Some Democratic state lawmakers have proposed amending the Michigan Constitution to strengthen due process rights they see being threatened at the federal level.
State Representative Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) said Tuesday the amendment would be a firewall against eroding threats to federal civil rights protections.
“We are trying to make sure that there are some federal rights and freedoms that are protected in our state laws,” she said. “For example, Miranda rights, the right to remain silent, to not say anything that can be used against you, that actually is not written anywhere in our state laws.”
The amendment would have to be approved by two-thirds supermajorities in the House and Senate, which would send the question to voters for final approval. That prospect seems unlikely with the House under Republican control while Democrats control the Senate.
The proposed amendment would create a constitutional process for suspending habeas corpus. That right says the government cannot hold someone indefinitely without charging them with a crime.
It would require a vote of the Legislature to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to determine whether a state of rebellion or invasion warrants suspending habeas corpus. The initial request to the Legislature would have to come from the governor or the attorney general.
