The US Appeals Court for the Sixth Circuit found the Michigan Gaming Control Board violated the rights of drivers who were implicated in an alleged race fixing scandal, which as is often the case in these types of scandals, resulted in none of the drivers being charged The drivers are suing the MCGB for damages.
During the hearings, the drivers were threatened with the loss of their license if they didn't answer questions related to the race fixing scandal. Being a State Police Detective informed the drivers' attorney that they would be arrested after testifying at the hearing, the drivers naturally refused to answer questions citing the 5th Amendment. The commission in response, revoked the drivers 2010 license and refused to license them from 2011-2013.
The Appeals Court issued a split decision for the drivers. Claiming the drivers received a hearing regarding their initial suspension, the court upheld the district court's finding that the MGCB didn't violate the drivers' rights. However, with regards to the MGCB not licensing the drivers in subsequent years (2011-2013), the drivers were not afforded hearings, hence due process and in these instances, the judges overturned the summary judgement, claiming the drivers didn't receive due process each year.
The appeals court has remanded the case back to the district court. For those legal beagles, here is the opinion of the Sixth Circuit for your reading pleasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment