page_title: Courts of Michigan
hierarchical_section_title: Courts of Michigan
caption_attribution_description: Map of Michigan judicial circuits
context_page_description: Courts of Michigan include:
  State courts of Michigan
  Michigan Supreme Court
  The Supreme Court is Michigan's court of last resort, consisting of seven justices. Each year, the Supreme Court receives over 2,000 applications for leave to appeal from litigants primarily seeking review of decisions by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
  The Supreme Court's authority to hear cases is discretionary. The Court grants leave to those cases of greatest complexity and public import, where additional briefing and oral argument are essential to reaching a just outcome.
  Each justice is responsible for reviewing each case to determine whether leave should be granted. Cases that are accepted for oral argument may be decided by an order, with or without an opinion. These orders may affirm or reverse the Michigan Court of Appeals, may remand a case to the trial court, or may adopt a correct Court of Appeals opinion.
  Cases come before the Court during a term that starts August 1 and runs through July 31 of the following year. The Court hears oral arguments in Lansing beginning in October of each term. Decisions are released throughout the term, following oral arguments.
context_section_description: Courts of Michigan include:
  State courts of Michigan
  Michigan Supreme Court
  The Supreme Court is Michigan's court of last resort, consisting of seven justices. Each year, the Supreme Court receives over 2,000 applications for leave to appeal from litigants primarily seeking review of decisions by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
  The Supreme Court's authority to hear cases is discretionary. The Court grants leave to those cases of greatest complexity and public import, where additional briefing and oral argument are essential to reaching a just outcome.
  Each justice is responsible for reviewing each case to determine whether leave should be granted. Cases that are accepted for oral argument may be decided by an order, with or without an opinion. These orders may affirm or reverse the Michigan Court of Appeals, may remand a case to the trial court, or may adopt a correct Court of Appeals opinion.  
  Cases come before the Court during a term that starts August 1 and runs through July 31 of the following year. The Court hears oral arguments in Lansing beginning in October of each term. Decisions are released throughout the term, following oral arguments.
  In addition to its judicial duties, the Supreme Court is responsible for the general administrative supervision of all courts in the state.
  The Supreme Court also establishes rules for practice and procedure in all courts.
  Michigan Court of Appeals
  The Michigan Court of Appeals is one of the highest volume intermediate appellate courts in the country.  It was created by the 1963 Michigan Constitution and heard its first cases in January 1965.  Generally, decisions from final orders of a circuit court, as well as some probate court and agency orders, may be appealed to the court as a matter of right.  Other lower court or tribunal decisions may be appealed only by application for leave to appeal, i.e., with permission of the court.  The court also has jurisdiction to hear some original actions, such as complaints for mandamus or superintending control against government officers or actions alleging that state law has imposed an unfunded or inadequately funded mandate on local units of government.
  The judges of the Court of Appeals sit state-wide, although they are elected or appointed from one of four districts.  The districts and their office locations are as follows: District I is based in Detroit, District II is based in Troy, District III is based in Grand Rapids, and District IV is based in Lansing.  Hearings are held year-round before three-judge panels in Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids.  There is no courtroom at the Troy location.  Hearings are also scheduled in Marquette and in a northern Lower Peninsula location in the spring and fall of each year for the convenience of the parties and their attorneys in those areas.  Judges are randomly assigned to panels to sit in all courtroom locations so that a variety of judicial viewpoints are considered.  At least two of the three judges on a panel must agree on the ruling in a case for it to be binding.  Like most appellate courts, the Court of Appeals observes the principle of stare decisis so that the holding in an earlier decision serves as binding precedent in a later appeal.  When a panel expresses its disagreement with a prior opinion, the court rules provide a mechanism by which a special seven-judge “conflict panel” may be convened to resolve the conflict between the earlier opinion and the later decision.  MCR 7.215(J).  Decisions of the court may generally be appealed by leave application to the Michigan Supreme Court. 
  The Court of Appeals started with only nine judges originally.  The number of judgeships steadily increased through legislation over the years to accommodate the court's growing caseload—to 12 in 1969, to 18 in 1974, to 24 in 1988, and to 28 in 1993.  Due to decreased filings in recent years, the size of the court was reduced in 2012 to 24 judges, which is to be achieved through attrition over time.
  Michigan Circuit Courts
  In Michigan, the Circuit Court is the trial court with the broadest powers i
caption: Judicial circuits map
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