For too long, Michigan law has made it easy for certain local governments to confiscate your property through dubious means, with some Southeast Michigan agencies being some of the most egregious offenders. However, the tide is starting to turn and changes are helping provide Michiganders with a greater level of legal protections against such overreach. A new state law prohibits local law enforcement agencies from taking your personal property without first convicting you of a crime, while a pair of lawsuits are challenging the practice of home equity theft by government. Please join us for lunch on Wednesday, July 10 to hear from experts in the middle of both of these fights.

Jarrett Skorup is the director of marketing and communications with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He is co-author of the study “Civil Forfeiture in Michigan” which analyzed the laws in the state and helped lead to legislative reforms. Skorup has testified widely on the issue and has continued the decades of work the Mackinac Center has done calling for reforms.

Christina Martin is an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation's Florida office in Palm Beach Gardens. She is admitted to the state bars of Florida and Oregon, as well as various federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2012, Christina joined PLF and has sued the government for stealing from individuals, violating free speech and ignoring the very rules that the government is charged to uphold. Christina earned a Bachelor of Science in physics and a Bachelor of Arts in communication from the University of Washington in Seattle. She earned her J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was an editor of the Ave Maria Law Review.

Buffet lunch is free, but RSVP is necessary. Registration is required by July 5. Please register online here. 

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us at 989-698-1905 or events@mackinac.org.