A federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) officers and officials alleges that guards used active body cameras to record a formerly incarcerated woman during childbirth and postpartum care.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of Natalie Forrest, her infant son J.F., and her mother Jessica Larson, names five corrections officers alongside MDOC Director Heidi Washington, Deputy Director Jeremy Bush, and Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility Warden Jeremy Howard.

According to the complaint, the incident began on March 6, 2025, when Forrest was transported to Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital to have labor induced.

The lawsuit alleges that despite being in a medical room surrounded by hospital staff, two corrections officers, including a male guard, remained inside the delivery room wearing active, chest-mounted body cameras throughout cervical exams, active labor, and the delivery.

In a grievance form written by Forrest just days after giving birth, she wrote, "I felt so uncomfortable and degraded" when describing her experience being recorded during childbirth.

Maura Battersby, an attorney with Flood Law, PLLC representing the plaintiffs, said her client is left with lasting emotional trauma.

"To have people literally recording that and knowing it's being recorded the whole time made that for a much worse experience as far as the emotional trauma that that left her with," Battersby said.

She added that an event meant to be a private medical procedure and bonding moment between mother and child was turned into "a reality television show for the corrections officers."

The lawsuit also alleges that one of the corrections officers threatened Forrest's mother that if she took a photo of her newborn grandson, Forrest's sentence would be extended by two years.

On February 17, 2025, advocates notified corrections officials in writing that officers who record undressed women with body cameras would violate Michigan's felony voyeurism statute (MCL 750.539j) and that corrections officers do not fall under the statute's peace-officer exemption.

MDOC officials defended the practice, arguing that footage was allowable because it was not automatically saved unless the raw data was extracted by approved staff.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for constitutional privacy violations, First Amendment retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The Department of Corrections did not respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.

An Ann Arbor nurse is facing a federal misdemeanor charge after allegedly helping a person in the U.S. without legal status escape law enforcement custody while he was receiving medical treatment at Trinity Health Ann Arbor hospital.

According to federal court filings, the man had been arrested by federal immigration agents and taken to the emergency room for injuries sustained during his arrest. While he was at the hospital, the FBI says the nurse removed his IV drip and guided him to the ambulance entrance allowing him to flee.

33-year old Chloe Renae Freeman, ‌of Whitmore Lake, voluntarily surrendered to authorities, was released on a $10,000 bond, and is no longer employed by the hospital.

As of Friday, federal authorities say the escaped patient has still not been found.

The case highlights a growing collision between legal mandates and medical ethics in healthcare facilities. Legal experts say this is becoming increasingly common pointing to a past incident at a Chicago hospital where an elected official attempted to prevent an arrest and was taken into custody herself.

Shahad Atiya, founder of Atiya Law and a professor of criminology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, says medical professionals across the country are finding themselves caught between their professional duty to care for patients and federal immigration enforcement.

"I think we're probably going to see more of these situations as people in professional circles deal with their ethical obligation to serve a patient, for example, versus how they view the immigration system in general," Atiya said.

According to Atiya, healthcare systems have been grappling with how to handle immigration enforcement within medical spaces, with many facilities hosting "Know Your Rights" trainings to help staff navigate privacy laws, search warrants, and more.

"The seminars are focusing on really asking medical professionals to make legal judgments, which are very difficult to do," Atiya said. "The case just shows us one person making that personal judgment call, and then the consequences of her decision."

Legally, the government still carries the burden of proving every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, including whether the patient was strictly in federal custody at the time he left the room.

Atiya pointed out that the federal government’s decision to file a misdemeanor charge rather than a felony may signal an intention to resolve the case quickly.

In an emergency court hearing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, attorneys for Krystal Clark argued that toxic mold exposure at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV) has created a life-threatening medical emergency.

Overseeing the courtroom filled with roughly two dozen people, U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy heard testimony from Clark and her legal team regarding her health decline and requests for an immediate, permanent transfer out of the state's only women's prison. Clark was brought into the hearing in a wheelchair escorted by three Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) officers.

Clark and her legal team detailed various physical symptoms attributed to the conditions at the facility, including ear infections, hearing loss, chronic headaches, vomiting blood, skin rashes, nosebleeds, and dizziness.

She alleged that prison medical staff dismissed her complaints, telling her to take Tylenol and go to sleep.

"I asked for help over and over, and I know if I would have stayed there I would've died," Clark said.

The Michigan Department of Corrections temporarily moved Clark out of the WHV to the Duane Waters Health Center in Jackson County, in response to the emergency court filing in July.

Attorneys for the state corrections department argued that WHV air quality tests remain within normal ranges and that Clark refused treatments and missed scheduled medical appointments.

Outside and inside the courtroom, advocates urged for immediate intervention.

"Her face is distorted. She has so many medical issues going on," said Trische' Duckworth, an advocate present at the hearing. "Success would have been for them to let her out when they first knew that she was allergic to black mold."

Advocate Lisa Beckman emphasized the constitutional duty of care owed to incarcerated individuals. "We all are responsible for making sure that people have their basic needs met," Beckman said.

Clark remains temporarily housed at the Duane Waters Health Center while Judge Murphy considers the emergency motion regarding her permanent placement.

The League of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum for the six candidates running for the Michigan Supreme Court. The organization opened the forum reminding candidates it was not a debate.

With two seats up for election on November 3rd, the candidates answered questions that detailed their judicial experience, shared moments that changed their minds on legal issues, and broke down what they believed the biggest problems are facing the state's justice system.

Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh, a Democratic Party nominee running for re-election, highlighted what inspired her legal career, pointing to her late father, former Chief Justice Michael Cavanagh.

"He instilled in me from a very young age about the importance of our court as an independent branch and the importance of public service," Cavanagh said.

Addressing the impact of politics on the bench, Republican-nominated candidate Judge Casandra Morse-Bills stated that personal views have no place in judicial decisions.

"It is not a judge's prerogative to impose their personal beliefs or any political agenda, and that cannot be said of our current Supreme Court," Morse-Bills said.

Throughout the event, the slate of candidates, Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh, Justice Noah Hood, Judge Casandra Morse-Bills, Judge Michael Warren, Thomas Howe, and Jody White, tackled various topics from judicial philosophy to courtroom oversight.

In one of his answers, Justice Hood emphasized resource disparities such as salary differences for court staff across counties and unequal access to legal representation between wealthy and low-income litigants.

“I've seen it firsthand as a trial judge, where our courtroom clerks in Wayne County got paid less than clerks in Oakland County or Macomb. And so we lost some of our best clerks.” Hood said.

Michigan voters will decide who fills the two seats on the state's highest nonpartisan judicial court during the November 3rd election.

The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted unanimously to confirm C. Cybele Raver as the institution's 17th president.

Raver, who currently serves as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University, will officially take office on December 1. She succeeds President Domenico Grasso, who has led the university — initially on an interim basis — since May 2025, following the departure of former president Santa Ono.

Raver holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Yale University. Prior to her leadership at Vanderbilt, she held senior administrative and faculty posts at New York University, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University.

Following her confirmation, Raver highlighted her excitement in building on the university's legacy.

"You have truly a wonderful way of building a lifelong sense of community, while also channeling a fierce pride in winning," Raver said. "And I just love that about this university."

Raver also emphasized that her background as a quantitative social scientist will shape her decision making process across the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses, as well as Michigan Medicine.

"I look forward to learning about your perspectives, your viewpoints across our faculty, our students, our staff, our alumni, and our Michigan community," Raver said. "You can also expect me to take swift and decisive action after weighing your input and the evidence."

In an emailed statement, The board of regents expressed full confidence in Raver’s record of expanding research and building strong academic teams, saying she strengthens institutions. "She is the best person to lead our complex, world-class university at this moment," the regents said.

President Grasso will remain in his leadership role through November 30. The university said he will work closely with Raver over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership transition.

Editor's note: The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson accused her Republican opponent, Congressman John James, of putting Michigan workers and consumers at risk by having supported President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods in the past.

During a virtual press conference Monday, Benson, currently the Michigan secretary of state, spoke alongside former Michigan Governor James Blanchard and UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English, arguing that Michigan’s close economic ties with Canada make the state particularly vulnerable to the escalating trade war.

“Because of his silence, he owns this,” Benson said of James. “He owns these reckless tariffs. He owns this tax on Michigan.”

Benson repeatedly referred to the tariffs as the “John James tax,” arguing they could increase the cost of groceries, gas and other goods while threatening Michigan jobs.

Canada is Michigan’s largest export market. The state exported about $23.2 billion in goods to Canada in 2025, accounting for 39% of Michigan’s total goods exports, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.

The Trump administration has escalated its trade fight with Canada, including a new 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs of its own that are set to take effect September 8.

The dispute is significant for Michigan’s auto industry because of the supply chains across the U.S.-Canada border.

English said she supports tariffs when they are targeted at companies that move jobs overseas or pay low wages.

But she said this is different.

“But that’s not what we’re seeing here. What we’re seeing is reckless,” English said. “A 50% tariff would only hurt the very domestic auto workers we should be fighting to protect."

Benson also pointed to the impact tariffs can have on construction and housing costs.

She said developers in Grand Rapids previously told her tariffs had more than doubled the cost of some building materials.

James has supported Trump’s tariff policies in Congress in the past, including voting in February against a resolution that would have terminated tariffs imposed on Canadian imports.

A spokesperson for James’ campaign pushed back saying, “John James is a combat veteran and auto supplier who actually creates jobs.”

Benson said that, as governor, she would seek to work directly with Canadian officials and other governors to protect Michigan businesses from federal trade policies.

“I will negotiate subnational agreements to ensure that Michigan’s interests are protected and met,” Benson said.