View source for Law of Michigan

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Redirect|Michigan law|the law school|University of Michigan Law School}}{{Michigan law}}The '''[[law]] of [[Michigan]]''' consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The ''[[Michigan Compiled Laws]]'' form the general statutory law.

==Sources==
{{See also|Government of Michigan}}

The [[Constitution of Michigan]] is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the [[Michigan Legislature]], published in the ''[[Michigan Acts of the Legislature|Acts of the Legislature]]'', and codified in the ''[[Michigan Compiled Laws]]''. State agency regulations (sometimes called administrative law) are published in the ''[[Michigan Register]]'' and codified in the ''[[Michigan Administrative Code]]''. Michigan's legal system is based on [[common law]], which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, which are published in the ''[[Michigan Reports]]'' and ''[[Michigan Appeals Reports]]'', respectively.

===Constitution===
The foremost source of state law is the [[Constitution of Michigan]]. The Michigan Constitution in turn is subordinate to the [[Constitution of the United States]], which is the supreme law of the land.

===Legislation===
Pursuant to the state constitution, the [[Michigan Legislature]] has enacted [[legislation]]. These legislative acts are published in the official ''[[Michigan Acts of the Legislature|Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan]]'' and are called "[[session laws]]".{{sfn|Browne|VerBurg|1995|p=349}} They in turn have been [[codification (law)|codified]] in the ''[[Michigan Compiled Laws]]''.{{sfn|Browne|VerBurg|1995|p=349}} Both are published by the [[Michigan Legislative Service Bureau]] (LSB).{{sfn|Browne|VerBurg|1995|p=349}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Legislative Service Bureau|publisher=[[Michigan Legislative Council]]|access-date=13 November 2013|url=http://council.legislature.mi.gov/lsb.html}}</ref> Pursuant to Article IV, Section 36, of the Michigan Constitution,<ref>”No general revision of the laws shall be made. The legislature may provide for a compilation of the laws in force, arranged without alteration, under appropriate heads and titles.”  Mich. Const. Art. IV, § 36</ref> the compilations and codifications are not binding.

===Regulations===
Pursuant to certain statutes, state agencies have promulgated [[regulation]]s, also known as [[administrative law]]. The regulations are published in the ''[[Michigan Register]]'' (MR) and codified in the ''[[Michigan Administrative Code]]'' (MAC or AC).{{sfn|Browne|VerBurg|1995|p=349}}<ref name=manual>{{cite book|title=Administrative Rules in Michigan: A Manual of Style and Procedures|pages=6–8|publisher=[[Michigan Legislative Service Bureau]]|year=2003|url=http://annarborchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LSB_Style__Guide_381045_7.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Finding Michigan Agency Materials|first=Kimberly|last=Koscielniak|journal=[[Michigan Bar Journal]]|volume=81|issue=1|date=January 2002|url=http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article382.pdf}}</ref> The ''Michigan Administrative Code'' was last printed in 1979.<ref name=manual/> The ''Annual Administrative Code Supplement'' (AACS) is the annual supplement to the ''Michigan Administrative Code'' containing the rules published in the ''Michigan Register'' for that year.<ref name=manual/> All three works are published by the [[Michigan Office of Regulatory Reinvention]] within the [[Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs]]. From 1980 to 1997, the AACS was published by the LSB.

===Case law===
{{See also|Judiciary of Michigan}}

The legal system of Michigan is based on the [[common law]]. Like all U.S. states except [[Louisiana]], Michigan has a [[reception statute]] providing for the "reception" of [[English law]]. All statutes, regulations, and ordinances are subject to [[judicial review]]. Pursuant to common law tradition, the courts of Michigan have developed a large body of [[case law]] through the [[legal opinion|decisions]] of the [[Michigan Supreme Court]] and [[Michigan Court of Appeals]].

The decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are published in the ''[[Michigan Reports]]'' and ''[[Michigan Appeals Reports]]'', respectively.{{sfn|Browne|VerBurg|1995|p=351}} Both are also reported in the unofficial ''Michigan Reporter'' (a Michigan-specific version of the ''[[North Western Reporter]]'').

===Local ordinances===
{{See also|Administrative divisions of Michigan|Government of Detroit|Government of Wayne County, Michigan|l3=Government of Wayne County}}

==Compiled Laws==
The '''Michigan Compiled Laws''' ('''MCL''') are the official codification of statutes for the state of [[Michigan]].<ref>[http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/michlaw.html Michigan/Laws, Regulations, and Court Decisions<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> An unannotated edition of the MCL is published by the state of Michigan in print and online.<ref>[http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.aspx?page=MCLBasicSearch Michigan Legislature<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Unofficial, annotated versions are published by both [[West (publisher)|West]] and [[LexisNexis]].  The West publication is ''Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated'' (MCLA); the LexisNexis version is the ''Michigan Compiled Laws Service'' (MCLS).

Until the year 2000, an alternate codification known as the ''Michigan Statutes Annotated'' (MSA), which differed from the MCL in both its organization and numbering system, was also in use.  Until the discontinuation of the MSA by LexisNexis, Michigan Court Rules required citation to both the MCL and MSA in all court filings.

==See also==

===Topics===
* [[Capital punishment in Michigan]]
* [[Felony murder rule (Michigan)]]
* [[Gun laws in Michigan]]
* [[LGBT rights in Michigan]]

===Other===
* [[Politics of Michigan]]
* [[List of law enforcement agencies in Michigan]]
* [[Crime in Michigan]]
* [[Law of the United States]]
* ''[[United States Code]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|title=Michigan Politics and Government: Facing Change in a Complex State|first1=William P.|last1=Browne|first2=Kenneth|last2=VerBurg|year=1995|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|series=Politics and Governments of the American States|isbn=0-8032-6088-1|lccn=94-18928|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ckd7PII5pTYC&pg=PA351}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.aspx?page=ChapterIndex Michigan Compiled Laws] from the [[Michigan Legislative Service Bureau]]
* [http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-35738_5698---,00.html Michigan Administrative Code] from the [[Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs]]
* [http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.aspx?page=publicacts Public Acts] of the Michigan Legislature from the Michigan Legislative Service Bureau
* [http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-35738_40280---,00.html Michigan Register] from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
* [http://courts.mi.gov/opinions_orders Court cases, opinions and orders] from the [[Michigan State Court Administrative Office]]
* [http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=13032 Wayne County Code] from [[Municode]]
* [http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10649 Detroit City Code] from Municode
* [https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/city/mi/ Local ordinance codes] from [[Public.Resource.Org]]
* Case law: {{citation |url=https://cite.case.law |title= Michigan |work= Caselaw Access Project |publisher= Harvard Law School |oclc=1078785565 |quote= Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the [[Harvard Law Library]] }}

{{Michigan}}
{{Laws of the United States by U.S. state}}
{{Legal codes of the United States by U.S. state}}
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[[Category:Michigan law| ]]
[[Category:State law in the United States|Michigan]]