Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in Michigan

Re: Certified Question

The first problem you will face is the question of whether you have done sufficient legal research to show the court that the matter has not been previously resolved by the Supreme Court. To do that, you should look at what they have decided in your area of law, and also the appeals they have refused to decide, and why. The best way to achieve this is using an on-line service and your closest public university law library.

Then, you must show in your motion for certification that the requirements of MCR 7.305 are met (as well as any other procedural requirements). You need to do this well, or the Court is fairly certain to reject the question. You have to show clearly and concisely that the question of law that you want to be decided involves "a controlling question of public law, and the question is of such public moment as to require early determination." In other words, it has to be worth their time. Which means that such cases are few and far between.

You should definitely consult a lawyer to help you get the formatting and language right, if you don't want to hire someone to write it for you. And, don't fail to file your appeal just because you're waiting for an answer! The District/Circuit Court is not going to wait for this unless the S.Ct. has already taken an interest.

Good Luck!