ACLU of Michigan

State GOP infighting and lawsuits, Michigan's lack of indigent defense for juveniles, and what to do with "zombie" malls.

In a letter sent Tuesday to UM President Santa Ono and General Counsel Timothy Lynch, the civil rights organization said the school’s actions reflect “a rising nationwide McCarthyite wave of retaliation against speech related to Palestine and Israel.” It claims the university’s actions violate First Amendment protections, as well as UM’s own free speech policies.

Police arrested Porcha Woodruff, a 32-year-old Black woman, for robbery and carjacking based off a facial recognition hit from surveillance footage. But Woodruff didn't do it, and critics say this is more proof the technology is flawed, racially biased, and dangerous.

Today, we spoke with an ACLU attorney about the decades-long push for LGBTQ+ rights in Michigan. Plus, we revisited a conversation with Iraqi American writer Dunya Mikhail, author of the book The Bird Tattoo.

The American Civil Liberties Union is urging the Michigan Department of Corrections to lift its restrictions on foreign-language books.

The case involves a fingerprinting policy the city says it ended in 2015.

The settlement will drastically reduce the circumstances under which 36th district court judges can set cash bail as a condition for release, and aims to make pre-trial detention for all but the most serious offenders "the rare exception rather than the rule."

On today's show, we heard about new census data from Michigan, and how the Michigan History Center is helping families preserve their legacies. Then, one food writer dished on simple summer recipes, and a DNR forester gave an update on spongy moths. To wrap up, an ACLU representative gave an update on an abortion rights ballot initiative in Michigan.

The civil rights group has successfully sued the state over the issue before. Those court decisions forced the state legislature to change some aspects of the law in 2021. But ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman said the legislature didn’t do enough, and the new law is still unconstitutional.

The ACLU of Michigan is asking state regulators to examine a Catholic health system’s policy of not providing tubal ligations.The ACLU filed the complaint…