The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Benton Harbor political activist on charges of voter fraud. But the court struck down some conditions set by a Berrien County judge for Reverend Edward Pinkney's probation.

Pinkney got probation in 2007 but was later sent to prison after he wrote an article criticizing the judge who sentenced him. It quoted a Bible verse and predicted that God would "curse" the judge. The Appeals Court says a condition of Pinkney's probation that prohibited "defamatory and demeaning communications" was improper.

The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the judge's order putting Pinkney in prison violated his right of free speech.