Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court held that MEPA decisions by agencies must be reviewed de novo, that the statute requires consideration of factual and proximate environmental impacts, a consistent alternatives analysis, and public‑trust resources, and that the PSC erred on each of those grounds.

The Michigan Supreme Court clarified that factual findings in entrapment hearings are reviewed for clear error while the ultimate legal determination of entrapment is reviewed de novo, held that the phrase “ready and willing” is not a separate element of the unlawful‑inducement prong, and vacated the Court of Appeals…

The Michigan Supreme Court overruled People v. Carpenter, holding that MCL 768.21a does not bar the admission of diminished‑capacity evidence to contest specific‑intent elements, vacated the trial court’s denial of such evidence, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the new rule.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the Attorney General had adequately pleaded a request for declaratory relief and that a live controversy existed, allowing the Court to address the applicability of the MCPA exemption.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that statements obtained from a suspect who was detained beyond the 48‑hour limit required by Riverside County v. McLaughlin must be excluded unless the prosecution can show the statements are sufficiently attenuated from the Fourth Amendment violation. The Court overruled People v.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a 50‑ to 75‑year term‑of‑years sentence imposed on a youthful offender for second‑degree murder violates the state constitution’s prohibition on cruel or unusual punishment and that the holding applies retroactively to collateral review.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a trial court may compel a defendant to submit to a prosecution‑ordered psychological examination as a condition for the defendant to introduce his own expert psychological evidence at a Miller hearing, and that any evidence obtained from such an examination is admissible only for…

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the warrantless DNA testing of the defendant's pants was an unreasonable search violating Article 1, § 11 of the Michigan Constitution, that no recognized exception justified the search, and that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress the results; the Court…

The Michigan Supreme Court held that Alexander J. Haupt was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel at a critical stage because his waiver was invalid and his conduct did not constitute forfeiture.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a defendant whose sentence was based on inaccurate sentencing‑guidelines information and falls outside the corrected guidelines range is entitled to resentencing, and that People v Francisco does not conflict with the advisory‑guidelines framework established in People v Lockridge.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the notice‑of‑intent tolling provision MCL 600.5856(c) applies to the wrongful‑death saving provision MCL 600.5852, making the plaintiff’s complaint timely. Accordingly, the Court overruled Waltz v.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that mandatory life without parole (LWOP) for felony-murder convictions entered before its 1980 decision in People v Aaron violates Const 1963, art 1, § 16's ban on cruel or unusual punishment where the jury was never instructed on malice as Aaron defines it, unless the prosecution…

The Court held that a plaintiff who waived PIP coverage because of Medicare must mitigate tort damages by making reasonable efforts to obtain Medicare payments for treatment provided by Medicare-participating providers.

The Michigan Supreme Court rejected the federal intent-to-goad standard for determining when prosecutorial misconduct bars retrial after a defense-requested mistrial under Michigan's Double Jeopardy Clause.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that Royal Oak's city manager was not subject to the Open Meetings Act when ranking marijuana-retail applicants under authority granted directly by ordinance.

The Court held that defendant’s constitutional challenge was ripe because the registration requirement was included in a final judgment of sentence, even though he did not currently live or work in Michigan.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the automobile exception did not authorize the warrantless search of Wilkins's vehicle because the trooper had probable cause to believe only that the vehicle contained a civil-infraction amount of marijuana, not a criminal amount or evidence of another crime.

The Michigan Supreme Court overruled the rule that a custody order conclusively establishes a child's domicile for no-fault insurance purposes. It held that the custody order is only a starting point and that courts must weigh the actual living arrangements and traditional domicile factors, including where a jointly…

The Michigan Supreme Court reversed summary disposition for Westveld and Red Oak because genuine issues of material fact existed regarding both defendants' liability. Westveld's claim sounded in ordinary negligence because it lacked possession and control of the premises when Bowerman fell, and the evidence could…

The Court held that property held by a trust that was revocable at the settlor’s death remains subject to creditor claims even though the trust becomes irrevocable upon the settlor’s death.

The Court held that an expert's diagnosis of a child with "medical torture" was inadmissible because it did not help the jury evaluate a fact in issue, lacked a reliable foundation as to psychological maltreatment, and risked substituting a medical label for the jury's determination of criminal responsibility.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that police violated defendant's Miranda-based Fifth Amendment right to counsel by giving confusing information implying that appointed counsel was unavailable because defendant lacked money and by continuing the interrogation after defendant invoked counsel.

The Court held that Abdulla was an owner of the tractor because he had the use and complete control of it for more than 30 days, notwithstanding that the tractor was titled to his wholly owned limited-liability company.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that Soriano did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights because the totality of the circumstances, including severe LSD intoxication, confusion, youth, exhaustion, and lack of law-enforcement experience, showed that he lacked the capacity to understand the rights he…

The Michigan Supreme Court held that trial counsel's concession of Richard Klungle's guilt on a trespassing charge—made for the first time in closing argument and without ever consulting Klungle, who had consistently asserted his innocence—violated Klungle's Sixth Amendment right of autonomy to maintain innocence as…

In a unanimous opinion by Justice Welch, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held that a trial court may not prohibit MRTMA-compliant marijuana use as a probation condition solely because such use violates federal law.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a motion to amend a witness list is governed by the good-cause standard in MCR 2.401(I)(2), not by the full set of factors used for discovery sanctions.

The Court held that the decedent's possible intoxication was relevant and admissible under the evidence rules because, considered with his alleged speeding and rapid acceleration, it could bear on gross negligence and proximate causation.

The Court held that a governmental agency cannot be sued in circuit court for monetary damages based solely on an alleged violation of the MISS DIG Act because the Act's Public Service Commission complaint process is the exclusive avenue that avoids governmental immunity.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the decision in People v. Betts, which declared the 2011 amendment to the Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) an unconstitutional ex post facto punishment, applies retroactively to defendants on collateral review under both federal and state retroactivity standards.

The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ judgment for Progressive, holding that review of a rescission decision following a summary-disposition motion requires de novo review of the no-genuine-issue question and abuse-of-discretion review of the equitable remedy.

The Court held that Jerome Sizick’s death did not moot the appeal because reinstatement of the protective order could affect pending Medicaid proceedings and produce retroactive benefits for his estate.

The Court held that eligibility for PIP benefits under MCL 500.3113(a) depends on whether the vehicle was unlawfully taken, not whether it was unlawfully operated. Because the Court of Appeals relied on the plaintiff's lack of a driver's license and analyzed unlawful operation rather than unlawful taking, the judgment…

The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals judgment, holding that a Peeler violation does not affect a circuit court’s subject‑matter jurisdiction and that Peeler does not apply retroactively on collateral review.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that the 2021 Sex Offenders Registration Act constitutes punishment because its reporting, publication, and lifetime-registration requirements resemble parole and shaming, impose affirmative restraints, serve retributive purposes, and are excessive in important respects.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a 180-day limitations provision in a boilerplate, nonnegotiated employment agreement must be reviewed for reasonableness and may also be invalidated as procedurally and substantively unconscionable.

The court held that the warrant authorizing the search of Carson’s cell phone violated the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement because it permitted an essentially unrestricted search of the phone’s data.

The Court held that a parent subjects a child to aggravated circumstances when the parent sexually exploits the child through facilitating penetrative criminal sexual conduct, even if the parent did not personally commit the sexual act.

The Michigan Supreme Court held that Saginaw County qualifies as an employer subject to suit under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, that a wrongful-termination public-policy claim may arise from efforts to prevent or remedy an actual or potential legal violation, and that genuine issues of material fact support…

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a nonsummary contempt proceeding could not be ordered after Murphy's summary criminal-contempt conviction was vacated because the trial court had failed to make findings and create a reviewable record.