7.3Scheduling the Probable Cause Conference and Preliminary Examination

Unless waived by agreement of the parties, at a felony arraignment, the court must schedule a probable cause conference. MCL 766.4(1)-(2); see also MCR 6.104(E)(4); MCR 6.108(A). Additionally, defendants charged with a felony offense or a misdemeanor offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment are statutorily entitled to a prompt, fair, and impartial preliminary examination, MCL 766.1, which, unless waived by the defendant with the consent of the prosecuting attorney, must also be scheduled at arraignment, MCL 766.4(1); MCL 766.7; MCR 6.104(E)(4).

MCL 766.4(1) provides, in relevant part:

“Except as provided in . . . MCL 712A.4,^[1] the [judge] before whom any person is arraigned on a charge of having committed a felony shall set a date for 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 date for a preliminary examination of not less than 5 days or more than 7 days after the date of the probable cause conference. The dates for the probable cause conference and preliminary examination shall be set at the time of arraignment.”

However, “[t]he parties, with the approval of the court, may agree to schedule the preliminary examination earlier than 5 days after the conference.” MCL 766.4(4). Additionally, “[u]pon the request of the prosecuting attorney, . . . the preliminary examination shall commence immediately for the sole purpose of taking and preserving the testimony of a victim if the victim is present.” Id.; see also MCR 6.110(B)(2) (adding that “the defendant [must either be] present in the courtroom or [have] waived the right to be present”).²

MCR 1.108(1) governs the method of computing the relevant time periods under MCL 766.4:

“The day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run is not included. The last day of the period is included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which the court is closed pursuant to court order; in that event the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which the court is closed pursuant to court order.”