The judiciary of Michigan is defined under the

Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, and regulations as part of the

Government of Michigan Michigan has a republican form of government with three separation of powers, branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch ...

. The court system consists of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

, the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...

as the

intermediate appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, the circuit courts and district courts as the two primary

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

s, and several administrative courts and specialized courts. The Supreme Court administers all the courts. The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members who are elected on non-partisan ballots for staggered eight-year terms, while state appellate court judges are elected to terms of six years and vacancies are filled by an appointment by the governor, and circuit court and district court judges are elected to terms of six years.

Courts

The court system consists of the

, the

as the

; the circuit courts, district courts, and probate courts as the primary

s; and several administrative courts and specialized courts.

Supreme Court

The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

hears appeals from the Court of Appeals and administers all of the courts. The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in narrow circumstances, but holds appellate jurisdiction over the entire state judicial system. The state Supreme Court makes decisions via a majority. The court was founded in 1835.

Court of Appeals

The

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

hears all appeals from the circuit courts and, in some cases, directly from the probate courts. Although judges are elected by four separate districts, they serve in panels together, and decisions are binding statewide. Cases are heard by the Court of Appeals by panels of three judges, who examine the application of the law and not the facts of the case, unless there has been grievous error pertaining to questions of fact.

Circuit courts

The

circuit courts Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

hear the more serious criminal cases. In addition, they are the appellate court for cases heard in the district courts. There are 57 circuit courts in the State of Michigan, which have

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

over all civil suits where the amount contended in the case exceeds $25,000 and all criminal cases involving

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...

. Circuit courts are also the only trial courts in the State of Michigan which possess the power to issue

equitable remedies Equitable remedies are judicial remedies developed by courts of equity from about the time of Henry VIII to provide more flexible responses to changing social conditions than was possible in precedent-based common law. Equitable remedies were gr ...

. Circuit courts have

appellate jurisdiction An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

from district and municipal courts, as well as from decisions and decrees of state agencies. Most counties have their own circuit court, but sparsely populated counties often share them.

District courts

The district courts hears cases involving less serious criminal offenses. District courts are trial courts of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing auth ...

, handling most traffic violations, small claims,

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

s, and civil suits where the amount contended is below $25,000. District courts are often responsible for handling the preliminary examination and for setting bail in felony cases.

Probate courts

There is a probate court for every county, except for ten counties that are part of five probate court districts.

Municipal courts

Nearly all cities in the state have ceased operating a municipal court, except for the five Grosse Pointes in Wayne County; each has its own municipal court, except for Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores, which operate one jointly.

Administration

The Supreme Court oversees the operations of all state trial courts, with broad superintending control power over all the state courts in Michigan. It is assisted by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office. The court's responsibilities also include a public comment process for changes to court rules, rules of evidence and other administrative matters.

Personnel

Judges

The Michigan Supreme Court consists of seven members who are elected for staggered eight-year terms. While candidates for, and members of, the Michigan Supreme Court are considered non-partisan, major parties must nominate potential members of the court. State appellate court judges are elected to terms of six years, but vacancies are filled by an appointment by the governor. Circuit court and district court judges are elected to terms of six years. The

Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

is an agency within the judiciary having jurisdiction over allegations of judicial misconduct, misbehavior, and infirmity. The Supreme Court is given original, superintending control power, and appellate jurisdiction over the issue of penalty (up to and including removal of judges from office).

Attorneys

The Supreme Court hears cases of attorney misconduct.

History

The

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

was the court with jurisdiction in cases of equity between 1836 and 1847, presided over by a Chancellor. In certain cases, appeal could be made to the

. The law creating the Court of Chancery took effect July 4, 1836 and it was abolished on March 1, 1847, with its jurisdiction given to the circuit courts. The Recorder's Court was a state court of

which had, for most of its history,

exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...

over traffic and ordinance matters and all

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

cases committed in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Its jurisdiction did not extend to

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

suits. It was merged into the Wayne County Circuit Court following the pattern of the rest of the state of Michigan in October 1997.

References

External links

Michigan Courts
{{Judiciaries of the United States

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...