Michigan Supreme Court Candidates Sound Off On Election Officials’ ‘Overreach’ At Debate

Patrice Johnson, chair of Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, said in a press release she thinks the debate was an unusual event for judicial races.

40,000 Michigan residents wrongfully accused of unemployment fraud can sue state for redress: '350 people pled guilty to a crime they didn’t commit'



Over the course of a two-year period, a supposedly faulty computer program at the Michigan Unemployment Benefits Office prompted authorities to erroneously accuse 40,000 residents of unemployment fraud. Now, the state supreme court has determined that those residents affected by the accusations can sue the state for redress.

“The state is prohibited from violating the rights the Constitution guarantees. If it does so, it is liable for the harm it causes,” Justice Megan Cavanagh wrote.

“If our Constitution is to function, then the fundamental rights it guarantees must be enforceable. Our basic rights cannot be mere ethereal hopes if they are to serve as the bedrock of our government,” she continued.

For attorney Jennifer Lord, this decision from the state supreme court is just the first step in finding justice for those wrongfully accused.

"I think there’s got to be some recognition that it’s not just the dollars that were taken that need to be recognized as harm," Lord said. "This was really unbelievably stressful for a lot of people."

It was likely more than stressful, as Lord also noted, "Three hundred and fifty people pled guilty to a crime they didn’t commit," just to make the problem go away.

According to reports, an additional 1,100 Michigan families eventually declared bankruptcy after hiring attorneys and paying other court fees to fight the false charges. Others had difficulty finding employment or securing a home loan. There were also likely untold social costs.

The faulty computer program operated while Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican and the predecessor to current Governor Gretchen Whitmer, was still in office, though the exact years are unclear. According to Lord, this computer program cost state taxpayers $46 million to purchase and yet "was wrong 93 percent of the time."

The Unemployment Benefit Office has since admitted the error, but Lord said that her goal is to have the state admit the error on the record. Because of the Michigan Supreme Court ruling, the case will now go to the trial level. Class-action lawsuits are expected to be filed against the state soon.

The Michigan Supreme Court decision was 4-3. Per the AP, all three dissenting justices were nominated by a Republican.

Steven Crowder demands Michigan Gov. Whitmer release the death count



On Oct. 2, thousands of concerned citizens gathered at the Michigan Capitol to press Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) to release the nursing home death count that resulted from Whitmer's executive orders on the coronavirus pandemic.

As COVID-19 spread, Steven Crowder noticed something tragic developing in his home state of Michigan. While most states reported COVID-19 as the main cause of roughly 34% of all deaths, Michigan's reporting stirred concern.

Compelled to stand up for the most COVID-19-vulnerable demographic, senior citizens, Crowder and his team organized the Michigan March to demand Whitmer answer questions.

"How many of you have heard the reported number that 34% of COVID-19 deaths come from senior living facilities?" Crowder asked the crowd. "That number is a lie."

According to Crowder, Michigan reports failed to include all senior care facilities, reporting only 1/10th of senior care facilities registered in the state.

"Release the numbers, Gov. Whitmer," Crowder chanted. "Release the numbers."

Gov. Whitmer's policy

Whitmer's administration set up a system in which COVID-19 infected residents received treatment in isolated areas of nursing home facilities across the state.

The governor vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal for nursing homes to knowingly house COVID-19 infected patients, claiming that nursing homes took in only patients that the facility was prepared to care for. But, death tolls indicated that one in four coronavirus deaths in Michigan occurred in nursing homes.

What else?

Since the rally, the Detroit News reported, "In a landmark ruling with far-reaching implications, the Michigan Supreme Court decided Friday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer violated her constitutional authority by continuing to issue orders to combat COVID-19 without the approval of state lawmakers."

In a 4-3 ruling, lawmakers decided that the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act is unconstitutional. Additionally, the court ruled, "The 1976 Emergency Management Act did not give Whitmer the power, after April 30, to issue or renew any executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic after 28 days without Legislative approval."


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Michigan AG won't enforce Gov. Whitmer's coronavirus orders that have been ruled unconstitutional



Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) will no longer enforce Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders on the coronavirus after the state Supreme Court ruled the emergency powers seized by Whitmer were unconstitutional.

Nessel's office announced Sunday that Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions would no longer be enforced through criminal prosecution, effectively ending the statewide mandates for Michiganders. But a spokesman for the attorney general indicated local law enforcement agencies may continue to enforce COVID-19 mandates in accordance with local ordinances, Bridge Michigan reports.

"In light of the Supreme Court's decision on Friday, the Attorney General will no longer enforce the governor's executive orders through criminal prosecution," Nessel spokesman Ryan Jarvi said. "However, her decision is not binding on other law enforcement agencies or state departments with independent enforcement authority.

"It's her fervent hope that people continue to abide by the measures that Gov. Whitmer put in place — like wearing face masks, adhering to social distancing requirements and staying home when sick — since they've proven effective at saving lives," Jarvi said.

Last Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court found that emergency directives issued by Whitmer unilaterally without authorization from the state legislature were an "unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive branch in violation of the Michigan Constitution." The ruling said Whitmer did not have the power to extend past April 30 orders shutting down businesses deemed by the government to be "non-essential." The court said she had illegally drawn authority from two laws passed in 1945 and 1976 that were non-applicable.

The court noted that among the businesses closed by Whitmer's order were "restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, clubs, hookah bars, cigar bars, vaping lounges, barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tanning salons, tattoo parlors, schools, churches, theaters, cinemas, libraries, museums, gymnasiums, fitness centers, public swimming pools, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, indoor exercise facilities, exercise studios, spas, casinos, and racetracks."

"These policies exhibit a sweeping scope, both with regard to the subjects covered and the power exercised over those subjects. Indeed, they rest on an assertion of power to reorder social life and to limit, if not altogether displace, the livelihoods of residents across the state and throughout wide-ranging industries," the ruling declared.

Whitmer responded to the decision critically, accusing the judges on the court of acting politically and claiming the restrictions would remain in place for the next 21 days.

However, Nessel's announcement effectively lifts the mandates on businesses because they will no longer be enforced by state authorities.

Republican state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R) said the court's decision means Whitmer will have to work with the Republican-controlled Legislature to create a bipartisan COVID-19 plan. Shirkey told Bridge Michigan that the state mask mandate and several business regulations will likely not be supported by Republicans.

"We're moving now from an era or a time when the focus was on mandating, dictating and frankly in some cases threatening, to more of an informing and inspiring and encouraging and loving and trusting people to do the right thing," Shirkey said.

He added that lawmakers need to leave behind a "lingering notion that we could, by restricting everything, basically ignore the fact that the COVID exists and delay everything for perpetuity. The virus ultimately was going to win, it was just going to take a longer time."