January 23, 2023
Volume 21, Issue 4

In the Capitol

2023 State of the State

Governor Whitmer will deliver the State of the State address on Wednesday, January 25^th. A livestream will be available at https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/state-of-the-state.

Legislation Introduced
Recently bills were introduced in the following areas of law:

• Agriculture Law
• Aviation Law
• Budget
• Civil Rights
• Construction Law
• Corrections
• Criminal Law
• Education Law
• Elections
• Environmental & Natural Resources Law
• Family Law
• Healthcare Law
• Insurance Law
• Juvenile Law
• Labor & Employment
• Landlord-Tenant
• Licensing & Regulation
• Motor Vehicles
• Poverty Law
• Real Property
• State & Local Government
• Tax

In the Hall of Justice

Rule Amendments
ADM File No. 2017-28: Retention of Amendments of MCR 1.109 With Further Amendment
The amendments of MCR 1.109(D)(9)(B) clarify some aspects of the process for providing authorized individuals access to a party’s date of birth for purposes of identity verification.
Issued: 1/18/23
Effective: Immediately

Proposed Amendments
ADM File No. 2022-03: Proposed Amendment of MCR 1.109
The proposed amendment of MCR 1.109(D)(1)(b) would allow attorneys to provide personal pronouns in document captions and require courts to use those personal pronouns when addressing the party or attorney, either verbally or in writing, unless doing so would result in an unclear record. The Court is interested in receiving comments addressing the constitutional implications of this proposal.
Issued: 1/18/23
Comment Period Expires: 5/1/23

ADM File No. 2022-16: Proposed Amendment of MCR 7.211
The proposed amendment of MCR 7.211(C)(7) would modify the Court of Appeals process for handling confessions of error.
Issued: 1/18/23
Comment Period Expires: 5/1/23

ADM File No. 2022-13: Proposed Amendment of MCR 9.123
The proposed amendment of MCR 9.123(D)(3) would clarify that a disbarred attorney who was sentenced to incarceration following a felony conviction and who wants to be reinstated to the bar must wait until six months after completing the sentence.
Issued: 1/18/23
Comment Period Expires: 5/1/23

ADM File No. 2021-30: Proposed Amendments of MCR 9.220, 9.221, 9.223, 9.232, and 9.261
The proposed amendments of MCR 9.220, 9.221, 9.223, 9.232, and 9.261 would help protect the confidentiality of a grievant who submits a request for investigation to the Judicial Tenure Commission.
Issued: 1/18/23
Comment Period Expires: 5/1/23

At the Bar

The Board of Commissioners met on January 23, 2023 at which time the State Bar of Michigan adopted the following public policy positions:

ADM File No. 2021-50: Proposed Addition of MCR 2.421
The proposed addition of MCR 2.421 would address notice of a bankruptcy proceeding that affects a pending state court action.
POSITION: Support and recommend that the Court give consideration to the amendments proposed by Trent Collier in his letter dated December 16, 2022.

ADM File No. 2022-34: Proposed Amendments of Rules 3.913, 3.943, 3.977, and 3.993 and Proposed Addition of MCR 3.937
The proposed amendments of MCR 3.913 and 3.943 and proposed addition of MCR 3.937 would provide greater due process protections for juveniles in the justice system by ensuring that they are fully advised of their appellate rights at appropriate times and in a manner that is designed to ensure understanding of those rights. The proposed amendments of MCR 3.977 and 3.993 would extend the timeframe for requesting appointment of appellate counsel to 21 days, which mirrors the timeframe for filing a claim of appeal in cases subject to those rules.
POSITION: Support with an amendment adding (F) to Rule 3.993 as follows:

If a party was denied the right to appellate review or the appointment of appellate counsel due to errors by the party's prior attorney or the court, or other factors outside the party's control, the trial court must issue an order restating the time in which to file an appeal or request counsel, except that the court must not issue any order which would extend the time for appealing an order terminating parental rights beyond 63 days from entry of the order terminating rights.

ADM File No. 2022-05: Proposed Amendments of MCR 3.977, 3.993, 7.311, and 7.316
The proposed amendments of MCR 3.977, 3.993, 7.311, and 7.316 would establish a procedure for assessing whether a respondent in a termination of parental rights case was denied the effective assistance of appellate counsel, and if so, provide relief.
POSITION: Support.

ADM File No. 2022-32: Proposed Amendments of MCR 7.201, 7.202, 7.203, 7.204, 7.205, 7.206, 7.207, 7.208, 7.209, 7.210, 7.211, 7.212, 7.213, 7.215, 7.216, 7.217, and 7.219
The proposed amendments of subchapter 7.200 would make technical amendments of the COA rules in an effort to modernize them and ensure they reflect the COA’s established practices.
POSITION: Support.

NEWS

Judicial Vacancy–Lake County Probate Court
Applications must be submitted electronically and received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Friendly reminder to members SOLACE is here for your critical needs
The New Year can bring with it new challenges. For those in crisis, the SOLACE Network is here to help.

Links of Interest

SBM Public Policy Resource Center
Public Acts
Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Legislature
MCL Search Engines