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Federal Lawsuit: Expungement Gag Law is Unconstitutional
https://olcplc.com/public/media?1744490557
On April 11, 2025, the civil and property rights law firm of Outside Legal Counsel PLC, on behalf a private citizen threatened with criminal charges, filed a federal lawsuit challenging a little-known Michigan law that criminalizes discussion about a person's expunged prior criminal conviction. Dubbed the Expungement Gag Statute, the lawsuit alleges this Michigan criminal prohibition violates the First Amendment. M.C.L. ยง 780.623(5) makes it a misdemeanor for anyone, except the person whose conviction was set aside and the victim, to "divulge, use, or publish" any "information concerning a conviction set aside." Those charged and convicted of the Expungement Gag Statute face up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.
The lawsuit arises from a township official who allegedly received an expungement for a prior felony conviction for uttering and publishing. When a citizen created an online social media poll referencing the conviction, the township official made a complaint to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office. In turn, the sheriff's deputy confronted the social media poster and indicated that not removing the online poll could result in criminal charges under this gag law.
"The First Amendment almost completely prohibits any government from censoring its citizenry," states attorney Philip L. Ellison from the Hemlock, Michigan based law firm. "Criminalizing or restraining free speech and publication is properly treated by the Constitution as one of the most serious and least tolerable infringements on our most cherished rights; this statute violates that constitutional guarantee."
The case has been assigned to a federal judge in Detroit and seeks to have the law declared unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Formal notice has been sent to the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, protects fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. It applies to federal, state, and local governments and its officials.
The federal lawsuit is asking a federal judge to find and declare the Michigan law to be an "illegal prior restraint" and otherwise violates the federal constitutional guaranteed freedoms of free speech and expression under the First Amendment. The US Supreme Court has explained that "government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content."
No hearing on the case has been set by the court.
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