Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina says she will decide next Monday whether the bankruptcy filing violates the Michigan Constitution, and its protections for pension benefits.
Ronald King is an attorney for city pension funds. He says the bankruptcy can still go forward. But he says the state should not proceed on anything that might threaten pension benefits.
"Maybe the courts will disagree with us, but there is a constitutional protection in place that guarantees or protects accrued pension benefits, and we have an obligation to at least play that out."
That could be a problem when it comes to dealing with Detroit's heavy debt burden. Pension funds are among the city's largest creditors. The state says the case belongs in federal court.
