Detroit Evening Report: May 18, 2022: Michigan Supreme Court weighs making Juneteenth a state court holiday
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The Michigan Supreme Court is weighing options to make Juneteenth a state court holiday, WKAR’s Kevin Lavery reports. Earlier Wednesday, the court took public comments on a proposal to either add Juneteenth as another court holiday or substitute it for either the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. The court has received about 50 comments on the proposal. Some address the financial cost of paying overtime to ensure Michigan courts are staffed during the holiday. Michigan Supreme Court spokesperson John Nevin says that’s an issue because state court funding is decentralized. “So we actually have, I think, 160 different funding units. That’s certainly a factor the Supreme Court will consider in deciding whether to make it a court holiday. One set of rules, which would make sense.” Nevin says there’s no deadline for the court to make a decision. Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned they had been emancipated.
Other headlines for May 18, 2022:
- Detroit health officials recommending indoor masking as city COVID-19 infection rates rise
- Detroit Public Schools’ An Evening of Fine Arts returns to the Fox Theater, kicks off DPSCD’s inaugural “Come Home” Alumni Hall of Fame festivities
- Detroit Pride to celebrate 50-year anniversary this June
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