5.13Juvenile Proceedings in District Court

“The courts may use telephonic, voice, or videoconferencing technology under [Subchapter 6.900 of the Michigan Court Rules] as prescribed by MCR 6.006.”1 MCR 6.901(C).

A.Arraignments in Automatic Waiver Cases

Where a specified juvenile violation is alleged, the automatic waiver procedure provides the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court with jurisdiction to hear the case by allowing the prosecutor to file a complaint and warrant in district court rather than filing a petition in the Family Division of Circuit Court. See MCL 600.606(1); MCL 764.1f(1); MCL 712A.2(a)(1).2

Subchapter 6.900 of the Michigan Court Rules is dedicated to automatic waiver cases. See MCR 6.001(C). MCR 6.901(B) defines the scope of these rules:

“The rules apply to criminal proceedings in the district court and the circuit court concerning a juvenile against whom the prosecuting attorney has authorized the filing of a criminal complaint charging a specified juvenile violation instead of approving the filing of a petition in the family division of the circuit court. The rules do not apply to a person charged solely with an offense in which the family division has waived jurisdiction pursuant to MCL 712A.4 [‘traditional waiver’ procedure].”

MCL 764.27 states that “[e]xcept as provided in [MCL 600.606],” a person under 18 years of age arrested with or without a warrant must be taken immediately before the Family Division of Circuit Court. The automatic waiver provision of MCL 600.606 operates as an exception to MCL 764.27’s mandate that a juvenile first be taken before a Family Division court after his or her arrest. People v Brooks, 184 Mich App 793, 797-798 (1990). In Brooks, 184 Mich App at 794-795, the trial court suppressed a juvenile defendant’s statement to police because the juvenile was not “taken immediately before the family division of the circuit court” as required by MCL 764.27. In reversing the trial court’s decision, the Court of Appeals explained:

“[T]he Legislature intended that those juveniles charged as adult offenders pursuant to [MCL 600.606] fall outside of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction. Because [MCL 600.606] divests the juvenile court of jurisdiction and gives the circuit court original jurisdiction in the matter, the mandatory provisions set forth in [MCL 764.27] do not apply to those juveniles charged as adult offenders.” Brooks, 184 Mich App at 798.

B.Procedure Required for Juvenile Arraignments in District Court

MCR 6.907 specifies the procedure for conducting juvenile arraignments in district court. Specific time limitations apply to juvenile arraignments when the prosecutor has decided to proceed against the juvenile by complaint and warrant for the juvenile’s alleged commission of a specified juvenile violation. MCR 6.907(A) provides:

“Time. When the prosecuting attorney authorizes the filing of a complaint and warrant charging a juvenile with a specified juvenile violation instead of approving the filing of a petition in the family division of the circuit court, the juvenile in custody must be taken to the magistrate for arraignment on the charge. The prosecuting attorney must make a good-faith effort to notify the parent of the juvenile of the arraignment. The juvenile must be released if arraignment has not commenced:

(1) within 24 hours of the arrest of the juvenile; or

(2) within 24 hours after the prosecuting attorney authorized the complaint and warrant during special adjournment pursuant to MCR 3.935(A)(3),[3] provided the juvenile is being detained in a juvenile facility.”

At a juvenile’s arraignment on the complaint and warrant charging him or her with a specified juvenile violation, the court must first determine whether the juvenile is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or adult relative. MCR 6.907(C)(1). The court may conduct a juvenile’s arraignment in the absence of the juvenile’s parent, guardian, or adult relative, as long as the local funding unit’s appointment authority has appointed an attorney to appear with the juvenile at arraignment or an attorney retained by the juvenile appears with him or her at arraignment. Id.4

Note: The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act (MIDCA),5 MCL 780.981 et seq., requires the court to advise the juvenile of the right to counsel and requires that the juvenile be screened for eligibility for appointed counsel, MCL 780.991(1)(c), and requires that a determination of indigency be made by the indigent criminal defense system “not later than at the [juvenile’s] first appearance in court[,]” MCL 780.991(3)(a).6 See also MCL 775.16. See Chapter 17 of the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for discussion of the MIDCA as it applies to juveniles.

C.Juvenile Pretrial Release

MCR 6.909 governs the release or detention of juveniles pending trial and other court proceedings.7

Bail. Except when bail may be denied, the court must advise a juvenile defendant of the right to bail as it would for adults accused of bailable criminal offenses. MCR 6.909(A)(1). The court may order a juvenile released to a parent or guardian and impose any lawful conditions on the juvenile’s release, including the condition that bail be posted. Id.

Detention without bail. MCR 6.909(A)(2) specifies the circumstances in which a juvenile may be denied bail:

“If the proof is evident or if the presumption is great that the juvenile committed the offense, the magistrate or the court may deny bail:

(a) to a juvenile charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or

(b) to a juvenile charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, or armed robbery,

(i) who is likely to flee, or

(ii) who clearly presents a danger to others.”

Juvenile’s place of confinement during detention without bail. Generally, a juvenile charged with a crime and not released while awaiting trial or sentencing must be placed in a juvenile facility. MCR 6.909(B)(1). However, on motion of the prosecuting attorney or the superintendent of the juvenile facility where a juvenile is detained, the court may order that the juvenile be lodged in a facility used to incarcerate adult prisoners if the juvenile’s conduct is a menace to other juveniles or if “the juvenile may not otherwise be safely detained in a juvenile facility.” MCR 6.909(B)(2)(a)-(b). Additionally, if no juvenile facility is reasonably available and it is apparent that the juvenile cannot otherwise be safely detained, the court may place the juvenile in an adult facility. See MCR 6.909(B)(1) and MCR 6.907(B).

A juvenile must not be placed in an institution operated by the family division of the circuit court unless the family division consents to the placement or the circuit court orders the placement. MCR 6.909(B)(3). A juvenile in custody or otherwise detained must be maintained separately from adult prisoners or defendants pursuant to MCL 764.27a. MCR 6.907(B); MCR 6.909(B)(4).

1   MCR 6.006 addresses video and audio proceedings in criminal cases.

2    See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for more information.

3    MCR 3.935(A)(3) requires the Family Division of Circuit Court, upon the prosecuting attorney’s request, to adjourn a preliminary hearing in a delinquency proceeding for up to five days to allow the prosecutor to decide whether to proceed under the automatic waiver statutes. See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for more information.

4    MCL 766.4 previously provided that the preliminary examination was to be scheduled for a date “not exceeding 14 days after the arraignment.” Effective May 20, 2014, and applicable to cases in which the defendant is arraigned in district court on or after January 1, 2015, 2014 PA 123 amended MCL 766.4 to require the court, at arraignment for a felony charge, to schedule “a probable cause conference to be held not less than 7 days or more than 14 days after the date of the arraignment” and a preliminary examination to be held “not less than 5 days or more than 7 days after the date of the probable cause conference.” MCL 766.4(1); see also 2014 PA 123, enacting section 1.

Under MCR 6.907(C)(2), a juvenile’s preliminary examination must be scheduled within 14 days of the juvenile’s arraignment, and under the special adjournment provision of MCR 3.935(A)(3), this 14-day period may be reduced by as many as three days for time given and used by the prosecutor. Furthermore, MCR 6.911(A) provides that a juvenile may waive his or her right to a preliminary examination if the juvenile is represented by an attorney and makes a written waiver of the right in open court. These court rules have not been amended to reflect the statutory changes adopted by 2014 PA 123.

5    The MIDCA does not violate the separation of powers doctrine of the Michigan Constitution because “any sharing or overlapping of functions required by the [MIDCA] is sufficiently specific and limited that it does not encroach on the constitutional authority of the judiciary.” Oakland Co v State of Michigan, 325 Mich App 247, 262 (2018). “[T]he [MIDCA] contains no provision authorizing the MIDC to force the judiciary to comply with the minimum standards, nor does the [MIDCA] purport to control what happens in court.” Id. at 264.

6    The MIDCA applies to “[a]n individual less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a felony” if “[t]he prosecuting attorney authorizes the filing of a complaint and warrant for a specified juvenile violation under . . . MCL 764.1f.” MCL 780.983(a)(ii)(D).

7    See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Juvenile Justice Benchbook for detailed information.