November 23, 2020
Volume 18, Issue 47

At the Capitol

The House and Senate are expected to be in session on Tuesday, December 1.
House Schedule
Senate Schedule

Legislation Introduced 11/10–11/12
Last week bills were introduced in the following areas of law:

• Animal Law
• Budget
• Consumer Law
• Courts & Judges
• COVID-19
• Criminal Law
• Education Law
• Healthcare Law
• Insurance Law
• Labor & Employment Law
• Licensing & Regulatory Law
• Motor Vehicles
• Real Property
• State & Local Government
• Tax

At the Court

Cass County Chief Judge Susan L. Dobrich 2020 Recipient of the Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award

Supreme Court to Host Virtual Adoption Day November 24

Rule Amendments
ADM File No. 2017-28: Amendment of Administrative Order No. 1999-4
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: Immediately

ADM File No. 2017-28: Amendment of Administrative Order No. 2019-4
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: Immediately

ADM File No. 2017-28: Amendment of MCR 1.109 and 8.119
The amendments make certain personal identifying information nonpublic and clarify the process regarding redaction.
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: Immediately

Proposed Amendments
ADM File No. 2020-19: Proposed Amendment of MCR 2.302
The proposed amendment of MCR 2.302 would require transcripts of audio and video recordings intended to be introduced as an exhibit at trial to be transcribed.
Issued: 11/18/20
Comment Period Expires: 3/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-20: Proposed Amendment of MCR 2.105
The proposed amendment of MCR 2.105 would establish the manner of service on limited liability companies.
Issued: 11/18/20
Comment Period Expires: 3/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-22: Amendment of MCR 6.110
The amendment of MCR 6.110 requires courts to allow a witness called by the prosecutor or defendant to appear at a preliminary examination as provided for by MCL 766.12. This proposal was submitted by the State Bar of Michigan.
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: Immediately
Comment Period Expires: 3/1/21

Appointments
ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 14B District Court  
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 28th District Court
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 32A District Court  
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 38th District Court
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 57th Circuit Court
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the 62B District Court
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

ADM File No. 2020-01: Chief Judge of the Sanilac County Courts
Issued: 11/18/20
Effective: 1/1/21

At the Bar

The Board of Commissioners met on November 20, 2020 at which time the State Bar of Michigan adopted the following public policy positions:
ADM File No. 2019-48: Proposed Amendment of MCR 1.109
The proposed amendment of MCR 1.109 would require a signature from an attorney of record on documents filed by represented parties. This language was inadvertently eliminated when MCR 2.114(C) was relocated to MCR 1.109 as part of the e-Filing rule changes.
POSITION: Support with the below amendment:
Requirement. Every document filed shall be signed by the person filing it or by at least one attorney of record. Every document of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record. A party who is not represented by an attorney must sign the document. In probate proceedings the following also applies . . .

ADM File No. 2019-06: Amendment of MCR 6.302
The amendment of MCR 6.302 makes the rule consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling in People v Warren, 505 Mich 196 (2020), and requires a judge to advise a defendant of the maximum possible prison sentence including the possibility of consecutive sentencing.
POSITION: Support with the recommended amendments to Rule 6.302(B)(2):
…the maximum possible prison sentence for the offense, including, if applicable and based upon the matters pending before that judicial officer, whether the law permits or requires consecutive sentences, making clear to the defendant that the representation only relates to cases pending before that judicial officer, and any mandatory minimum sentence required by law, including a requirement for mandatory lifetime electronic monitoring under MCL 750.520b or 750.520c.

ADM File No. 2019-35: Proposed Amendment of MCR 6.502
The proposed amendment of MCR 6.502 would eliminate the requirement to return successive motions to the filer and would eliminate the prohibition on appeal of a decision made on a motion for relief from judgment. Further, it would require all such motions to be submitted to the assigned judge, and require a trial court to issue an order when it rejects or denies relief.
POSITION: Support with the following recommendations:

(1) Remove redundancies in MCR 6.502(G)(1) as follows: [deletions shown in strikethrough].

Except as provided in subrule (G)(2), regardless of whether a defendant has previously filed a motion for relief from judgment, after August 1, 1995, one and only one motion for relief from judgment may be filed with regard to a conviction . . . .

(2) Amend MCR 6.502(G)(2) to clarify that a retroactive change in law or discovery of new evidence provides grounds to file a second or subsequent motion for relief from judgment so long as the retroactive change in law or discovery of new evidence occurred after the first motion for relief from judgment was filed, as opposed to when the motion was actually decided. The amended language would read as follows: [additions shown in underline].

A defendant may file a second or subsequent motion based on a retroactive change in law that occurred after the first motion for relief from judgment was filed or a claim of new evidence that was not discovered before the first such motion.

ADM File No. 2020-16: Proposed Amendment of MCR 9.261
The proposed amendment of MCR 9.261 would allow the JTC to share information with two separate divisions of the State Bar of Michigan: the Judicial Qualifications Committee and the Lawyers & Judges Assistance Program.
POSITION: Support.

M Crim JI 5.15
The Committee proposes adding a new instruction, M Crim JI 5.15, to address the use of a foreign language interpreter during court proceedings before a jury.
POSITION: Support the proposed criminal jury instructions with the further amendments as set forth below:

(1) Amendment to paragraph one (1):
This court seeks a fair trial for everyone, regardless of the language they speak or how well it is spoken including those who communicate through sign language.

(2) Amendment to paragraph four (4):
Bias against or for persons who have little or no proficiency in English is not allowed. Do not allow the fact that the court is using an interpreter to help [the defendant / a witness] to influence how you decide the facts or the case in any way. Likewise, do not allow the fact that the testimony is given in a language other than English influence you in any way.

(3) Amendment to last sentence of paragraph five (5):
If, however, after such efforts a discrepancy remains in your mind, I emphasize that you must should rely only upon the official English translation as provided by the official court interpreter and disregard any other contrary interpretation. However, it is up to you as the triers of fact to resolve the discrepancy as you would any other question of fact.

M Crim JI 17.2a
The Committee proposes amending the Domestic Assault instruction, M Crim JI 17.2a, to add the offense of Aggravated Domestic Assault for which there was no instruction previously.
POSITION: Support with amendments to footnote placement.

M Crim JI 33.1a
The Committee proposes amending the Animal Fighting instruction, M Crim JI 33.1a, by adding language to comport with an amendment to the applicable statute, MCL 750.49(2)(e).
POSITION: Support.

M Crim JI 39.7 and 39.7a
The Committee proposes new instructions, M Crim JI 39.7 and 39.7a, for the crimes found in MCL 750.411a(2) of falsely reporting an offense involving explosives and of falsely reporting an offense involving of harmful substances or poisons, respectively.
POSITION: Support.

M Crim JI 39.8 and 39.8a
The Committee proposes new instructions, M Crim JI 39.8 and 39.8a, for the crimes found in MCL 750.411a(2)(b): threatening to commit an offense involving explosives (M Crim JI 39.8), or threatening to commit an offense involving of harmful substances or poisons (M Crim JI 39.8a).
POSITION: Oppose as Drafted.

M Crim JI 40.1, 40.2, and 40.3
The Committee proposes new instructions, M Crim JI 40.1, 40.2 and 40.3, for disturbing-the-peace person offenses found in MCL 750.170 (disturbance of lawful meetings), MCL 750.169 (disturbing religious meetings), and MCL 750.167d (disturbing funerals), respectively.
POSITION: Support.

2020 News

In Memoriam: Charles Levin, former MSC Justice

More Sessions Added for Free Training on Unconscious Decision-Making

Deadline Approaching for Law License Renewals

Links of Interest

SBM Public Policy Resource Center
Public Acts
Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Legislature
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