CNN v. SEB, No. 359007 (Mich. App.)  January 12, 2023.  

Michigan’s Court of Appeals has vacated a personal protection order seen to have been supported by “hate speech.”

The parties are embattled neighbors who routinely feud over a shared driveway.  One such ruckus included a racial taunt between the parties referring to the race of a neighbor who was an observer and a stranger to the fight.  

The Michigan Court of Appeals has held that notwithstanding the distasteful remark, no threat was present which  would exempt the speaker from First Amendment protections, and as such, it would not support the issuance of a personal protective order.  

CNN V SEB Michigan Court of Appeals No. 359007 Opinion January 11, 2023