Plaintiffs filed a new complaint on December 1, 2017 asserting the single claim that Public Act 436, both on its face and as applied, discriminates against Black Michigan residents.
Our Team:
Darius Charney
Co-Counsel
The Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice and several Michigan-based civil rights lawyers
Bellant v. Snyder (formerly Phillips v. Snyder) is a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of replacing democratically-elected mayors and city and town councils in predominantly Black and brown communities of Michigan with unelected, state-appointed “Emergency Managers.” In 2012, the Michigan State Legislature passed Public Act 436, essentially granting Emergency Managers the power to legislate for and govern entire municipalities deemed to be in “financial distress.” The governor’s implementation of Public Act 436 shows pronouced racial bias, with 50 percent of all Black Michigan residents currently being governed by Emergency Managers and, in essence, being denied their fundamental right to vote and to the governance of an elected body. Meanwhile, only 2 percent of Michigan's white residents are subject to the unchecked authority of Emergency Managers. As an organization steeped in the Civil Rights movement, CCR continues its deep commitment to racial equality and the protection of basic civil and constitutional rights with this work.
This case is a direct follow up to an earlier CCR case, Brown v. Snyder, which was rendered moot when the people of Michigan repealed Public Act 4 – the 2011 law under which the Michigan Emergency Managers were established – in a statewide voter referendum. This was a great victory for the people of Michigan and sent a clear message to the governor and state officials that Michigan residents were not satisfied with this unconstitutional practice that would deny so many a political voice in their local government – a message that was, nonetheless, ignored with the passing of Public Act 436 a month later.
Bellant v. Snyder was filed in partnership with the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice and several Michigan-based civil rights lawyers on behalf of a broad coalition of plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs file a new complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
December 1, 2017
Plaintiffs file a new complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Plaintiffs' new complaint asserts a single claim that Public Act 436, both on its face and as applied, discriminates against Black Michigan residents in violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Supreme Court denies plaintiffs' petition for cert
October 2, 2017
Supreme Court denies plaintiffs' petition for cert
May 8, 2017
Latino Justice, Demos, and the Michigan Civil Rights Commission file amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs' petition for cert
May 8, 2017
Latino Justice, Demos, and the Michigan Civil Rights Commission file amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs' petition for cert
Latino Justice and Demos’s joint brief frames Michigan’s emergency manager law amongst the many historical tactics and maneuvers designed to dilute or deny people of color the right to vote and argues that the Voting Rights Act was intended to apply to schemes like the emergency manager law, which disproportionately deprives voters of color of their right to participate in the electoral process by stripping the officials that they elect to represent them of their governing authority, while continuing to allow most majority-white communities to be represented by officials that they elect.
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission’s brief tells the story of how the vote dilution caused by the emergency manager law hindered the people of Flint’s ability to get the attention of government officials during the Flint water crisis because emergency managers were only accountable to the governor, of whose electorate the people of Flint made up only about one percent.
District court dismisses all but one of plaintiffs' claims: Equal Protection claim allowed to go forward
November 19, 2014
District court dismisses all but one of plaintiffs' claims: Equal Protection claim allowed to go forward
The court dismisses all but one of our claims, including claims brought under the Voting Rights Act, the Due Process Clause, and the Thirteenth Amendment. However, the court denies the defendants' motion to dismiss our claims that the State's implementation of PA 436 racially discriminates and thus violates the Equal Protection Clause.
Oral argument on motion to dismiss amended complaint in Phillips v. Snyder held in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit
April 30, 2014
Oral argument on motion to dismiss amended complaint in Phillips v. Snyder held in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit
April 4, 2014
District court stays Snyder and Dillon’s appeal of bankruptcy court’s November 6, 2013 stay-lifting order pending outcome of appeal of entire Detroit bankruptcy proceeding currently before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
April 4, 2014
District court stays Snyder and Dillon’s appeal of bankruptcy court’s November 6, 2013 stay-lifting order pending outcome of appeal of entire Detroit bankruptcy proceeding currently before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
March 5, 2014
Governor Snyder and State Treasurer Dillon move to dismiss plaintiffs’ amended complaint in Phillips v. Snyder
March 5, 2014
Governor Snyder and State Treasurer Dillon move to dismiss plaintiffs’ amended complaint in Phillips v. Snyder
Governor Snyder and State Treasurer Dillon file notice of appeal in district court of bankruptcy court’s November 6, 2013 order lifting stay on Phillips case
February 11, 2014
Governor Snyder and State Treasurer Dillon file notice of appeal in district court of bankruptcy court’s November 6, 2013 order lifting stay on Phillips case
This appeal is before a different district judge than the judge who is presiding over the Phillips case itself.
February 6, 2014
District court orders Phillips v. Snyder be officially re-opened
February 6, 2014
District court orders Phillips v. Snyder be officially re-opened
Bankruptcy court issues order relieving Phillips v. Snyder from its July 25, 2013 stay order
November 6, 2013
Bankruptcy court issues order relieving Phillips v. Snyder from its July 25, 2013 stay order
The case is relieved from the stay order on the condition that the Phillips plaintiffs amend their complaint to remove all claims arising out of the operation of Public Act 436 in the City of Detroit.
Bankruptcy court in Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy case orders all pre-bankruptcy federal civil actions filed against Michigan state officials in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan be stayed pending outcome of Detroit bankruptcy proceeding
July 25, 2013
Bankruptcy court in Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy case orders all pre-bankruptcy federal civil actions filed against Michigan state officials in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan be stayed pending outcome of Detroit bankruptcy proceeding
City of Detroit files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection
July 18, 2013
City of Detroit files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection
At the direction of Emergency Manager Kevin Orr, Detroit makes the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in American history, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
March 28, 2013
Public Act 436 takes effect
March 28, 2013
Public Act 436 takes effect
March 27, 2013
Original complaint filed in Phillips v. Snyder in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
March 27, 2013
Original complaint filed in Phillips v. Snyder in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
