Defending liberty

Jury nullification refers to the controversial decision of a jury to acquit a criminal defendant even when the evidence supports a conviction, typically when the jury believes that the law itself is unjust or being applied unjustly. Judges themselves do not inform juries about this power, and attorneys are not permitted to discuss it in the courtroom. However, there is nothing illegal about individual citizens and advocacy groups informing the general public about jury nullification through websites, pamphlets, and other forms of communication.

In 2015 Keith Wood stood on a public sidewalk near a courthouse in Big Rapids offering pamphlets about jury nullification to passersby. Based on this conduct he was arrested, tried, and convicted of jury tampering, a crime that is typically prosecuted when an advocate attempts to influence individual jurors in a particular case. Mr. Wood’s conviction was affirmed through multiple levels of appeal. But in 2019 the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to review the case. The ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that handing out informational pamphlets on a public sidewalk is entitled to the highest level of First Amendment protection, and the state had alternative ways to prevent jury tampering that are less restrictive of Mr. Wood’s First Amendment rights.

In July 2020 the Michigan Supreme Court overturned Mr. Wood’s conviction on statutory grounds.

(People v. Wood; ACLU Attorneys Dan Korobkin and Michael J. Steinberg; Cooperating Attorney Gautam Hans of U-M Law School.) 

The Greyhound bus company allows federal agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to board its buses and ask passengers for their “papers” even when CBP has no warrant, no probable cause, and no specific person they’re looking for. For example, in one widely publicized incident, CBP boarded a Greyhound bus in Detroit, questioned two passengers about their immigration status, demanded that they produce documentation, and took one of them into custody. Similar incidents were reported throughout the country. When questioned about the incidents by the media, Greyhound claimed that it was required to cooperate with CBP.  

In March 2018 the ACLU of Michigan along with ACLU affiliates in nine other states wrote a letter to Greyhound explaining that, as a private company, it is not required to allow government agents to board its buses unless they have a warrant or probable cause. We urged Greyhound to assert its Fourth Amendment rights, and those of its passengers, to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by government agents. ACLU volunteers also distributed “know your rights” materials at the Greyhound bus station in Detroit to provide passengers with information about what to do if CBP boarded their bus. In February 2020 Greyhound announced that it would no longer allow CBP agents on its buses to conduct routine immigration checks without a warrant.  

(ACLU of Michigan Attorneys Monica Andrade, Abril Valdes, and Michael J. Steinberg.) 

Isaac Calland was a longtime, respected employee of New Light Recovery Center in Detroit where he counseled substance abusers. In March 2017, the State of Michigan directed the recovery center to terminate Mr. Calland’s employment because of a state law that prohibits anyone convicted of Medicaid fraud from working for a Medicaid provider.

As part of our work opposing overbroad felony employment bans due their unjustified disparate impact on people of color, the ACLU of Michigan investigated Mr. Calland’s case and found that his only conviction was for unlawful receipt of food stamps, an offense that has nothing to do with Medicaid fraud. 

In April 2017, we wrote a letter to the state highlighting its error, and Mr. Calland was reinstated to his position. 

(ACLU of Michigan Attorney Mark Fancher.)