MML Review Magazine Winter 2026

THE LEAGUE’S LEGAL DEFENSE FUND “BEFRIENDS” MUNICIPALITIES IN COURT By Kim Cekola Each such city and village shall have power to adopt resolutions and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns, property, and government subject to the Constitution and law. Michigan Constitution, Article VII, Section 22

Significant Local Government Cases Cannabis

Medical cannabis, municipal taxes, rights of way and billboard regulation, property maintenance and police and fire services. These are just some of the areas the Michigan Municipal League Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has provided amicus briefs to the courts on behalf of its members. The LDF is an advocacy program for Michigan’s local governments in cases where the issues have a broad statewide impact. When a court rules on a case, the decision sets a precedent that must be followed by lower courts. This is known as stare decisis. In addition, published opinions of the court are binding—unpublished decisions are not. Michigan’s courts are district (local), the Court of Appeals, and the Michigan Supreme Court. In the federal system, Michigan is part of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Last in the hierarchy is the U.S. Supreme Court. At times, a municipal case may be part of a case against the state of Michigan—this is known as the Court of Claims. The LDF gets involved in a case by filing what is known as an amicus brief, a.k.a., “friend of the court,” a written argument of the merits of the case by an expert in municipal law. In recent years, most LDF cases have been joint efforts with co-amicus participation by several groups, including the Michigan Townships Association, the Government Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Association of Counties, the MML Liability and Property Pool, and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Correspondingly, the LDF often joins amicus briefs of these associations, especially the Michigan Townships Association. The LDF has filed amicus briefs in all state and federal jurisdictions. It’s an honor to be invited by the Michigan Supreme Court to file an amicus brief. The LDF has received 38 invitations since the court started the practice in 2005.

The issue in this case was whether the City of Wyoming's zoning ordinance, which prohibits any use that is contrary to federal law, state law, or local ordinance, was subject to state preemption by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). The LDF filed an amicus brief focusing on the importance of local control. While the Supreme Court did not uphold the City’s ordinance, significantly the decision stated that”… we do not hold, that the MMMA forecloses all

local regulation of marijuana…” Ter Beek v. City of Wyoming

Overgrown curb lawn in the City of Howell

Property Maintenance Michigan municipalities have the authority to require property owners to maintain those portions of the right of-way that abut their properties—the curb strip, between the sidewalk and curb/edge of the road—be it mowing the grass during the summer or removing snow and ice from the sidewalk in the winter. The court found the City ordinance’s intended purpose to advance traffic safety, sanitation, animal and rodent control, protection of property values, aesthetics, and public health, safety, and welfare to be legitimate. Shoemaker v. City of Howell

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| Winter 2026