Michigan V. Long - The Decision

The Decision

The Court not only ruled that Michigan misapplied Terry v. Ohio and the Fourth Amendment but also ruled that Long had insufficient adequate and independent state ground. O'Connor, a former judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, affirmed the doctrine of independent state ground, but wrote that the Michigan Supreme Court adjudicated almost exclusively from federal law. Thus, the Court "accept as the most reasonable explanation that the state court decided the case the way it did because it believed that Federal law required it so." Essentially, the Supreme Court presumed the state decision rested on federal grounds. O'Connor suggests that state courts write "clearly and expressly" that their decision rests on bona fide state grounds. Should they do this, the U.S. Supreme Court would "not undertake to review the decision."

One solution is that state courts may rule their own constitution "in parallel" with the U.S. Constitution. That is, they take Federal case law, especially if it is to their liking, as "advisory," but they make clear that federal law is not considered by the court precedent. In this way, state courts can protect individual rights at a very high level as the late Justice Brennan suggested.

Although this opinion helped clarify what had theretofore been ambiguous, some critics charged that Michigan v. Long was politically motivated. Justice Stevens, for example, enumerated the ways the US Supreme Court had previously handled such ambiguities. Predominantly, the Court sent cases back down for clarification, but in Long they ruled directly against it without awaiting clarification. Presumably, the more conservative Burger court sought to reverse the liberal Michigan decision.