The American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan is suing the state to prevent Michigan police agencies from participating in a multi-state terrorism watchlist: ACLU Sues to Halt Mich. Police Database.

The lawsuit against the federally funded Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange — “Matrix” for short — was filed late Monday in Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of the ACLU and three individuals, including former Republican Gov. William Milliken.

The suit cites Michigan’s Interstate Law Enforcement Intelligence Organizations Act, which Milliken signed in 1980. The Legislature passed the law after learning that Michigan police, during the 1960s and 1970s, developed and maintained files on hundreds of residents who had committed no crimes but were involved in civil rights and anti-war movements of the time.

“I signed this act into law in order to protect the privacy of individual citizens and, at the same time, provide law enforcement agencies with the tools they need,” said Milliken, who served from 1969 to 1983. “Nearly 25 years later, the technology has changed, but the privacy rights of Michigan citizens remain the same.”

Shanon Akans, a spokeswoman for the State Police, declined to comment on the lawsuit, as did current Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Matrix combines state vehicle and crime records with databases owned by a private company, Seisint Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. It gives investigators quick access to billions of pieces of information on potential criminal suspects.

The program, funded by $12 million from the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security, encompasses Michigan, Florida, Connecticut, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement has official responsibility for the program.

The ACLU wrote to Michigan State Police in May warning the agency that, under the 1980 state law, it was acting illegally by taking part in an interstate intelligence organization without first receiving approval from either the Legislature or a citizen-oversight body.