The judiciary of Michigan is defined under the

Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, and regulations as part of the

Government of Michigan Michigan has a republican form of government with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Hous ...

. The court system consists of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state ...

, the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...

as the

intermediate appellate court An intermediate appellate court is an appellate court that is not the court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last ...

, the circuit courts and district courts as the two primary

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

s, and several administrative courts and specialized courts. The Supreme Court administers all the courts. The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members who are elected on non-partisan ballots for staggered eight-year terms, while state appellate court judges are elected to terms of six years and vacancies are filled by an appointment by the governor, and circuit court and district court judges are elected to terms of six years.

Courts

The court system consists of the

, the

as the

; the circuit courts, district courts, and probate courts as the primary

s; and several administrative courts and specialized courts.

Supreme Court

The

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

hears appeals from the Court of Appeals and administers all of the courts. The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in narrow circumstances, but holds appellate jurisdiction over the entire state judicial system.

Court of Appeals

The

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

hears all appeals from the circuit courts and, in some cases, directly from the probate courts. Although judges are elected by four separate districts, they serve in panels together, and decisions are binding statewide. Cases are heard by the Court of Appeals by panels of three judges, who examine the application of the law and not the facts of the case, unless there has been grievous error pertaining to questions of fact.

Circuit courts

The circuit courts hear the more serious criminal cases. In addition, they are the appellate court for cases heard in the district courts. There are 57 circuit courts in the State of Michigan, which have

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Sup ...

over all civil suits where the amount contended in the case exceeds $25,000 and all criminal cases involving

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

. Circuit courts are also the only trial courts in the State of Michigan which possess the power to issue

equitable remedies Equitable remedies are judicial remedies developed by courts of equity from about the time of Henry VIII to provide more flexible responses to changing social conditions than was possible in precedent-based common law. Equitable remedies were gr ...

. Circuit courts have

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

from district and municipal courts, as well as from decisions and decrees of state agencies. Most counties have their own circuit court, but sparsely populated counties often share them.

District courts

The district courts hears cases involving less serious criminal offenses. District courts are trial courts of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing autho ...

, handling most traffic violations, small claims,

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

s, and civil suits where the amount contended is below $25,000. District courts are often responsible for handling the preliminary examination and for setting bail in felony cases.

Probate courts

There is a probate court for every county, except for ten counties that are part of five probate court districts.

Municipal courts

Nearly all cities in the state have ceased operating a municipal court, except for the five Grosse Pointes in Wayne County; each has its own municipal court, except for Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores, which operate one jointly.

Administration

The Supreme Court's oversees the operations of all state trial courts, with broad superintending control power over all the state courts in Michigan. It is assisted by the

Michigan State Court Administrative Office Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The court's responsibilities also include a public comment process for changes to court rules, rules of evidence and other administrative matters.

Personnel

Judges

The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members who are elected on non-partisan ballots for staggered eight-year terms. State appellate court judges are elected to terms of six years, but vacancies are filled by an appointment by the governor. Circuit court and district court judges are elected to terms of six years. The

Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

is an agency within the judiciary having jurisdiction over allegations of judicial misconduct, misbehavior, and infirmity. The Supreme Court is given original, superintending control power, and appellate jurisdiction over the issue of penalty (up to and including removal of judges from office).

Attorneys

The Supreme Court hears cases of attorney misconduct.

History

The

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

was the court with jurisdiction in cases of

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

between 1836 and 1847, presided over by a Chancellor. In certain cases, appeal could be made to the

. The law creating the Court of Chancery took effect July 4, 1836 and it was abolished on March 1, 1847, with its jurisdiction given to the circuit courts. The

Recorder's Court A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions. England and Wales In the courts of England and Wales, the term ''recorder'' has two distinct meanings. The senior circuit judge of a borough or city i ...

was a state court of

which had, for most of its history,

exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...

over traffic and ordinance matters and all

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

cases committed in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. Its jurisdiction did not extend to

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

suits. It was merged into the Wayne County Circuit Court following the pattern of the rest of the state of Michigan in October 1997.

References

External links

Michigan Courts
{{Judiciaries of the United States

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...