DISTRICT COURT UPDATE
Summons Article, March, 2006
written by
Hon. M. Randall Jurrens

DISTRICT  COURT  UPDATE

As you may recall from last month’s article, recent amendment of MCR 8.110 requires that district courts now report and justify any delay in disposition of misdemeanor cases beyond 91 days following the defendant’s first appearance. 

To monitor judge’s performance, each court must file a “Delay in Criminal Proceedings” report that tolerates only a limited number of reasons for delay (with corresponding report codes).  To satisfy these reporting requirements, judges’ discretion in granting adjournments is implicitly similarly limited.  Thus, as stated in last month’s update, the new reporting requirements have obvious implications on attitudes judges may adopt regarding requests for adjournment.

In fairness, pressure to restrict adjournments has been there, albeit often disregarded.  Both MCR 2.503 and the district court’s longstanding caseflow management plan contemplate a formal motion / stipulation process that has arguably been more the exception than the rule.

In an effort to facilitate proper procedure and documents when delay of a proceeding is being requested in the current environment, the district judges have approved use of the attached form (which can also be accessed in the “forms” section of the court’s website at www.saginawcounty.com/DistrictCourt/index.htm.  Let us know if you find the form as user friendly as intended.

 Click here to go directly to the adjournment form.

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