Rule 3.942.Trial

MCR 3.942 sets the shape of a delinquency trial. It carries two clocks, a short checklist the court runs before evidence begins, and a statement of the evidentiary rules and the verdict that follows. Read alongside the plea rule, it marks the path a case takes when the allegations are contested.

Two deadlines

Subrule (A) runs two timelines at once. In all cases trial must be held within 6 months after the authorization of the petition, unless adjourned for good cause. The second clock applies only to a detained juvenile: if trial has not started within 63 days after the juvenile is taken into custody and the delay is not attributable to the defense, the court must immediately order the juvenile released pending trial without requiring that bail be posted. The one carve-out is a juvenile being detained on another matter.

The two provisions do different work. The 6-month period sets when the trial happens. The 63-day period sets what happens to the juvenile's custody status when a trial has not begun, and the remedy the rule names for that delay is release pending trial without bail.

Before the evidence

Subrule (B) lists what the court takes up first:

• whether all parties are present, with the juvenile entitled to be present with an attorney, parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian ad litem, if any;
• the victim's right to be present at trial as provided by MCL 780.789;
• reading the allegations contained in the petition, unless waived; and
• informing the juvenile of the right to the assistance of an attorney under MCR 3.915, unless an attorney appears representing the juvenile.

Subrule (B)(1)(b) allows the court to proceed in the absence of a parent, guardian, or legal custodian who was properly notified to appear. Subrule (B)(3) adds a further step when the juvenile asks to proceed without counsel: the court must advise the juvenile of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation and make sure the juvenile is literate and competent to conduct the defense.

Proof, motions, and verdict

Subrule (C) puts a delinquency trial on criminal footing. The Michigan Rules of Evidence apply, and so does the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a marked contrast with the preliminary hearing, where the evidence rules give way except for privileges.

Subrule (D) preserves a defense motion in a bench trial. In an action tried without a jury, the juvenile may make a motion under MCR 6.419(D) at the close of the prosecutor's case-in-chief.

Subrule (E) fixes the outcome. In a delinquency proceeding the verdict must be guilty or not guilty of either the offense charged or a lesser included offense. When trial is to the bench, the court must state its findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record or in a written opinion.