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No. 130150
| George H. Goldstone, |
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Robert E. Toohey |
Plaintiff-Appellant, |
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| v |
(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Oakland - Langford-Morris, D.) |
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| Bloomfield Township Public Library, |
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Joel H. Serlin |
| Defendant-Appellee. |
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Barry M. Rosenbaum |
| __________________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Brief on Apeal>>
Plaintiff-Appellant's Reply Brief to Amici>>
Defendant-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Detroit Public Library's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Library Association, Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Municipal
League's Amici Curiae Brief>>
Background
The Bloomfield Township Public Library, which is principally supported by township residents’ taxes, limits full library privileges to township residents. Non-residents may not purchase a library card or pay a borrowing fee. From 1964 to 2003, the library had a contract with the city of Bloomfield Hills, under which the city’s residents had full access to all library services. The city paid an annual fee to the township under the contract. But when the contract was up for renewal, the township and city could not agree on the amount of the annual fee. Negotiations broke down; the city now reimburses its residents for the cost of non-resident library cards from the public library in Troy. George Goldstone, a resident of the city of Bloomfield Hills, requested a non-resident library card from the township library and offered to pay a borrowing fee, but the library denied his request. Goldstone sued the library, arguing that its access policy was unconstitutional. He cited article 8, section 9 of the Michigan Constitution, which provides that “The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment and support of public libraries which shall be available to all residents of the state under regulations adopted by the governing bodies thereof.” The circuit judge noted that a 1980 Attorney General opinion interpreted “available” to include the right to borrow books. But the judge cited state statutes that permit libraries to contract with other communities to provide access upon terms and conditions, and authorize public libraries to contract with each other. Those statutes would not be necessary if the Michigan Constitution barred libraries from denying full privileges to non-residents, the judge reasoned. Goldstone appealed, raising First Amendment and equal protection arguments, but the Court of Appeals affirmed. Citing the constitution’s allowance for “regulations adopted by the governing bodies thereof,” the Court of Appeals found that the state constitution allows local public libraries to discriminate between residents and non-residents. Goldstone appeals.
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