Michigan Laws 730.531 – Conciliation division; summons, default, hearings, adjournment
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 730.531
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- 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
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
Any person having a claim within the jurisdiction of the conciliation division of any such court may appear before the clerk or any deputy clerk of such court and state his claim without formality or written pleadings. The clerk shall thereupon issue a summons in substantially the following form:
| STATE OF MICHIGAN | |||
| The municipal court for the City of ………………………… | |||
| To ………………………….. | |||
| You are notified that (name of plaintiff) has commenced suit against you for (state nature of claim and amount). | |||
| Be in the above court on the …………… day of ……………, 19…, at ………. o’clock in the ………… noon, or judgment will be taken against you. Bring witnesses and papers if any. Be prepared for trial at that time. | |||
| ……………………….. Clerk | |||
| By ………………. Deputy Clerk. | |||
| The summons shall notify the defendant to appear for trial at a certain time and place not less than 6 nor more than 14 days from the date of issue, and shall be served at least 2 days before the date set therein for trial. The clerk or deputy clerk, on request of the plaintiff, may notify the defendant by telephone or by mail, in which case the clerk’s fee for such service shall be 25 cents, for the use of the city. If the defendant does not appear at the date and time set, no judgment shall be taken unless service was had upon him by summons, and the case may be adjourned and summons issued and served personally upon the defendant. If the defendant does not appear at the date and time set, after personal service of the summons upon him, the clerk shall forthwith enter his default, and the plaintiff may thereupon or at any time within 15 days thereafter prove his claim before a conciliator of the court. Hearings shall be informal and may be private. The conciliator may suspend rules of evidence and may dispense with the swearing of witnesses. There shall be no adjournments unless in the opinion of the conciliator an adjournment is necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice. | |||