Michigan civil rights initiative legal fight moves forward

U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson denied the ACLU’s motion (made on behalf of the “Cantrell Plaintiffs”) to amend or modify his March 2008 ruling upholding the right of Michigan citizens to amend the Michigan constitution to forbid the use of race in most state programs. The ACLU argued that Judge Lawson had misapplied prior Supreme Court precedent, including the Hunter/Seattle line of cases. Judge Lawson’s decision means that the case now goes to the Sixth Circuit.

• Read Judge Lawson’s opinion