A defendant charged with a misdemeanor offense cognizable in district court may stand mute or plead not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere. See MCL 774.1a—MCL 774.1c; MCR 6.610(F). These plea alternatives and their applicability to offenses over which the district court has jurisdiction are discussed in detail in the following sections.
Subchapter 6.600 of the Michigan Court Rules, the section devoted to criminal procedure in district court, contains all the information expressly applicable to plea proceedings in district court for offenses over which the district court has trial jurisdiction. Subchapter MCR 6.300 (Pleas) contains detailed information about the kinds of pleas available to defendants charged with criminal offenses cognizable by circuit courts. MCR 6.001(A). MCR 6.001(B) does not include subchapter 6.300 in its list of court rules applicable to misdemeanor plea proceedings in district court. However, provisions contained in subchapter 6.300 pertaining to plea proceedings involving offenses cognizable in circuit court may be instructive whenever MCR 6.610 does not supply a rule specific to plea proceedings involving offenses cognizable in district court.
MCR 6.001(B), which specifically addresses misdemeanor cases, provides: “MCR 6.001 — [MCR] 6.004, [MCR] 6.005(B) and (C), 6.006(A) and (C)-(E), [MCR] 6.009, [MCR] 6.101, [MCR] 6.103, [MCR] 6.104(A), [MCR] 6.105 — [MCR] 6.106, [MCR] 6.125, [MCR] 6.202, [MCR] 6.425(D)(3), [MCR] 6.427, [MCR] 6.430, [MCR] 6.435, [MCR] 6.440, [MCR] 6.441, [MCR] 6.445, [MCR] 6.450, [MCR] 6.451, and the rules in subchapter 6.600 govern matters of procedure in criminal cases cognizable in the district courts.”