Case Summary

Fifteen Michigan residents brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan challenging the eligibility requirements for Michigan’s newly created Citizen Redistricting Commission on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds. Plaintiffs were each excluded from service on the Commission because they fell into at least one of eight categories the law precluded from service. Plaintiffs argued that the preconditions placed on service on the commission based upon their political activities violated their First Amendment rights of freedom of association and speech and Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection.

On September 11, 2019 the Michigan Secretary of State filed a motion to consolidate the case with Michigan Republican Party v. Benson, which the court granted.

Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief declaring the commission unconstitutional and enjoining the Secretary of State from selecting commissioners. The district court denied the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion on November 25, 2019, which the plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. A judgment was filed by the appellate court on April 15, 2020 affirming the district court's decision. A petition for rehearing en banc was denied on June 18. On July 6, 2020 the district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss this case.

This case and a related case (Michigan Republican Party v. Benson) were appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on August 4, 2020. Oral arguments for the two consolidated cases were held on March 17, 2021. On May 27, 2021 the Sixth Circuit ruled that the redistricting commission's eligibility requirements did not violate the First or the Fourteenth Amendments. On June 21, 2021 the court issued its mandate, bringing the case to a close.

Case Library

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan - No. 1:19-cv-00614

• Complaint - 7/30/19
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction - 7/30/19
• Intervenor-Defendant's Answer and Affirmative Defenses - 8/29/19
• Motion to Consolidate - 9/11/19
• Order Granting Motion to Consolidate - 9/11/19
• Opinion - 11/25/19
• Opinion and Order - 7/6/20
• Judgment - 7/6/20

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - No. 19-2377

• Correct Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants - 1/2/20
• Brief for Defendant-Appellee - 2/3/20
• Brief of Defendant-Appellee - 2/3/20
• League of Women Voters Amicus Brief - 2/7/20
• Common Cause Amicus Brief - 2/10/20
• Reply Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants - 2/13/20
• Opinion and Judgment Filed - 4/15/20
• Plaintiffs-Appellants Petition for Rehearing En Banc - 5/13/20
• Request for Response - 5/15/20
• Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's Response to Daunt Plaintiffs' Petition for Rehearing En Banc - 5/29/20
• Response to Defendant-Appellee Count MI Vote d/b/a Voters Not Politicians to Petition for Rehearing En Banc - 5/29/20
• Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's Response to Daunt Plaintiffs' Petition for Rehearing En Banc - 5/29/20
• Order - 6/19/20
• Mandate Issued - 6/29/20

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - No. 20-1734 (together with Michigan Republican Party v. Benson)

• Case Docketed - 8/4/20
• Order - 9/21/20
• Opening Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants - 11/12/20
• Brief of Defendant-Appellee Count MI Vote d/b/a Voters not Politicians - 12/14/20
• Brief for Defendant-Appellee Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson - 1/11/21
• Reply Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants - 2/1/21
• Additional Citation - 2/17/21
• Opinion and Judgment - 5/27/21
• Mandate - 6/21/21