6.14Record Requirements for Plea Proceedings

Except when a writing is permitted by law or by court rule, a verbatim record of plea proceedings in district court is required. MCL 600.8331; MCR 6.610(C). See also MCL 774.1a (providing that, at arraignment, the defendant’s plea must be entered in the district court’s minutes). “[MCL 774.1a] calls for the defendant to plead, but directs the magistrate to take no action other than to enter a plea into the court’s minutes.” People v VanEss, ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2024) (observing that “hearing a defendant’s plea at arraignment and entering it into the court’s minutes suggests a process by which the magistrate may, when authorized, set the matter to proceed to sentencing or . . . the magistrate notes defendant’s intent to plead guilty and sets the matter for a formal (binding) plea and sentence before the district court judge”).

MCR 6.610(F)(5) specifically requires district courts to place plea agreements on the record:

“The court shall make the plea agreement a part of the record and determine that the parties agree on all the terms of that agreement. The court shall accept, reject or indicate on what basis it accepts the plea.”¹