Detroit marijuana business program favoring longtime residents placed on hold by federal judge
Updated 9:50 AM;
Today 9:30 AM
Budding marijuana leaves grow on Monday, March 22, 2021, at UBaked, a cannabis cultvation center in Burton, Michigan. New York on March 31, 2021, joined at least 15 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, including neighboring New Jersey.Jake May | MLive.com
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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Detroit to temporarily halt the processing of recreational marijuana business applications.
Detroit’s City Council took great care and time to draft an ordinance that ensures the city’s marijuana market isn’t overrun by wealthy outsiders and gives preferential treatment to longtime residents designated “legacy” applicants.
Credit Russ McNamara / WDET
While the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continues in Minneapolis, other legal proceedings have cropped up around the country in connection to the civil rights movement that followed the killing of George Floyd.
In Detroit, anti-police brutality protesters scored a number of recent legal wins. Last month, a federal judge tossed out a city countersuit filed against protesters, which alleged they had engaged in a civil conspiracy. The plaintiffs, anchored by the Detroit Will Breathe collective, continue to pursue their complaint against the Detroit Police Department, which alleges officers used excessive force to squash the street marches, violating demonstrators’ First Amendment rights in the process.
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A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out the city of Detroit s legal claims against Detroit Will Breathe protesters, concluding it failed to prove that demonstrators conspired with one another to cause civil unrest and harm police officers over the summer.
That s what the city argued after getting hit with a lawsuit last fall that sought to ban Detroit police from using batons, riot gear, tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters marching against police brutality.
Detroit Will Breathe filed the lawsuit and secured a temporary restraining order against the use of those tactics. But then the group got hit with a counterclaim by the city, alleging that protesters were part of a civil conspiracy to destroy property, hurt police officers and incite rioting.
Image credit: Russ McNamara
Group plans to continue with its civil rights lawsuit, says one of the leaders of the activist organization.
A lawsuit filed by the City of Detroit against anti-police brutality protesters has been thrown out by a federal court judge.
The group Detroit Will Breathe filed suit against the City after several protesters were injured by police during a peaceful demonstration in late August. The City of Detroit countersued, claiming the group constituted a “civil conspiracy.”
Judge Laurie J. Michelson says the city failed to “state a claim for civil conspiracy,” according to the motion.
“There just wasn’t any evidence that we committed any crimes or that we did anything other than challenge the policies and practices of the Detroit Police Department.” Nakia Wallace, Detroit Will Breathe