At the Michigan Supreme Court:
Appellee (Macomb County/State)’s Brief
Sault Tribe Amicus Brief (MSU Indian Law Clinic, ICWA Appellate Project co-wrote this brief)
Michigan Supreme Court
State of Michigan Celebrates Reunification Day
Link to news coverage here.
The Michigan Supreme Court ceremonially praised the efforts of family court participants, including Tribal leaders, for restoring children to their families on June 24, 2016, in Lansing. Five judges from Michigan’s Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum were present. According to the article, more than half of foster care children were returned to their families in 2015.
Briefs in Star Tickets v. Chumash Casino Resort
Materials and documents for the leave to appeal in Michigan’s Supreme Court:
Defendant/Appellant’s Application for Leave to Appeal
Plaintiff-Appellee’s Brief in Opposition to Application for Leave to Appeal
Defendant/Appellant’s Brief In Reply To Opposition
Amicus brief in support of petition from State Bar’s American Indian Law Section
Our motion for leave to file and our lodged amicus brief in support of petition
Michigan Supreme Court Adoption Day
Judge Petoskey, Judge Connors, Chief Justice Young, and Justice McCormack
Washtenaw Circuit Judge Tim Connors Honored with Judicial Excellence Award
Here:
GRAND RAPIDS, MI, October 28, 2015 – The Michigan Judges Association has announced that Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Timothy P. Connors is the 2015 winner of the Hilda Gage Judicial Excellence Award. Judge Connors has served on the bench since 1991, serving as chief judge for more than a decade, and also serving by appointment as Judge Pro Tem for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
“Judge Connors has led groundbreaking efforts to strengthen the juvenile court in Washtenaw County and he has been an instrumental collaborator in developing strong state-tribal court relations,” said Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack. “Because of his efforts, Washtenaw’s juvenile court system looks dramatically different in the six short months he has presided over this docket.”
“His impact on child welfare cases transcends the systemic reform efforts he has undertaken,” Justice McCormack said. “On each individual case, he carefully listens to each family’s story. According to the lawyers who regularly appear before him, no matter the result in the particular hearing or case, the parties all leave feeling that they have been heard. The community’s respect for the juvenile court has grown because of his approach.”
This award is named after the late Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Hilda Gage and recognizes Circuit and Court of Appeals judges who have excelled in trial and docket management, legal scholarship, and contributions to the profession and the community. The award honors current or former judges who serve their profession and their communities with integrity, skill, and courage every day.
A biography of Judge Connors is available here.
Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Betty Weaver is Dead
Here.
Fred Baker Interviews Justice Cavanagh
Here.
An excerpt:
Lansing State Journal Profile of Mich. SCT Justice Michael Cavanagh
Michigan Supreme Court Issues Order to Create Tribal-State Forum
Order here.
The Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum is established. The membership of the forum shall consist of: the chief tribal judge of each of Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes, or their designated alternate judges, with membership to be expanded to accommodate any new federally recognized tribes; and 12 state court judges (or the same number as there are tribal judges), who will be appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court from among a pool of currently serving or retired Michigan judges or justices. In making appointments, the Court will consider geographic proximity to the tribes, Indian Child Welfare Act and MIFPA case load dockets, and current involvement with tribal court relations. The forum shall then pursue participation from federal judges and officials.
State bar post here.
Michigan Supreme Court Rejects One Parent Doctrine as Unconstitutional
This case will have broad ramifications for child welfare cases. This is a huge victory for parents and families. While not mentioned in this opinion, this case was also an ICWA case.
Opinion, written by Justice McCormack, here.
At issue in this case is the constitutionality of Michigan’s one-parent doctrine. The one-parent doctrine permits a court to interfere with a parent’s right to direct the care, custody, and control of the children solely because the other parent is unfit, without any determination that he or she is also unfit. In other words, the one-parent doctrine essentially imposes joint and several liability on both parents, potentially divesting either of custody, on the basis of the unfitness of one. Merely describing the doctrine foreshadows its constitutional weakness.
***
Because the jurisdictional inquiry is focused on the child, once there has been an adjudication, either by trial or by plea, the court has jurisdiction over the child regardless of whether one or both parents have been adjudicated unfit. MCL 712A.2(b). In cases in which jurisdiction has been established by adjudication of only one parent, the one-parent doctrine allows the court to then enter dispositional orders affecting the parental rights of both parents.
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Because application of the one-parent doctrine impermissibly infringes the fundamental rights of unadjudicated parents without providing adequate process, we hold that it is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Turtle Talk 
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