2.4Personal Jurisdiction
Personal jurisdiction “‘deals with the authority of the court over particular persons[.]’” People v Lown, 488 Mich 242, 269 (2011) (citation omitted). Personal jurisdiction “refers to a court’s authority to bind parties to an action.” People v Kennedy (On Remand), ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2024). For example, a statute that “requires dismissal of a particular defendant in a particular case when the [statute] is violated[] , , , governs personal jurisdiction” rather than subject matter jurisdiction. Lown, 488 Mich at 268-269 (holding that “the jurisdictional aspect of the 180-day rule, MCL 780.133,” pertains to personal jurisdiction over a particular defendant rather than to the court’s subject matter jurisdiction). “[A]ny legislative intent to divest jurisdiction once it has properly attached must be clearly and unambiguously stated.” People v Veling, 443 Mich 23, 32 n 13 (1993) (citation omitted).
“Unlike subject-matter jurisdiction, a defendant’s right to challenge a court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction is finite.” Kennedy, ___ Mich App at ___. “The procedural safeguards spelling out the method whereby a court obtains jurisdiction over the person of an accused are all designed for [the defendant’s] protection.” Id. at ___ (quotation marks and citation omitted; alteration in original). “Thus, if a defendant declines to take advantage of the established procedural rights, there appears to be none who should be heard to complain.” Id. at ___ (cleaned up). “A defendant may stipulate to personal jurisdiction, waive defects in personal jurisdiction, and may even implicitly consent to the trial court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction.” Id. at ___.
With respect to juvenile offenders,3 the family division of circuit court (“Family Division”) and the court of general criminal jurisdiction have concurrent jurisdiction over certain classes of cases.4 The circuit court has jurisdiction over specified juvenile violations as described in MCL 600.606 (automatic waiver proceedings); the Family Division has jurisdiction over a juvenile between the ages of 14 and 18 who is charged with a specified juvenile violation only if the prosecutor files a petition in the Family Division rather than in the court of general criminal jurisdiction. MCL 712A.2(a)(1); Veling, 443 Mich at 30-31.5 The Family Division may waive its jurisdiction over a proceeding in which a juvenile 14, 15, or 16 years of age is accused of an act that if committed by an adult would be a felony (traditional waiver proceedings).6 MCL 712A.4. The Family Division also has concurrent jurisdiction over proceedings involving 17-year-old wayward minors.7 MCL 712A.2(d). Additionally, the Family Division has concurrent jurisdiction over “proceedings concerning a juvenile under 18 years of age” if “the juvenile is dependent and is in danger of substantial physical or psychological harm” under certain circumstances, MCL 712A.2(b)(3), including if the juvenile “is alleged to have committed a commercial sexual activity” under MCL 750.462a “or a delinquent act that is the result of force, fraud, coercion, or manipulation exercised by a parent or other adult,” MCL 712A.2(b)(3)(C).8
3. The Family Division of Circuit Court (“Family Division”) has jurisdiction over “[c]ases involving juveniles as provided in [the Juvenile Code], MCL 712A.1 to [MCL] 712A.32.” MCL 600.1021(1)(e); see also MCL 600.601(4); MCL 600.1001; MCL 712A.1(1)(e). “Except as otherwise provided in [MCL 712A.2(a)(1)],” the Family Division has “[e]xclusive original jurisdiction superior to and regardless of the jurisdiction of another court” over a proceeding in which a juvenile under the age of 18 is accused of violating a law or ordinance, MCL 712A.2(a)(1), or of committing a status offense, MCL 712A.2(a)(2)-(4). The Family Division also has jurisdiction over proceedings involving personal protection orders (PPOs), including a PPO proceeding in which a juvenile under the age of 18 is the respondent, MCL 712A.2(h); MCL 600.1021(1)(k). For a complete discussion of jurisdiction over juvenile offenders, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook.
4. “A circuit court’s authority to exercise jurisdiction over a defendant charged with a felony committed as a minor constitutes a question of personal, not subject matter, jurisdiction.” People v Kiyoshk, 493 Mich 923, 923 (2013). A “[d]efendant’s age when the offense was committed does not pertain to the ‘kind or character’ of the case, but rather constitutes a defendant-specific, ‘particular fact[].’ Whether [a] defendant was of an age that [makes] circuit court jurisdiction appropriate is thus a question of personal jurisdiction.” Kiyoshk, 493 Mich at 923, quoting Lown, 488 Mich at 268, and citing Veling, 443 Mich at 31-32 (additional citations omitted).
5. See Chapter 16 of the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for discussion of automatic waiver proceedings.
6. See Chapter 14 of the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for discussion of traditional waiver proceedings.
7. See Chapter 2 of the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for discussion of wayward minors.
8. In addition, the Family Division has ancillary jurisdiction over cases involving guardians and conservators as provided in article 5 of the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.5101 et seq., and over cases involving mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons under the Mental Health Code, MCL 330.1001 et seq. MCL 600.1021(2)(a)-(b).
9. See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Civil Proceedings Benchbook, Chapter 2 for a complete discussion of trial court jurisdiction. See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for discussion of jurisdiction over juvenile offenders.