4.14Misdemeanor Traffic Violations and Appearance Tickets¹

A.Beginning a Misdemeanor Traffic Case

A misdemeanor traffic case begins in one of three ways:

•when a law enforcement officer serves an individual with a written citation for a traffic violation and the citation is filed in district court, MCR 6.615(A)(1)(a)(subject to the exceptions in MCL 764.9c);² 

•when a sworn complaint is filed in district court and a summons or an arrest warrant is issued, MCR 6.615(A)(1)(b); or

•when other special procedures authorized by statute are taken,³ MCR 6.615(A)(1)(c).

The written citation may serve as a sworn complaint and summons that commands the offender’s initial appearance in court and, for misdemeanor traffic cases, to respond to the violation alleged by the citation. MCR 6.615(A)(2)(a)-(b).

B.Arraignment on a Misdemeanor Citation

A person arrested for a misdemeanor violation of MCL 257.625(1) (operating while intoxicated), MCL 257.625(3) (operating while visibly impaired), MCL 257.625(6) (zero tolerance/minor operation), MCL 257.625(7) (operating while intoxicated or visibly impaired with a minor in the vehicle), MCL 257.625(8) (operating with any amount of certain controlled substances in the body), or MCL 257.625m (operating a commercial motor vehicle with an unlawful blood alcohol content), or for a violation of a local ordinance substantially corresponding to MCL 257.625(1), MCL 257.625(3), MCL 257.625(6), MCL 257.625(8), or MCL 257.625m,⁴ must be arraigned on the citation, complaint, or warrant within 14 days of the arrest or service of the warrant. MCL 257.625b(1).

A district court magistrate may conduct arraignments on misdemeanor violations if the magistrate is so authorized by statute and by the judges of the district. MCR 6.615(C).⁵

Failure to Appear or Respond. Generally, a court must issue an order to show cause if “a defendant fails to appear or otherwise respond to any matter pending relative to a misdemeanor citation issued under MCL 764.9c.” MCR 6.615(B). However, a “court may immediately issue a bench warrant, rather than an order to show cause, if the court has a specific articulable reason to suspect that any of the following apply and states it on the record:

(a) the defendant has committed a new crime.

(b) the defendant’s failure to appear is the result of a willful intent to avoid or delay the adjudication of the case.

(c) another person or property will be endangered if a warrant is not issued.” MCR 6.615(B)(1).

“If a defendant fails to appear or otherwise respond to any matter pending relative to a misdemeanor traffic citation, the court must also initiate the procedures required by MCL 257.321a.” MCR 6.615(2).^[6]

MCL 257.321a provides different procedures depending on the offense involved. Generally, for offenses for which license suspension is allowed under the Michigan Vehicle Code or a substantially corresponding local ordinance that are not offenses enumerated in MCL 257.321a(2), the following procedures apply:

•28 days or more after an individual fails to answer a citation or notice to appear in court or fails to comply with an order or judgment, the court must give notice by mail at the individual’s last-known address;

•the notice must indicate that if the individual fails to appear or comply within 14 days after the notice is issued, the individual’s license will be suspended, see SCAO Form MC 216, 14-Day Notice, Traffic;

•if the individual fails to appear or comply within the 14-day period, the court must inform the Michigan Secretary of State within 14 days;

•upon receiving notice, the Michigan Secretary of State must immediately suspend the license of the individual and notify the individual of the suspension by regular mail at that individual’s last-known address. MCL 257.321a(1).

For an individual who is charged with or convicted of an enumerated offense in MCL 257.321a(2), the following procedures apply:

•if the individual fails to answer a citation or notice to appear in court or fails to comply with an order or judgment, the court must immediately give notice by first-class mail sent to the individual’s last-known address to appear within seven days after the notice is issued;

•the notice must indicate that if the individual fails to appear within seven days after the notice is issued, or fails to comply with the court’s order/judgment within 14 days, the Michigan Secretary of State will suspend the individual’s license, see SCAO Form 216a, Notice of Noncompliance;

•the court must immediately inform the Michigan Secretary of State if the individual fails to appear within the seven-day or 14-day period;

•upon receiving notice, the Michigan Secretary of State must immediately suspend the individual’s license and notify the individual of the suspension by first-class mail sent to the individual’s last-known address. MCL 257.321a(2).

“Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and except in cases where the complaint is for an assaultive crime or an offense involving domestic violence, in the event that a defendant fails to appear for a court hearing and it is the defendant’s first failure to appear in the case, there is a rebuttable presumption that the court must wait 48 hours before issuing a bench warrant to allow the defendant to voluntarily appear. If the defendant does not appear within 48 hours, the court shall issue a bench warrant unless the court believes there is good reason to instead schedule the case for further hearing.” MCL 764.3(1). “The court may overcome the presumption under [MCL 764.3(1)] and issue an immediate bench warrant for the defendant’s failure to appear if the court has a specific articulable reason to suspect that any of the following apply:

(a) The defendant has committed a new crime.

(b) A person or property will be endangered if a bench warrant is not issued.

(c) Prosecution witnesses have been summoned and are present for the proceeding.

(d) The proceeding is to impose a sentence for the crime.

(e) There are other compelling circumstances that require the immediate issuance of a bench warrant.” MCL 764.3(3).

The court must state its reasons for departing from the presumption under MCL 764.3(1) if it issues an immediate bench warrant. MCL 764.3(4). “When a court delays the issuance of a warrant, the court shall not revoke the release order or declare bail money deposited or the surety bond, if any, forfeited. Upon the issuance of the arrest warrant, the court may then enter an order revoking the release order and declaring the bail money deposited, personal recognizance bond, surety bond, or 10% bond, if any, forfeited.” MCL 764.3(2).

C.Conducting Hearings

“A misdemeanor case must be conducted in compliance with the constitutional and statutory procedures and safeguards applicable to misdemeanors cognizable by the district court.” MCR 6.615(D).

D.Appearance Tickets

When a police officer makes a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor or ordinance violation, the officer may, instead of bringing the accused before a magistrate and promptly filing a complaint, issue and serve on the offender an appearance ticket, and release the person from custody. MCL 764.9c(1). See Section 2.17 for information regarding the issuance and restrictions of appearance tickets.

“If after the service of an appearance ticket and the filing of a complaint for the offense designated on the appearance ticket the defendant does not appear in the designated local criminal court within the time the appearance ticket is returnable, the court may issue a summons or a warrant as provided in this [MCL 764.9e].” MCL 764.9e(1). “Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in the event that a defendant fails to appear for a court hearing within the time the appearance ticket is returnable there is a rebuttable presumption that the court must issue an order to show cause why the defendant failed to appear instead of issuing a warrant.” MCL 764.9e(2). “The court may overcome the presumption and issue a warrant if it has a specific articulable reason to suspect that any of the following apply:

(a) The defendant committed a new crime.

(b) The defendant’s failure to appear is the result of a willful intent to avoid or delay the adjudication of the case.

(c) Another person or property will be endangered if a warrant is not issued.” MCL 764.9e(3).

“If the court overcomes the presumption under [MCL 764.9e(2)] and issues a warrant, the court must state on the record its reasons for doing so.” MCL 764.9e(4).

No sworn complaint is necessary for the magistrate’s acceptance of an accused’s plea on an appearance ticket issued under MCL 764.9c. MCL 764.9g(1). If, however, the accused pleads not guilty to the offense charged in the appearance ticket, a sworn complaint must be filed with the magistrate to proceed with prosecuting the offender, id., and no arrest warrant may issue for an offense listed on an appearance ticket until a sworn complaint is filed, City of Plymouth v McIntosh, 291 Mich App 152, 162 (2010). “[N]ot all appearance tickets or citations are considered sworn complaints under the Michigan Vehicle Code or the Code of Criminal Procedure, and not every appearance before the magistrate necessarily is preceded by the issuance of a complaint.” City of Plymouth, 291 Mich App at 162. “This procedure[] . . . is designed to ensure that, following a plea of not guilty, until the magistrate has in front of him or her either a sworn complaint or a citation that takes the place of a sworn complaint, further proceedings do not occur.” Id. Where an appearance ticket is issued for a misdemeanor violation and is in the form of a “Uniform Law Citation” containing the language, “‘I declare under the penalties of perjury that the statements above are true to the best of my information, knowledge, and belief[,]’” it constitutes a sworn complaint under MCL 257.727c, MCL 764.1e, and MCR 6.615. City of Plymouth, 291 Mich App at 153-154, 154 n 1, 163. A prosecutor is not required to file a second sworn complaint in order to proceed on a not guilty plea. Id. at 163.

Similarly, a peace officer may issue a written citation to a person arrested without a warrant for most misdemeanor traffic offenses. See MCL 257.728(1); MCR 6.615(A)(1)(a). If the officer issues a citation for a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, a magistrate may accept the accused’s plea of guilty without the filing of a sworn complaint. MCL 257.728e. However, if the accused pleads not guilty, a sworn complaint must be filed with the magistrate. Id.

A district court magistrate may accept an accused’s guilty plea without requiring that a sworn complaint be filed when the offense charged falls within the district court magistrate’s authority under MCL 600.8511. MCL 764.9g(2).⁷