Rule 3.946.Post-Dispositional Secure Detention Pending Return to Placement
Subchapter 3.900 — Proceedings Involving Juveniles · Last verified September 5, 2026
Full Text of Rule 3.946
Plain-English Summary
MCR 3.946 covers one narrow situation: a juvenile who was adjudicated for conduct that would be a crime for an adult, was placed outside the home, and then left that placement without permission. The rule says what may happen when that juvenile is picked up, and how quickly a judge has to look at the custody.
Detention without bail
Subrule (A) reaches a juvenile who has been found to have committed an offense that would be a misdemeanor or a felony if committed by an adult and who has been placed out of the home either by court order or by the Department of Health and Human Services. If that juvenile leaves the placement without authority, then upon being apprehended the juvenile may be detained without the right to bail. One control travels with that power: any detention must be authorized by the court. The rule does not let a placing agency arrange secure custody on its own say-so.
The 48 hour hearing
Subrule (B) supplies the deadline, and it is written to fill a gap rather than to duplicate other hearings. When a juvenile is placed in secure detention under this rule and nothing else is pending — no new petition that would require a preliminary hearing under MCR 3.935, and no probation violation petition — the court must conduct a detention hearing within 48 hours after the juvenile has been taken into custody, excluding Sundays and holidays as defined by MCR 8.110(D)(2). If a new petition or a probation violation petition is filed, that filing carries its own hearing, and this rule steps aside.
What the hearing decides
Subrule (C) gives the court three tasks:
- assure that the custodial parent, guardian, or legal custodian has been notified, if that person's whereabouts are known;
- advise the juvenile of the right to be represented by an attorney; and
- determine whether the juvenile should be released or should continue to be detained.
Notice what the list leaves out. The rule does not ask the court to adjudicate whether the juvenile left the placement without authority, and it does not authorize a new consequence for leaving. The question in front of the court is custody alone: release the juvenile, or keep the juvenile detained pending return to placement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Michigan juvenile who runs from placement be held without bail?
Subrule (A) provides that a juvenile who leaves a court-ordered or Department of Health and Human Services placement without authority may, upon being apprehended, be detained without the right to bail. The subrule applies to a juvenile found to have committed an offense that would be a misdemeanor or a felony if committed by an adult, and any detention must be authorized by the court.
How soon is a detention hearing required under MCR 3.946?
Within 48 hours after the juvenile has been taken into custody, excluding Sundays and holidays as defined by MCR 8.110(D)(2). Subrule (B) imposes that deadline when the juvenile is in secure detention under this rule and no new petition requiring a preliminary hearing under MCR 3.935 and no probation violation petition has been filed.
What happens if a new petition or probation violation petition is filed?
The 48 hour requirement in subrule (B) is conditioned on the absence of both filings. If a new petition that would require a preliminary hearing under MCR 3.935 is filed, or a probation violation petition is filed, the hearing that accompanies that filing applies instead.
What does the court decide at a hearing under MCR 3.946?
Subrule (C) sets three tasks: assure that the custodial parent, guardian, or legal custodian has been notified if that person's whereabouts are known, advise the juvenile of the right to be represented by an attorney, and determine whether the juvenile should be released or should continue to be detained.
Does MCR 3.946 authorize a new penalty for leaving a placement?
No. The rule addresses custody, not consequences. Subrule (A) permits detention without bail on court authorization, and subrule (C)(3) frames the decision as whether the juvenile should be released or continue to be detained. Nothing in the rule creates a separate sanction for the absence itself.