Title 730, JUSTICE COURTS AND MUNICIPAL COURTS

Sec. 4. This act shall in no way affect the term of office of any municipal judge or justice of the peace now holding office under the provisions of any city charter or any of the statutes of this state.

Sec. 5. All justices of the peace whose courts are affected by this act are hereby constituted judges of the municipal court of the city wherein they were severally justices of the peace immediately prior to the taking effect of this act and shall hold office for the remainder of…

Sec. 6. In case of the absence, disability or disqualification of any municipal judge in any court affected by this act, or in any other court organized under any other municipal court act of this state, in which the judge is paid a salary in lieu of fees and is required to be an…

Sec. 7. Any city may by ordinance fix the compensation to be paid substitute municipal judges for such services, the procedure to be followed in calling upon them to act, and the time and manner of compensation: Provided, however, That the legislative body of any city may provide…

Sec. 8. The qualifications, term of office, time and manner of election, compensation, jurisdiction, powers and duties of the judges of the municipal court of any city affected by the provisions of this act, and the practice and procedure in such municipal courts, shall be govern…

Sec. 8a. (1) Notwithstanding section 8, and except as provided in subsection (2), a person is not eligible for the office of judge of municipal court unless the person is a registered and qualified elector of the city in which election is sought by the filing deadline or the date…

Sec. 9. All files, records and dockets belonging to or appertaining to the office of the justices of the peace in office in any city affected by the provisions of this act shall be filed and safely kept in the office of the clerk of the municipal court of such city, and such file…

Sec. 10. The judges of any such municipal court shall in all respects be considered the successors in office of the several justices of the peace whose courts are consolidated by this act, and shall have and exercise the same powers and authority in respect to all judgments rende…

Sec. 11. When any cause or matter shall be set for trial, hearing, or the taking of any action, at a certain time, it shall not be necessary to wait any length of time after said set time before proceeding to trial, hearing, or the taking of action, in such cause or matter.

Sec. 12. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, the judges of the municipal court of such city shall have the right to adopt rules governing the form of all summons, writs and other process issued by such court, the time and manner of filing and serving pleadings and…

Sec. 13. When this act becomes effective in any city, the judges of the municipal court of such city shall designate 1 of their number to act as presiding judge for such time as may be fixed by rule. In any city which has 2 municipal judges, they shall alternate as presiding judg…

Sec. 14. The presiding judge of any such municipal court shall, in addition to having and exercising all powers and duties appertaining to his office as judge of such court, have general superintendence of the civil business of the court. He shall have the power to assign and rea…

Sec. 15. The judges of such court may by rule require that all motions made in such court shall be in writing. All written motions shall be filed with the clerk of the court who shall set a date for hearing thereon before the presiding judge, or some other judge to whom the presi…

Sec. 16. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, the judge before whom any civil or criminal cause was tried shall have the same power to set aside a verdict or judgment and grant a new trial thereon, upon legal cause therefor, as circuit courts of the state possess: …

Sec. 17. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the judge presiding in all jury trials to instruct the jury as to the law applicable to the case, which instructions shall be received by the jury as the law of such case. Either party may presen…

Sec. 18. In any city affected by the provisions of this act the judge presiding in any jury trial shall have the same power to direct a verdict for either party as is or may be possessed by judges of the circuit courts of the state.

Sec. 19. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, in all civil jury trials in such municipal court, if either party shall at the close of the testimony, and before the case is submitted to the jury, request a directed verdict in his favor, the judge presiding may reser…

Sec. 20. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, in all civil jury trials in which the jury disagrees and is discharged by the judge, either party may on motion and notice to the opposite party request the entry of judgment upon the evidence and proofs taken, within 7…

Sec. 21. In any city affected by the provisions of this act, any civil process issued out of the municipal court of such city may be served in any part of the county in which such city is located.

Sec. 22. (1) In addition to all the general jurisdiction of former justices of the peace, every municipal court affected by this act shall have concurrent jurisdiction in all civil actions when the amount in controversy does not exceed the amount in subsection (2) and in all acti…

Sec. 23. Except as provided in section 23a, appeals in criminal cases may be taken as a matter of right from the municipal court of a city to the circuit court of the county in which the city is located in the same manner and time as is provided by law for appeals in criminal cas…

Sec. 23a. (1) An appeal in a civil action or a criminal case from a municipal court of a city that adopts a resolution under subsection (2) shall be taken from the municipal court to the circuit court in the county in which the city is located. The appeal shall not be a de novo p…

Sec. 24. In all cases of contested trials, where an appearance has been entered by an attorney in behalf of the opposite party, the prevailing party, if he be the plaintiff and was represented by a regularly licensed attorney, shall be entitled to tax the sum of $10.00 in case of…

Sec. 25. All writs, summons, proceedings or matters of any kind, which by law are made returnable before a justice of the peace and are not herein otherwise provided for, shall be returnable before the presiding judge of the municipal court of any city affected by the provisions …

Sec. 26. Individual litigants may conduct the trial of their own causes in the municipal court of any city affected by the provisions of this act, but it shall be unlawful for any one excepting an attorney at law to conduct the trial of other than their own individual suits in an…

Sec. 27. If a warrant has been issued by a judge of the municipal court of any city affected by this act for a criminal offense, the person charged with that offense may be arraigned by any judge of that municipal court. The judge may fix the amount of bail or let the person to b…

Sec. 28. All the provisions of general statutes, local or special acts, or charter provisions, relating to justices of the peace and to justice courts in any city, shall apply to the municipal judges and to the municipal court of any city affected by the provisions of this act. T…

Sec. 29. Judgments rendered in any such municipal court shall be signed by the judge by or before whom such cause was tried.

Sec. 30. (1) Any municipal court affected by this act may provide for a conciliation division where civil actions in which the debt or damages claimed do not exceed the amount in subsection (2), excepting replevin suits, suits commenced by writ of attachment, and suits commenced …

Sec. 31. Any person having a claim within the jurisdiction of the conciliation division of any such court may appear before the clerk or any deputy clerk of such court and state his claim without formality or written pleadings. The clerk shall thereupon issue a summons in substan…

Sec. 32. The parties prior to or at the hearing may make a settlement upon such terms as they may agree upon, in which case it shall be reduced to writing and signed by the parties, and the settlement shall be filed in the cause and in all respects shall be considered as a judgme…

Sec. 33. Either party to a suit in the conciliation division shall be entitled to make demand, before the commencement of the hearing in his cause, to transfer the cause to the regular division; the conciliator shall then transfer the cause to the regular division of the court. A…

Sec. 34. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Michigan uniform municipal court act".

Sec. 1. Juries in civil and criminal cases in justice courts or in any court having the civil and criminal jurisdiction of justices of the peace, in cities, and having a clerk, may be impaneled and drawn in the manner prescribed in this act.

Sec. 2. The city clerk and city assessor or other assessing officer shall, on or before October first of each year, prepare a list in duplicate of the names and addresses of not less than 1 resident of the county for each 1,000 inhabitants of such county, according to the last fe…

Sec. 3. At any time the judge or justice, or judges or justices, as the case may be, shall so request of the city clerk in writing, the aforesaid officials shall prepare and file an additional list of names and addresses of persons having the qualifications prescribed by this act…

Sec. 4. The officials preparing jury lists shall select only residents of and qualified and registered electors of the county in which such city is situated; and in making such selection they shall take the names of such only as are not exempt from serving on juries, by the provi…

Sec. 5. Any person shall be exempt from serving on a jury drawn in accordance with the provisions of this act if such person is exempt from serving on juries in the circuit courts of the state, except as is otherwise provided by this act.

Sec. 6. Any person shall be entitled to be excused from serving on a jury drawn in accordance with the provisions of this act for the same reasons he would be entitled to be excused from serving as a juror in the circuit courts of the state, except as is herein otherwise provided…

Sec. 7. The clerk of the court shall write the name and address of each person named on any list, on a separate slip of paper, together with such other information as may aid in communicating with such person. Each slip shall then be placed in a separate receptacle so designed as…

Sec. 8. When a jury is to be drawn, the clerk of the court shall bring said box into open court, and draw therefrom such names, one at a time, as may be needed to impanel the jury, and the parties or their attorneys may be present. Any person whose name is drawn may be compelled …

Sec. 9. All slips drawn shall be replaced in the receptacle and returned to the box, after the drawing of a jury has been completed, whether or not any or all of the persons named on said slips served on such jury, and used with the names already in the box in the drawing of subs…

Sec. 10. The clerk of the court shall keep an alphabetical list of the names and addresses of all persons who have served on juries drawn under this act, together with the date such persons served, and whether a civil or criminal trial; if a criminal trial the name of the respond…

Sec. 11. Any deputy clerk of any court affected by the provisions of this act is hereby authorized to perform all duties and is granted all powers, so far as the duties imposed and powers granted by this act are concerned, which the clerk is herein authorized and enjoined to perf…

Sec. 12. Juries in all cases drawn in accordance with the provisions of this act shall consist of 6 persons, or less if agreed to by both parties.

Sec. 13. Any deputy sheriff of the county or police officer of the city in which a court drawing a jury by virtue of the provisions of this act is situated, or any duly authorized process server of such court, may be authorized by the justice or judge conducting the trial to have…