan called on Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow to vote no on this unconstitutional measure. Last month, the House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 6304), a bill that not only allows for the wide, sweeping and unwarranted collection of Americans’ communications, but also grants immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill on July 8. The ACLU of Michigan vehemently opposes this legislation.

LANSING—Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan are deeply disappointed, today, in the Michigan House for once again playing politics with women’s health and passing Senate Bill 776. The groups vowed to hold legislators accountable for their SB 776 vote in the upcoming election and urged the governor to veto SB 776.

Rep. Rebekah Warren (D - Ann Arbor) and Rep. Marie Donigan (D - Royal Oak) have bills pending before the MI House Judiciary Committee that would ensure women who have been sexually assaulted get the comprehensive reproductive health care they need following an assault.

Detroit -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan blasted a Michigan Supreme ruling today, which upheld a lower court’s decision that Proposal 2, passed by Michigan voters in 2004, prohibits public employers from offering domestic partner benefits.  The majority opinion was written by Justice Steven Markman,which was joined by four other justices with a dissent written by Justice Marilyn Kelly and Justice Michael Cavanagh.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 19, 2008

DETROIT – The civil rights coalition challenging Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan, expressed deep disappointed with a federal judge’s decision to dismiss their lawsuit. The coalition had asked the court to strike down the ban because it discriminates against students of color by removing race from consideration in admissions, while allowing the consideration of virtually all other non-academic factors.

DETROIT – A federal jury today found the Saginaw County Jail responsible for the egregious and unconstitutional treatment of detainees and awarded 4 plaintiffs $145,000 in damages. The lawsuit challenged policies that allowed prison personnel to strip detainees and place them naked in a cell referred to as "the hole." In 2005, the ACLU of Michigan joined the case, which was originally filed in 2001.