A new law slams the door against lawsuits used to bully ordinary people into silence

New law shields public speech starting March

Michigan now has a law to fight back against lawsuits meant to silence people. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4045 on Dec. 23, 2025, making it Public Act 52 of 2025.

The state officially calls it the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. It takes effect on March 24, 2026, and only covers lawsuits filed on or after that date.

Michigan had been one of roughly 12 states without this kind of protection.

The law speeds up bogus lawsuit dismissals

Here’s how it works. If someone gets sued over something they said publicly, they can ask the court to toss the case early.

Once they file that request, all the expensive legal steps like discovery stop right away. Then the burden flips.

The person who filed the lawsuit has to prove their case actually has legal merit. If they can’t, the court can throw it out.

The goal is to keep people from getting buried in legal bills over protected speech.

SLAPP suits use courts to silence critics

SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuit against public participation. These aren’t lawsuits filed to win. They’re filed to punish someone for speaking out.

A wealthy developer, for example, might sue a resident who spoke against a zoning change at a public meeting.

The developer probably won’t win, but that’s not the point.

The lawsuit alone forces the resident to hire a lawyer and spend months fighting it. The cost and stress are the real weapons.

Survivors and everyday speakers get protection

The law covers anyone sued over speech about public issues.

That includes people who speak at government hearings, whether legislative, judicial, or administrative. It also protects people exercising their rights to free speech, free press, assembly, or petition.

One group stands out in the law’s language: survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking.

They now have a legal shield if someone files a retaliatory lawsuit to keep them quiet.

Defendants can file motions within 60 days

A person targeted by a SLAPP suit files what the law calls a special motion for expedited relief. They generally have 60 days from the time they’re served to file it.

The court must schedule a hearing promptly after that. While the judge reviews the motion, all discovery pauses.

That matters because discovery is often the most expensive part of a lawsuit. The full text of the law lays out each step of this process.

Losers may pay the winners legal bills

The law adds a financial penalty for filing baseless suits.

If the court dismisses the case, it can order the person who brought the lawsuit to pay the defendant’s attorney fees and legal costs.

That fee-shifting rule serves two purposes. It discourages people from filing meritless lawsuits in the first place.

And it makes sure defendants don’t end up paying out of pocket just to defend speech the law protects.

The bill took years to finally pass

State Rep. Kara Hope, a Democrat from Holt, introduced the bill in January 2025. But she first pushed anti-SLAPP legislation back in 2020.

A prior version passed the Michigan House 100 to 8 in an earlier term but died in the Senate. This time was different.

The bill passed the House unanimously, 103 to 0. Hope’s office said the bipartisan support reflected years of work building the case for the law.

Michigan had been a holdout among states

Before this law, Michigan was one of about 12 states with no anti-SLAPP protections on the books.

The state had a general law that allowed penalties for frivolous lawsuits, but it lacked the targeted tools that anti-SLAPP laws give defendants.

Previous attempts to pass similar bills in 2010 and 2020 both failed to clear both chambers. The new law finally closes that gap.

Most states now have anti-SLAPP laws

Michigan’s law follows a model created by the Uniform Law Commission in July 2020. More than a dozen states have adopted versions of that framework since Washington became the first in 2021.

There’s no federal anti-SLAPP law, so each state has to pass its own. As of late 2025, about 39 states and Washington, D.C., have some form of anti-SLAPP protections.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press tracks these adoption efforts across the country.

Civil rights groups backed the bill

The ACLU of Michigan called SLAPP lawsuits an attack on First Amendment rights.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter to Michigan lawmakers in December 2025 urging them to pass the bill.

The Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence supported it because it protects survivors who speak out. The Uniform Law Commission also endorsed the bill and gave testimony during the legislative process.

Whitmer signed few bills in a gridlocked year

Gov. Whitmer signed just 74 bills into law during the 2025 session. That’s well below the average of about 383 new laws per year over the past two decades.

Divided government drove the slowdown, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats holding the Senate.

Against that backdrop, the anti-SLAPP law’s unanimous House vote stood out. It was one of the few bills both sides agreed on all year.

Michiganders get a stronger legal shield March 24

Starting March 24, 2026, Michigan residents who speak out on public issues have a new layer of legal protection.

The law doesn’t stop anyone from filing a real lawsuit with actual merit. It targets only those cases designed to silence speech rather than seek justice.

Michigan now joins the majority of states offering this kind of shield, putting residents on stronger footing when they speak up at public meetings, in the press, or online.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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