MI Rules MCR

Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated Currentness
Michigan Court Rules of 1985
Chapter 3. Special Proceedings and Actions
Subchapter 3.900. Proceedings Involving Juveniles (Refs & Annos)

When used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates:

(1) “Case” means an action initiated in the family division of the circuit court by:

(a) submission of an original complaint, petition, or citation;

(b) acceptance of transfer of an action from another court or tribunal; or

(c) filing or registration of a foreign judgment or order.

(2) “Child protective proceeding” means a proceeding concerning an offense against a child.

(3) “Confidential file” means

(a) that part of a file made confidential by statute or court rule, including, but not limited to,

(i) the diversion record of a minor pursuant to the Juvenile Diversion Act, MCL 722.821 et seq.;

(ii) the separate statement about known victims of juvenile offenses, as required by the Crime Victim's Rights Act, MCL 780.751 et seq.;

(iii) the testimony taken during a closed proceeding pursuant to MCR 3.925(A)(2) and MCL 712A.17(7);

(iv) the dispositional reports pursuant to MCR 3.943(C)(3) and 3.973(E)(4);

(v) fingerprinting material required to be maintained pursuant to MCL 28.243;

(vi) reports of sexually motivated crimes, MCL 28.247;

(vii) test results of those charged with certain sexual offenses or substance abuse offenses, MCL 333.5129;

(b) the contents of a social file maintained by the court, including materials such as

(i) youth and family record fact sheet;

(ii) social study;

(iii) reports (such as dispositional, investigative, laboratory, medical, observation, psychological, psychiatric, progress, treatment, school, and police reports);

(iv) Department of Human Services records;

(v) correspondence;

(vi) victim statements;

(vii) information regarding the identity or location of a foster parent, preadoptive parent, relative caregiver, or juvenile guardian.

(4) “Court” means the family division of the circuit court.

(5) “Delinquency proceeding” means a proceeding concerning an offense by a juvenile, as defined in MCR 3.903(B)(3).

(6) “Designated proceeding” means a proceeding in which the prosecuting attorney has designated, or has requested the court to designate, the case for trial in the family division of the circuit court in the same manner as an adult.

(7) “Father” means:

(a) A man married to the mother at any time from a minor's conception to the minor's birth, unless a court has determined, after notice and a hearing, that the minor was conceived or born during the marriage, but is not the issue of the marriage;

(b) A man who legally adopts the minor;

(c) A man who by order of filiation or by judgment of paternity is judicially determined to be the father of the minor;

(d) A man judicially determined to have parental rights; or

(e) A man whose paternity is established by the completion and filing of an acknowledgment of parentage in accordance with the provisions of the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act, MCL 722.1001, et seq., or a previously applicable procedure. For an acknowledgment under the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act, the man and mother must each sign the acknowledgment of parentage before a notary public appointed in this state. The acknowledgment shall be filed at either the time of birth or another time during the child's lifetime with the state registrar.

(8) “File” means a repository for collection of the pleadings and other documents and materials related to a case.

(9) An authorized petition is deemed “filed” when it is delivered to, and accepted by, the clerk of the court.

(10) “Formal calendar” means judicial proceedings other than a delinquency proceeding on the consent calendar, a preliminary inquiry, or a preliminary hearing of a delinquency or child protective proceeding.

(11) “Guardian” means a person appointed as guardian of a child by a Michigan court pursuant to MCL 700.5204 or 700.5205, by a court of another state under a comparable statutory provision, or by parental or testamentary appointment as provided in MCL 700.5202, or a juvenile guardian appointed pursuant to MCL 712A.19a or MCL 712A.19c.

(12) “Juvenile Code” means 1944 (1st Ex Sess) PA 54, MCL 712A.1 et seq., as amended.

(13) “Legal Custodian” means an adult who has been given legal custody of a minor by order of a circuit court in Michigan or a comparable court of another state or who possesses a valid power of attorney given pursuant to MCL 700.5103 or a comparable statute of another state. It also includes the term “Indian custodian” as defined in MCR 3.002(7).

(14) “Legal Custodian” means an adult who has been given legal custody of a minor by order of a circuit court in Michigan or a comparable court of another state or who possesses a valid power of attorney given pursuant to MCL 700.5103 or a comparable statute of another state.

(15) “Legally admissible evidence” means evidence admissible under the Michigan Rules of Evidence.

(16) “Minor” means a person under the age of 18, and may include a person of age 18 or older over whom the court has continuing jurisdiction pursuant to MCL 712A.2a.

(17) “Parent” means the mother, the father as defined in MCR 3.903(A)(7), or both, of the minor. It also includes the term “parent” as defined in MCR 3.002(10).

(18) “Parent” means the mother, the father as defined in MCR 3.903(A)(7), or both, of the minor.

(19) “Party” includes the

(a) petitioner and juvenile in a delinquency proceeding;

(b) petitioner, child, respondent, and parent, guardian, or legal custodian in a protective proceeding.

(20) “Petition” means a complaint or other written allegation, verified in the manner provided in MCR 2.114(B), that a parent, guardian, nonparent adult, or legal custodian has harmed or failed to properly care for a child, or that a juvenile has committed an offense.

(21) “Petition authorized to be filed” refers to written permission given by the court to file the petition containing the formal allegations against the juvenile or respondent with the clerk of the court.

(22) “Petitioner” means the person or agency who requests the court to take action.

(23) “Preliminary inquiry” means informal review by the court to determine appropriate action on a petition.

(24) “Putative father” means a man who is alleged to be the biological father of a child who has no father as defined in MCR 3.903(A)(7).

(25) “Records” means the pleadings, motions, authorized petition, notices, memorandums, briefs, exhibits, available transcripts, findings of the court, register of actions, and court orders.

(26) “Register of actions” means the permanent case history maintained in accord with the Michigan Supreme Court Case File Management Standards. See MCR 8.119(D)(1)(c).

(27) “Trial” means the fact-finding adjudication of an authorized petition to determine if the minor comes within the jurisdiction of the court.

When used in delinquency proceedings, unless the context otherwise indicates:

(1) “Detention” means court-ordered removal of a juvenile from the custody of a parent, guardian, or legal custodian, pending trial, disposition, commitment, or further order.

(2) “Juvenile” means a minor alleged or found to be within the jurisdiction of the court for having committed an offense.

(3) “Offense by a juvenile” means an act that violates a criminal statute, a criminal ordinance, a traffic law, or a provision of MCL 712A.2(a) or (d).

(4) “Prosecuting attorney” means the prosecuting attorney for a county, an assistant prosecuting attorney for a county, the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a special prosecuting attorney, and, in connection with the prosecution of an ordinance violation, an attorney for the political subdivision or governmental entity that enacted the ordinance, charter, rule, or regulation upon which the ordinance violation is based.

When used in child protective proceedings, unless the context otherwise indicates:

(1) “Agency” means a public or private organization, institution, or facility responsible pursuant to court order or contractual arrangement for the care and supervision of a child.

(2) “Child” means a minor alleged or found to be within the jurisdiction of the court pursuant to MCL 712A.2(b).

(3) “Contrary to the welfare of the child” includes, but is not limited to, situations in which the child's life, physical health, or mental well-being is unreasonably placed at risk.

(4) “Foster care” means 24-hour a day substitute care for children placed away from their parents, guardians, or legal custodians, and for whom the court has given the Department of Human Services placement and care responsibility, including, but not limited to,

(a) care provided to a child in a foster family home, foster family group home, or child caring institution licensed or approved under MCL 722.111 et seq., or

(b) care provided to a child in a relative's home pursuant to an order of the court.

(5) “Lawyer-guardian ad litem” means that term as defined in MCL 712A.13a(1)(f).

(6) “Nonparent adult” means a person who is eighteen years of age or older and who, regardless of the person's domicile, meets all the following criteria in relation to a child over whom the court takes jurisdiction under this chapter:

(a) has substantial and regular contact with the child,

(b) has a close personal relationship with the child's parent or with a person responsible for the child's health or welfare, and

(c) is not the child's parent or a person otherwise related to the child by blood or affinity to the third degree.

(7) “Offense against a child” means an act or omission by a parent, guardian, nonparent adult, or legal custodian asserted as grounds for bringing the child within the jurisdiction of the court pursuant to the Juvenile Code.

(8) “Placement” means court-approved transfer of physical custody of a child to foster care, a shelter home, a hospital, or a private treatment agency.

(9) “Prosecutor” or “prosecuting attorney” means the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the court has its principal office or an assistant to the prosecuting attorney.

(10) Except as provided in MCR 3.977(B), “respondent” means the parent, guardian, legal custodian, or nonparent adult who is alleged to have committed an offense against a child.


(1) “Arraignment” means the first hearing in a designated case at which

(a) the juvenile is informed of the allegations, the juvenile's rights, and the potential consequences of the proceeding;

(b) the matter is set for a probable cause or designation hearing; and,

(c) if the juvenile is in custody or custody is requested pending trial, a decision is made regarding custody pursuant to MCR 3.935(C).

(2) “Court-designated case” means a case in which the court, pursuant to a request by the prosecuting attorney, has decided according to the factors set forth in MCR 3.952(C)(3) that the juvenile is to be tried in the family division of circuit court in the same manner as an adult for an offense other than a specified juvenile violation.

(3) “Designated case” means either a prosecutor-designated case or a court-designated case.

(4) “Designation hearing” means a hearing on the prosecuting attorney's request that the court designate the case for trial in the same manner as an adult in the family division of circuit court.

(5) “Preliminary examination” means a hearing at which the court determines whether there is probable cause to believe that the specified juvenile violation or alleged offense occurred and whether there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the specified juvenile violation or alleged offense.

(6) “Prosecutor-designated case” means a case in which the prosecuting attorney has endorsed a petition charging a juvenile with a specified juvenile violation with the designation that the juvenile is to be tried in the same manner as an adult in the family division of the circuit court.

(7) “Sentencing” means the imposition of any sanction on a juvenile that could be imposed on an adult convicted of the offense for which the juvenile was convicted or the decision to delay the imposition of such a sanction.

(8) “Specified juvenile violation” means any offense, attempted offense, conspiracy to commit an offense, or solicitation to commit an offense, as enumerated in MCL 712A.2d, that would constitute:

(a) burning of a dwelling house, MCL 750.72;

(b) assault with intent to commit murder, MCL 750.83;

(c) assault with intent to maim, MCL 750.86;

(d) assault with intent to rob while armed, MCL 750.89;

(e) attempted murder, MCL 750.91;

(f) first-degree murder, MCL 750.316;

(g) second-degree murder, MCL 750.317;

(h) kidnaping, MCL 750.349;

(i) first-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL 750.520b;

(j) armed robbery, MCL 750.529;

(k) carjacking, MCL 750.529a;

(l) robbery of a bank, safe, or vault, MCL 750.531;

(m) possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, 650 grams (1,000 grams beginning March 1, 2003) or more of any schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance, MCL 333.7401, 333.7403;

(n) assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, MCL 750.84, if armed with a dangerous weapon as defined by MCL 712A.2d(9)(b);

(o) first-degree home invasion, MCL 750.110a(2), if armed with a dangerous weapon as defined by MCL 712A.2d(9)(b);

(p) escape or attempted escape from a medium-security or high-security facility operated by the Department of Human Services or a high-security facility operated by a private agency under contract with the Department of Human Services, MCL 750.186a;

(q) any lesser-included offense of an offense described in subrules (a)--(p), if the petition alleged that the juvenile committed an offense described in subrules (a)--(p); or

(r) any offense arising out of the same transaction as an offense described in subrules (a)--(p), if the petition alleged that the juvenile committed an offense described in subrules (a)--(p).

(9) “Tried in the same manner as an adult” means a trial in which the juvenile is afforded all the legal and procedural protections that an adult would be given if charged with the same offense in a court of general criminal jurisdiction.

When used in minor personal protection order proceedings, unless the context otherwise indicates:

(1) “Minor personal protection order” means a personal protection order issued by a court against a minor under jurisdiction granted by MCL 712A.2(h).

(2) “Original petitioner” means the person who originally petitioned for the minor personal protection order.

(3) “Prosecutor” or “prosecuting attorney” means the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the court has its principal office or an assistant to the prosecuting attorney.


If an Indian child, as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 USC 1901 et seq., is the subject of a protective proceeding or is charged with a status offense in violation of MCL 712A.2(a)(2)-(4) or (d), the definitions in MCR 3.002 shall control.

CREDIT(S)

[Adopted February 4, 2003, effective May 1, 2003, 467 Mich; amended April 30, 2003, effective May 1, 2003, 467 Mich; September 30, 2008, effective January 1, 2009, 482 Mich; April 14, 2009, effective July 1, 2009, 483 Mich; February 2, 2010, effective May 1, 2010, 485 Mich.]

Current with amendments received through January 1, 2011.

END OF DOCUMENT