Michigan Laws 780.788 – Testimony not to be compelled; hearing; exemption from disclosure; exception
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 780.788
- Court: means the family division of circuit court. See Michigan Laws 780.781
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Juvenile: means an individual alleged or found to be within the court's jurisdiction under section 2(a)(1) of chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A. See Michigan Laws 780.781
- Prosecuting attorney: means the prosecuting attorney for a county, an assistant prosecuting attorney for a county, the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a special prosecuting attorney, or, in connection with the prosecution of an ordinance violation, an attorney for the political subdivision that enacted the ordinance upon which the violation is based. See Michigan Laws 780.781
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Victim: means any of the following:
(i) A person who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial, or emotional harm as a result of the commission of an offense, except as provided in subparagraph (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v). See Michigan Laws 780.781
(1) Based upon the victim‘s reasonable apprehension of acts or threats of physical violence or intimidation by the juvenile or at the juvenile’s direction against the victim or the victim’s immediate family, the prosecuting attorney may move or, in the absence of a prosecuting attorney, the victim may request that the victim or any other witness not be compelled to testify at any court hearing for purposes of identifying the victim as to the victim’s address, place of employment, or other personal identification without the victim’s consent. A hearing on the motion must be in camera.
(2) Under section 24 of article I of the state constitution of 1963, guaranteeing to crime victims the right to be treated with respect for their dignity and privacy, the following information and visual representations of a victim are subject to the following:
(a) The home address, home telephone number, work address, and work telephone number of the victim are exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(b) A picture, photograph, drawing, or other visual representation, including any film, videotape, or digitally stored image of the victim, are exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, and, if the picture, photograph, drawing, or other visual representation is from a court proceeding that is made available to the public through streaming on the internet or other means, the picture, photograph, drawing, or visual representation may be blurred.
(c) The following information concerning a victim of child abuse, criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, or a similar crime who was less than 18 years of age when the crime was committed is exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246:
(i) The victim’s name and address.
(ii) The name and address of an immediate family member or relative of the victim, who has the same surname as the victim, other than the name and address of the accused.
(iii) Any other information that would tend to reveal the identity of the victim, including a reference to the victim’s familial or other relationship to the accused.
(3) Subsection (2) does not preclude the release of information to a victim advocacy organization or agency for the purpose of providing victim services.