Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Rules of Evidence

The court rules do not mandate a uniform statewide procedure and timeline for prosecutors or criminal defense attorneys to dislose lists of witnesses or proposed exhibit lists prior to a misdemeanor trial. Judges are given the authority to set their own timelines.

Some courts handle this under a local court rule. Some courts require the parties to fill out a form at the pre-trial conference that specifies if/when witness lists and exhibit lists are exchanged.

If your judge hasn't ordered it, you should ask for such an order. In 99-44/100% of misdemeanor cases, the trial witnesses are found in the police report, witness statements and lab reports. If you have those documents, you can't claim that their appearances as trial witnesses unfairly surprise you.