Rule 3.952.Designation Hearing

Subchapter 3.900 — Proceedings Involving Juveniles · Last verified September 5, 2026

In one sentenceMCR 3.952 sets the timing, notice, evidence standard, and factors for the hearing at which the family division decides whether to designate a juvenile case for trial in the same manner as an adult.

Full Text of Rule 3.952

Text sizeJump to: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

(A) Time. The designation hearing shall be commenced within 14 days after the arraignment, unless adjourned for good cause.

(B) Notice.

(1) A copy of the petition or a copy of the petition and separate written request for court designation must be personally served on the juvenile and the juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, if the address or whereabouts of the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian is known or can be determined by the exercise of due diligence.

(2) Notice of the date, time, and place of the designation hearing must be given to the juvenile, the juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, the attorney for the juvenile, if any, and the prosecuting attorney. The notice may be given either orally on the record or in writing, served on each individual by mail, or given in another manner reasonably calculated to provide notice.

(1) Evidence. The Michigan Rules of Evidence, other than those with respect to privileges, do not apply.

(2) Burden of Proof. The prosecuting attorney has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the best interests of the juvenile and the public would be served by designation.

(3) Factors to be Considered. In determining whether to designate the case for trial in the same manner as an adult, the court must consider all the following factors, giving greater weight to the seriousness of the alleged offense and the juvenile's prior delinquency record than to the other factors:

(a) the seriousness of the alleged offense in terms of community protection, including, but not limited to, the existence of any aggravating factors recognized by the sentencing guidelines and the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon;

(b) the culpability of the juvenile in committing the alleged offense, including, but not limited to, the level of the juvenile's participation in planning and carrying out the offense and the existence of any aggravating or mitigating factors recognized by the sentencing guidelines;

(d) the juvenile's programming history, including, but not limited to, any out-of-home placement or treatment, and the juvenile's past willingness to participate meaningfully in available programming;

(e) the adequacy of the programming available yo rehabilitate and hold accountable the juvenile in the juvenile justice system and the juvenile's amenability to treatment;

(f) the dispositional options available for the juvenile;

(g) the juvenile's developmental maturity, emotional health, and mental health;

(h) if the juvenile is a member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe, culturally honoring traditional values of the juvenile's tribe; and

(i) the impact on any victim.

(D) Grant of Request for Court Designation.

(1) If the court determines that it is in the best interests of the juvenile and the public that the juvenile be tried in the same manner as an adult in the family division of the circuit court, the court must:

(a) Enter a written order granting the request for court designation and

(i) schedule a preliminary examination within 14 days if the juvenile is charged with a felony or an offense for which an adult could be imprisoned for more than one year, or

(ii) schedule the matter for trial or pretrial hearing if the juvenile is charged with a misdemeanor.

(b) Make findings of fact and conclusions of law forming the basis for entry of the order designating the petition. The findings and conclusions may be incorporated in a written opinion or stated on the record.

(E) Denial of Request for Designation. If the request for court designation is denied, the court shall make written findings or place them on the record. Further proceedings shall be conducted pursuant to MCR 3.941-3.944.

End

Plain-English Summary

MCR 3.952 governs the hearing that decides whether a juvenile will be tried in the same manner as an adult in the family division. The court measures the request against a fixed list of factors, and it must explain its answer either way.

Timing and notice

Subrule (A) requires the designation hearing to commence within 14 days after the arraignment unless the court adjourns it for good cause. Subrule (B)(1) requires personal service of the petition, or of the petition and a separate written request for court designation, on the juvenile and on the juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian when that person's address or whereabouts is known or can be determined through due diligence.

Notice of the date, time, and place reaches a wider circle under subrule (B)(2): the juvenile, the parent, guardian, or legal custodian, the juvenile's attorney if there is one, and the prosecuting attorney. The rule accepts several methods of delivery. Notice may be given orally on the record, in writing served on each person by mail, or in another manner reasonably calculated to provide notice.

How the hearing runs

Subrule (C)(1) sets aside the Michigan Rules of Evidence except for the rules on privileges, so the court may consider material that would not come in at a trial. Under subrule (C)(2) the prosecuting attorney carries the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that designation serves the best interests of both the juvenile and the public.

Subrule (C)(3) lists nine factors the court must consider and tells the court how to weigh them: the seriousness of the alleged offense and the juvenile's prior delinquency record get greater weight than the rest. The other factors reach the juvenile's culpability and level of participation in planning and carrying out the offense, programming history and past willingness to take part meaningfully in available programming, the adequacy of programming in the juvenile justice system and the juvenile's amenability to treatment, the dispositional options available, developmental maturity and emotional and mental health, the traditional values of the juvenile's tribe if the juvenile is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe, and the impact on any victim.

The order either way

If the court grants the request, subrule (D)(1)(a) calls for a written order and a next setting: a preliminary examination within 14 days when the charge is a felony or an offense for which an adult could be imprisoned for more than one year, or a trial or pretrial hearing when the charge is a misdemeanor. Subrule (D)(1)(b) requires findings of fact and conclusions of law behind the designation order, either in a written opinion or stated on the record.

A denial is not silent either. Subrule (E) requires the court to make written findings or place them on the record, and the case then proceeds under MCR 3.941 through MCR 3.944.

Frequently Asked Questions

How soon after arraignment must a designation hearing be held in Michigan?

Subrule (A) requires the hearing to commence within 14 days after the arraignment. The court may adjourn it for good cause.

Do the rules of evidence apply at a designation hearing?

No. Subrule (C)(1) provides that the Michigan Rules of Evidence, other than those on privileges, do not apply. Privilege rules remain in force.

Who has the burden of proof at a designation hearing?

The prosecuting attorney. Under subrule (C)(2) the burden is proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the best interests of the juvenile and the public would be served by designation.

Which factors matter most in the designation decision?

Subrule (C)(3) lists nine factors and directs the court to give greater weight to two of them: the seriousness of the alleged offense and the juvenile's prior delinquency record.

The remaining seven, including culpability, programming history, amenability to treatment, dispositional options, developmental maturity, tribal values where the juvenile belongs to a federally recognized tribe, and the impact on any victim, are still required considerations.

What happens next if the court grants the request for designation?

Subrule (D)(1)(a) requires a written order plus a setting. A felony charge, or an offense for which an adult could be imprisoned for more than one year, gets a preliminary examination within 14 days. A misdemeanor charge is set for trial or a pretrial hearing.

What happens if the court denies the request for court designation?

Under subrule (E) the court makes written findings or places them on the record, and further proceedings are conducted under MCR 3.941 through MCR 3.944.

Source & verification. Rule text reproduced verbatim from the Michigan Court Rules, Chapter 3 (Special Proceedings and Actions), as published by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office, current through September 1, 2026. Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Michigan (Mich. Const. 1963, art. VI, § 5). Last verified September 5, 2026. · Official text

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