Flint. Its struggles are known the nation over, but no one seems able to do much about it — though they try. The clean water crisis that began in the riverbed has inspired Democrats and Republicans as part of a Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency to put forth 30 policy proposals intended to limit the amount …

Thanks to a revised Executive Order signed on March 6, a new travel ban targeting majority Muslim nations will take effect this Thursday — or it might not. Attorneys from Michigan to Hawaii and beyond, as they work tirelessly in the name of civil rights and justice, have filed lawsuits demanding immediate censure of “an illegal and discriminatory attempt to …

As a new year dawns, the state and federal government is changing. New laws are taking effect in Michigan, and it’s important for residents to be aware of how and in what ways they will be affected. The minimum wage has gone up. As of January 1, 2017 the state minimum wage is higher than it once was: newly $8.90 …

For most, the Christmas season is a time to be jolly, but for some others, it’s time to go to court. They’re dreaming of anything but a white Christmas. One North Carolina jeweler made a wager with its customers in 2010, promising free baubles for all if Asheville saw a white Christmas. It was a gimme they figured. No way. …

Members of the LGBT community have often found themselves the targets of crime.  Unfortunately, with the advent of technology, the range of these crimes has significantly broadened.  Recently, a number of gay men have become the focus of a blackmail scam. These men would meet other gay men online and then engaged in consensual sexual acts.  However, almost immediately afterwards, these men would be contacted …

Tragedy struck Ferndale, Michigan recently where a man allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend and then himself.  The woman, who at the time of the story had not been named, had expressed concern regarding the man’s behavior.  In fact, she had recently filed for a PPO against the suspect.  Channel 7, WXYZ Detroit reached out to Chris Kessel, an expert in the …

Raise Michigan, a coalition of civil rights, faith, labor and community groups, works to raise Michigan’s wage, yes, but the organization has recently taken up another endeavor: To fight for the Earned Sick Time Act in Michigan Earlier this month, the Board of State Canvassers approved ballot wording submitted by the group, meant for the creation of new legislation, the …

The case of former City Counsel president, Charles Pugh, has gained national attention in the past weeks and months.  Knowing that, defense attorney Chris Kessel appeared on Fox 2 Detroit’s Sunday morning Let It Rip, in an episode dedicated to the case of Charles Pugh.  Mr. Kessel was asked to be on the program because of his extensive knowledge and …

This week, civil rights attorney and activist Dana Nessel and her organization, Fair Michigan, has helped take another step forward in the battle for protection of members of the LGBT community.  In conjunction with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the Detroit Police Department, a new unit has been created that is specially designed to handle crimes against members of the …

It’s been seven weeks since the news broke of Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden passing, two weeks since President Obama announced his nomination of would-be replacement Judge Merrick Garland, and the jury is still out on whether or not he’ll nominated — or even considered — by the Senate Judiciary Committee at some point during this election year. It’s a complicated …