Panel votes to file brief in case challenging state's EM law

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission voted recently to submit an amicus brief in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the application of Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law should be subject to judicial review under the federal Voting Rights Act.

In the brief, the commission will argue that when a political change has the effect of disparately lessening the voting rights of a protected class, voters are entitled to judicial review to determine whether there is adequate legal justification for doing so.

“From our investigation into the Flint water crisis, we believe the lack of accountability from the Emergency Manager to the people and elected representatives of City of Flint is a shortcoming of the Emergency Manager law found in P.A. 436,” said commission co-chair Laura Reyes Kopack.

Flint residents “are entitled to judicial review of whether the appointment of an EM violated their rights under the Voting Rights Act,” she said.

The commission’s final report on its investigation into the Flint water crisis included recommendations for action in the aftermath of the crisis, including one  that the state replace or restructure Michigan’s emergency manager law.

The case is Bellant v. Snyder.