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The Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, where Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes on Wednesday stayed lawsuits challenging Detroit's historic bankruptcy filing.

((Dustin Block | MLive))

DETROIT, MI - U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes questioned Wednesday why the Legislature passed a new emergency manager law after voters rejected a similar law by referendum.

Rhodes, presiding over the second day of arguments over whether Detroit can file for bankruptcy protection, raised the issue with an assistant state attorney general who is defending Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's decision to file for bankruptcy.

In it's live blog of the proceedings, The Detroit News reports Rhodes wondering why Michigan's Legislature, and Gov. Rick Snyder, re-enacted an emergency manager law after state residents voted against it.

The News reports Rhodes saying:

Assistant state Attorney General Margaret Nelson responded it was a political issue. If the voters didn't want an emergency manager law, they wouldn't have elected a Legislature and governor who supported one.