Sunday, September 13, 2026 — A unanimous Michigan Supreme Court struck the registry’s retroactive reach. Within 48 hours, more than half the active database was gone.
In People v. Eddie Lee Smith, decided September 9, all seven justices held that Michigan cannot enforce its current Sex Offender Registration Act against anyone whose registrable offense occurred before July 1, 2011. The ruling extends the Court’s Kardasz finding that SORA functions as criminal punishment — not civil regulation — to the oldest cohort of registrants. The Michigan State Police began mass removals the next day.
Michigan Supreme Court — People v. Eddie Lee Smith — Decided September 9, 2026
Michigan enacted SORA in 1995, rewrote it in 2011, and again in 2021. Each expansion added lifetime registration, in-person reporting, and public online listings. The Court has now struck retroactive application at every layer.
Unlike the Betts ruling in 2021 — when lawmakers had a replacement statute ready — the Legislature now has no substitute law prepared. Legal scholars expect pressure to draft a civil-compliance framework that survives constitutional review, likely treating violations as administrative rather than criminal.
WILX — Smith ruling analysis →Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police, confirmed removals began September 11. Of approximately 43,000 active registrants at the time of the order, more than 20,000 had been deleted by Friday. The review continues — final numbers may shift as individual cases are evaluated against the July 1, 2011 cutoff.
Michigan Supreme Court — Abdulla v. Progressive Southeastern Insurance Co. — Published September 10, 2026
Commercial truck operators had been structuring vehicle ownership through single-member LLCs to claim PIP benefits after accidents involving uninsured commercial vehicles. The Court of Appeals allowed it. The Supreme Court reversed unanimously.
Prior Rule — Irwin Framework
Corporate form shielded sole members from MCL 500.3113(b) disqualification. An LLC owner who never “personally” owned the vehicle could recover PIP despite operating an uninsured commercial rig.
Abdulla Holding
Statutory ownership under MCL 500.3101(3)(l)(i) turns on use and control, not corporate formalities. Sole members with unfettered operating authority are functional owners. MCL 500.3113(b) bars recovery absolutely.
No piercing the corporate veil is required. The No-Fault Act contemplates multiple simultaneous owners. Out-of-state accident provisions and resident-relative priority cannot bypass the disqualification.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly — Abdulla analysis →Michigan Senate — September 10, 2026
After an 18-month legal fight over whether the House could withhold enrolled bills from Governor Whitmer, the Senate passed nine worker-relief measures a second time. Whitmer vetoed the first batch in July, citing stale date references. Senate Democrats say the policy is sound; House Speaker Matt Hall calls it a campaign stunt.
The bills now head to a Republican-controlled House where Hall has demanded concessions on property tax elimination and electric rates before taking them up. The Senate spent more than $300,000 in legal fees winning the right to transmit the original enrolled bills.
Michigan Public — vetoed bills resurrected → Senate Democrats — bill summaries →Court of Appeals — Short v. Michigan State Police, No. 375823 — Published August 3, 2026
A Michigan State Police lieutenant alleged demotion based on disability. He filed notice of intent to sue roughly nine months after the disciplinary hearing. The trial court applied a one-year window. The Court of Appeals reversed: PWDCRA claims are “personal injuries” governed by the Court of Claims Act’s six-month rule.
Judge Sima G. Patel wrote for a unanimous panel, declining to follow an unpublished Chiravuri decision that applied the one-year period to ELCRA claims. Published opinions bind Michigan trial courts. Civil rights practitioners suing state agencies must calendar the six-month deadline from the triggering event.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly — Short v. MSP →Follow-Up — Prediction Markets — September 9, 2026
Since last edition’s Kalshi preliminary injunction: Robinhood Derivatives, LLC agreed to stop offering new sports-related event contracts to Michigan customers by end of day September 9, and to close remaining positions by October 9, under a court-approved stipulation with the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Robinhood preserves its argument that federally structured contracts fall outside state gaming law. The stipulation lasts until Sixth Circuit appeals resolve. Michigan becomes the second state this month to force a prediction-market withdrawal.
Michigan Gaming Control Board — Robinhood stipulation →Court of Appeals — Roskey v. Wickings, No. 373223 — Published August 13, 2026
“By failing to apply a purely objective standard, the district court misconstrued or misapplied the statutory definition of ‘provoke’ in MCL 287.321(d).”
Judge Daniel S. Korobkin — Roskey v. Wickings, ___ Mich App ___ (2026)
A St. Clair County district court ordered euthanasia of a dog named Chance after a bite incident. The court found a guest’s actions did not constitute provocation under MCL 287.322 based partly on the guest’s subjective thoughts and feelings. The Court of Appeals vacated the order: provocation under MCL 287.321(d) requires an objective reasonable-person standard. The case remands for findings under that framework.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly — Roskey v. Wickings →Multistate Litigation — Illinois v. HUD — Resolved September 9, 2026
Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 16 states challenging unlawful conditions the Trump administration placed on Fair Housing Assistance Program funding. HUD conceded: the challenged FY 2025 guidance is no longer in effect, and the conditions will not apply to FY 2026 funding or future guidance.
Nessel joined a bipartisan coalition asking the FCC to mandate baseline KYUP measures: verified upstream provider data, regular compliance monitoring, service termination triggers for bad actors, and retention of verification records for law enforcement. The comment period targets illegal robocall pathways through voice service provider chains.
Michigan AG — KYUP coalition →EGLE / MPART — September 8, 2026
Michigan’s first statewide PFAS Awareness Week runs September 21–25, with 15 events from Ypsilanti to Traverse City. Governor Whitmer proclaimed the week in May. MPART coordinates seven departments addressing forever chemicals in drinking water, wastewater, fish consumption, and consumer products.
Michigan’s seven-compound PFAS MCLs remain enforceable under state law even as EPA proposes rolling back four of six federal limits. Public water supplies must complete initial federal PFAS monitoring by June 2027. Private well owners outside official investigation zones must self-fund testing.
EGLE — PFAS Awareness Week → Michigan PFAS MCLs →Signed Legislation — July 2026, Effective Planning 2027
Governor Whitmer signed the bipartisan housing package in July. Advocates say the MHOTC, paired with federal LIHTC and private investment, addresses Michigan’s chronic affordable-housing shortage. The single-stair amendment targets construction cost reduction in mid-rise residential.
Michigan Independent — housing package →Forward Look — September 14–20, 2026
September 15
FY27 State Budget Takes Effect
Public Act 21 of 2026 (SB 878) appropriations activate for the October 1 fiscal year. Agencies begin implementing H.R. 1 Medicaid and SNAP compliance provisions under the $186.6 million general fund allocation.
September 21–25
PFAS Awareness Week — Statewide Events
MPART webinars on private-well sampling, community conversations in Traverse City, and a WMU geological survey symposium in Kalamazoo. Regulatory practitioners should monitor EGLE compliance monitoring results from Q3 sampling.
September 24
Absentee Ballots Available — November 3 General Election
Forty days before Election Day, clerks must issue absent voter ballots. Secure drop boxes become accessible 24 hours daily. Proposal 1 (constitutional convention) and Proposal 2 (MMOP) campaigns accelerate.
Ongoing
Legislature — SORA Replacement Drafting Expected
With no substitute registry statute prepared, criminal law committees may convene hearings on a civil-compliance framework. Defense counsel should file motions for individual removal in cases not yet processed by MSP.
October 9
Robinhood Sports Contracts — Position Closeout Deadline
Remaining Michigan customer positions in sports-related event contracts must close under the MGCB stipulation. Kalshi geofencing compliance continues under Judge Aquilina’s preliminary injunction.