Michigan Lawyers Acquire Legislation Review Award for Civil Rights Brief

LANSING – 4 lawyers from the Michigan Attorney General’s place of work were being just lately honored with a Distinguished Quick Award from the 37th Yearly Western Michigan University (WMU) Thomas M. Cooley Law Evaluate. The Award was offered at a remote ceremony on March 3rd, exactly where Michigan Supreme Court docket Justice Richard Bernstein was the keynote speaker and members of the judiciary ended up current.

“I’m very proud of our lawyers who labored collaboratively on this award-profitable transient,” stated Nessel. “This recognition demonstrates the electric power of superior lawful briefing and how impactful it can be in shaping the law. I can actually say that my workplace has some of the best attorneys in the region. They present their perseverance to the men and women of this point out each individual and each and every day. Their transient was instrumental to our victory.”

The attorneys getting this award were Solicitor Basic Ann Sherman, Assistant Solicitor Typical Chris Allen, and Assistant Lawyers Basic Kyla Barranco and Tonya Jeter.

These attorneys drafted the Michigan Supreme Court docket brief in the Rouch Environment, LLC v. Office of Civil Rights situation determined in July 2022. The transient argued that the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of discrimination “because of . . . sex” always encompassed sexual-orientation discrimination since people concepts are intertwined. By simple logic, one can’t define a person’s sexual orientation without having realizing that person’s sex, so any adverse action on account of a person’s sexual orientation implicates their sexual intercourse, and thus the Michigan statute’s protections.”

The temporary also pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s assessment in Bostock v Clayton Co., 140 S Ct 1731 (2020), which held that the identical statutory phrase in Title VII of the Civil Legal rights Act encompassed sexual orientation discrimination. The Michigan Supreme Court docket agreed, keeping that “[d]iscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation automatically constitutes discrimination since of sex” and is a violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act’s protections.

The panel associated in deciding upon the temporary for this prestigious award was comprised of Michigan Supreme Court docket Justice Megan K. Cavanagh, Michigan Supreme Court docket Justice Elizabeth M. Welch, Choose Amy Ronayne Krause, Choose Anica Letica, Choose Michelle M. Rick, Decide Michael J. Riordan, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, and WMU-Cooley Professor Christi Henke.

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