Act No. 78
Public Acts of 2006
Approved by the Governor
March 23, 2006
Filed with the Secretary of State
March 24, 2006
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 24, 2006
STATE OF MICHIGAN
93RD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2006
Introduced by Senators Johnson, Birkholz, McManus, Hammerstrom, Jacobs, Cherry, Scott, Toy, Brater, Allen, Barcia, Basham, Bishop, Brown, Clark-Coleman, Clarke, Cropsey, Garcia, Gilbert, Goschka, Hardiman, Jelinek, Kuipers, Olshove, Patterson, Prusi, Sanborn, Sikkema, Stamas and Van Woerkom
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 120
AN ACT to amend 1927 PA 175, entitled "An act to revise, consolidate, and codify the laws relating to criminal procedure and to define the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of courts, judges, and other officers of the court under the provisions of this act; to provide laws relative to the rights of persons accused of criminal offenses and ordinance violations; to provide for the arrest of persons charged with or suspected of criminal offenses and ordinance violations; to provide for bail of persons arrested for or accused of criminal offenses and ordinance violations; to provide for the examination of persons accused of criminal offenses; to regulate the procedure relative to grand juries, indictments, informations, and proceedings before trial; to provide for trials of persons complained of or indicted for criminal offenses and ordinance violations and to provide for the procedure in those trials; to provide for judgments and sentences of persons convicted of criminal offenses and ordinance violations; to establish a sentencing commission and to prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for procedure relating to new trials and appeals in criminal and ordinance violation cases; to provide a uniform system of probation throughout this state and the appointment of probation officers; to prescribe the powers, duties, and compensation of probation officers; to provide penalties for the violation of the duties of probation officers; to provide for procedure governing proceedings to prevent crime and proceedings for the discovery of crime; to provide for fees of officers, witnesses, and others in criminal and ordinance violation cases; to set forth miscellaneous provisions as to criminal procedure in certain cases; to provide penalties for the violation of certain provisions of this act; and to repeal all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with or contravening any of the provisions of this act," (MCL 760.1 to 777.69) by adding section 27b to chapter VIII.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
CHAPTER VIII
Sec. 27b. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4), in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving domestic violence, evidence of the defendant's commission of other acts of domestic violence is admissible for any purpose for which it is relevant, if it is not otherwise excluded under Michigan rule of evidence 403.
(2) If the prosecuting attorney intends to offer evidence under this section, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose the evidence, including the statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of any testimony that is expected to be offered, to the defendant not less than 15 days before the scheduled date of trial or at a later time as allowed by the court for good cause shown.
(3) This section does not limit or preclude the admission or consideration of evidence under any other statute, rule of evidence, or case law.
(4) Evidence of an act occurring more than 10 years before the charged offense is inadmissible under this section, unless the court determines that admitting this evidence is in the interest of justice.
(5) As used in this section:
(a) "Domestic violence" or "offense involving domestic violence" means an occurrence of 1 or more of the following acts by a person that is not an act of self-defense:
(i) Causing or attempting to cause physical or mental harm to a family or household member.
(ii) Placing a family or household member in fear of physical or mental harm.
(iii) Causing or attempting to cause a family or household member to engage in involuntary sexual activity by force, threat of force, or duress.
(iv) Engaging in activity toward a family or household member that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.
(b) "Family or household member" means any of the following:
(i) A spouse or former spouse.
(ii) An individual with whom the person resides or has resided.
(iii) An individual with whom the person has or has had a child in common.
(iv) An individual with whom the person has or has had a dating relationship. As used in this subparagraph, "dating relationship" means frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement. This term does not include a casual relationship or an ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in a business or social context.
(6) This section applies to trials and evidentiary hearings commenced or in progress on or after May 1, 2006.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved
Governor