A federal judge says attorneys for an Islamic group were out of line when they subpoenaed personal e-mail and other documents from residents who opposed the building of an Islamic school in Pittsfield Township.
Magistrate Judge David Grand of Ann Arbor, in a ruling last week, said the subpoenas threatened the constitutional rights to free speech of the residents and ordered their attorney fees and costs to be compensated.
The Muslim Community Association and Michigan Islamic Academy in Ann Arbor want to build a school and community center in neighboring Pittsfield Township, but township officials have rejected their plans, citing traffic and congestion concerns.
In 2012, attorneys with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Muslim Community Association and Michigan Islamic Academy, alleging that anti-Islam bias motivated the township’s rejection. Township officials have said their rejection had nothing to do with religion.
Earlier this year, attorneys with CAIR sent subpoenas to several residents in Pittsfield Township who opposed building the school, demanding personal e-mails, documents and correspondence concerning their communication with township officials.
They also asked one resident, Zaba Davis to appear at deposition in Bingham Farms.
On April 15, attorneys with the American Freedom Law Center, representing the seven residents, filed a motion asking the judge to quash the subpoenas.
In his July 2 decision, Grand granted the request, writing that he was concerned “by the chilling effect that allowing the subpoenas would have on speech, not only for Davis, but for all others who wish to be involved in public discourse on matters of public concern.”
Grand said that “Davis... is merely a private citizen who, at most, is alleged to have distributed materials which resulted in increased public opposition to” the proposed center.
Allowing the subpoenas “would clearly cause her and other individuals to be hesitant about becoming involved in the political process. Indeed, protecting against such a chilling effect is one of the First Amendment’s very purposes,” Grand said.
Attorneys with CAIR who filed the lawsuit, Lena Masri and Gadeir Abbas, declined to comment Monday. An official with the Muslim Community Association also declined to comment.
Robert Muise, an Ann Arbor attorney who represented the seven residents, praised the ruling, saying that “private residents have a fundamental First Amendment right to publicly express to their elected officials their personal views.”
Attorneys for the Islamic group have 14 days to file an objection to Grand’s decision.