Detroit, Benton Harbor, Flint Residents File Federal Lawsuit Today Against EM Law And New Form Of Government Violating U.S. Constitutional Protections

New law places power of executive and legislative branch in the hands of one unelected person who can create law by decree and violates protections guaranteed under Constitution

DETROIT, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Residents from Detroit, Benton Harbor and Flint have filed a federal lawsuit today seeking to overturn P.A. 436 aka the new emergency manager law on the grounds it violates provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

"Through its provisions, Public Act 436 establishes a new form of local government, previously unknown within the United States or the State of Michigan, where the people within local municipalities may be governed by an unelected official who establishes local law by decree," the suit alleges.

As a result, the new law violates protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution including due process, equal protection, collective bargaining rights and voting rights among others.

"This law is a violation of the United States Constitution and an affront to us as Americans," said Herb Sanders of The Sanders Law PC and a lead attorney on the suit. "We call on freedom loving people of good will to join in opposition to this anti-democratic, dictatorial new form of government and are asking the federal courts to strike down this new form of tyranny."

The suit was filed in federal court today. Plaintiffs include residents from Detroit, Benton Harbor and Flint. Organizations involved in the suit include: Michigan AFSCME Council 25, Sugar Law Center for Social and Economic Justice, Detroit Public Schools Board, Detroit & Michigan Lawyers Guild, New York's Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Action Network, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Detroit Council of Baptist Pastors, Miller Cohen PLC and Bertram L. Marks' Litigation Associates PLLC.

SOURCE Michigan AFSCME Council 25, AFL-CIO