News Archive

The Michigan Justice for All Task Force wants to know more about how people use the civil justice system, which includes the courts, lawyers, legal aid programs, and others.  Civil legal problems involve money, housing, property, family issues, personal injury, or other non-criminal problems.  We want to hear from you! We're collecting information in this survey so we can create a plan to provide access to our civil justice system for all Michiganders. You will have an opportunity to enter into a random drawing for one of ten $25 VISA gift cards after you complete the survey.

We would like to hear from you about your experiences with the Michigan civil justice system.  This survey should take only 10 - 15 minutes to complete, and your responses are confidential.  We will not share your answers or information with anyone outside the Justice for All Task Force. These issues are more critical now than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way courts operate.

Thank you for sharing your experiences!  You're helping us improve the justice system for you and many others.

COVID-19, or coronavirus, is impacting people in Michigan in ways that are changing quickly. You might be wondering how COVID-19 will affect your court case. Court staff and lawyers are still working, but they are limiting public access to their courts and offices.

Michigan Courts

On March 18th, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an emergency order telling courts that they should remain open for emergency cases and essential functions. The Order also tells courts to use videoconferencing or other remote conferencing tools (like telephones) for hearings rather than having people appear in person. You cannot be charged a fee for appearing by telephone or video. The order tells courts to practice social distancing and limit access to courtrooms and other spaces to no more than 10 people, including staff. This order is in effect until April 3, 2020. Essential functions include things like:

• Certain hearings in criminal cases, PPO violations, or juvenile delinquency cases where the defendant is in jail or prison;
• Infectious Disease proceedings;
• Requests to get or extend Personal Protection Orders;
• Emergency family law matters to address the safety or well-being of a child or party;
• Some CPS and child support hearings; 
• Involuntary commitment hearings; 
• Emergency guardianship, conservatorship, Adult Protective Services, and temporary restraining order hearings in Probate Court; and
• Other general civil, business, family, district court (including landlord/tenant, debt collection, and traffic), and probate court matters but only if they can be handled remotely by two-way video technology.

The order also tells the clerk to accept filings by mail, e-filing, e-mail, or fax if in-person filing is limited. Also, if parties reach an agreement and the court can accept the agreement without holding a hearing, those agreements can be filed and entered with the court for no extra fee. The Court also issued an Order on March 15th with other instructions to the courts. To learn more about different ways in which COVID-19 might affect your legal issue, go to the COVID-19 resource page on Michigan Legal Help.

 If you have a scheduled hearing and you think it might be considered essential, contact the court to find out what to do.  Go to the Supreme Court's website or Courts & Agencies on Michigan Legal Help to find the court you are supposed to visit and click on the link to learn more. 

If you need to contact your lawyer, call instead of visiting in person. If you have a new case and need a lawyer, call or use online intake instead of going to the office in person. Most legal aid offices are closed to the public, but staff there are still working to help their clients.  Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a lawyer or legal aid office near you. If you could be eligible for free legal services, the Guide will give you a phone number and, if available, the link to do an online intake.

Michigan Legal Help will continue to be an online resource for legal information related to COVID-19. We will be sharing statewide updates as often as we can at michiganlegalhelp.org/coronavirus. 

For information about how the State of Michigan is responding to COVID-19, visit the State of Michigan’s COVID-19 page. Another source for reliable information about COVID-19 is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 information page.

Other Closures 

Immigration Court

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) postponed all non-detained cases in Immigration Courts nationwide through April 10th. For more information about how Immigration Courts are responding to COVID-19, visit the EOIR COVID-19 page.

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services

All U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices, asylum offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs) will not provide in-person services until at least April 1. This includes interviews, naturalization ceremonies and biometric collection appointments. USCIS will continue to provide emergency services during this time. If you have an emergency service request, please contact the USCIS Contact Center.

For information about how USCIS is responding to COVID-19, visit the USCIS COVID-19 page.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Service

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) offices are closed to the public, except for appointments. MDHHS offices will still be in operation.

You can apply for benefits online at MIBridges. If you are unable to apply online, you can apply by calling your local MDHHS office. If you are unable to upload your documents online, submit your verifications via regular mail. Families who receive or apply for cash assistance under the Family Independence Program (FIP) will not be required to attend orientations at Michigan Works! offices or to engage in subsequent employment activities.

Unemployment Insurance Agency

The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) offices are closed to the public, except for appointments. UIA offices will still be in operation.

Eligible employees are encouraged to apply for unemployment benefits online at www.michigan.gov/UIA or by calling 1-866-500-0017.

Updated 3/20/20

FACT: Did you know that in three out of four civil cases, at least one party represents themselves in court because they can’t afford an attorney?

FACT: Did you know that a right to a lawyer only applies in criminal cases, not civil cases? However, people who have done nothing wrong often lose their cases in court because they don’t have the legal information or help they need. For example, of more than 30,000 eviction cases in Detroit annually, about 4 percent of tenants had legal representation. This is just one example of the CIVIL JUSTICE GAP.

SOLUTION: To tackle the civil justice gap, the Michigan Supreme Court formed the Justice for All Task Force. The Task Force is inventorying available resources, identifying gaps, and developing a plan to achieve 100 % ACCESS.

Public input is needed to help assess the extent of the problem and the impact of the civil justice gap on Michigan families and businesses. Two public town hall meetings have been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to be heard.

Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack and Justice Brian Zahra (the court’s representative on the Task Force) will open the meetings with short statements and moderate public testimony. Local officials and representatives of community service organizations will also be invited to share their views. Those who want to speak will be invited to fill out a speaker’s card and a time limit will be set based on the number of speakers.

Meeting # 1  GRAND RAPIDS
 Friday, February 14, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
 Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation
1530 Madison Avenue SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507

Meeting #2  DETROIT
Monday, February 24, 2020
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall
1358 Abbott Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226

Future meetings will be scheduled as needed to complete the Task Force’s work.

MORE INFORMATION: Visit the Task Force webpage, www.courts.mi.gov/jfa