Sec. 66.
(1) If a plea of guilty or nolo contendere is accepted by the court at the time of the arraignment of the defendant for a serious misdemeanor, the court shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the plea and the date of sentencing within 48 hours after the arraignment. If no guilty or nolo contendere plea is accepted at the arraignment and further proceedings will be scheduled, the court shall so notify the prosecuting attorney within 48 hours after the arraignment. A notice to the prosecuting attorney under this subsection must be on a separate form and must include the name, address, and telephone number of the victim. The notice is not a public record and is exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. Within 48 hours after receiving this notice, the prosecuting attorney shall give to each victim a written notice in plain English of each of the following:
(a) A brief statement of the procedural steps in the processing of a misdemeanor case, including pretrial conferences.
(b) A specific list of the rights and procedures under this article.
(c) A convenient means for the victim to notify the prosecuting attorney that the victim chooses to exercise his or her rights under this article.
(d) Details and eligibility requirements for compensation from the crime victim services commission under 1976 PA 223, MCL 18.351 to 18.368.
(e) Suggested procedures if the victim is subjected to threats or intimidation.
(f) The person to contact for further information.
(2) If requested by the victim, the prosecuting attorney shall give to the victim notice of any scheduled court proceedings and notice of any changes in that schedule.
(3) If the defendant has not already entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere at the arraignment, the prosecuting attorney shall offer the victim the opportunity to consult with the prosecuting attorney to obtain the views of the victim about the disposition of the serious misdemeanor, including the victim's views about dismissal, plea or sentence negotiations, and pretrial diversion programs before finalizing any negotiation that may result in a dismissal, plea or sentence bargain, or pretrial diversion.
(4) If the case against the defendant is dismissed at any time, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim of the dismissal within 48 hours.
(5) A victim who receives a notice under subsection (1) or (2) and who chooses to receive any notice or exercise any right under this article shall keep the following persons informed of the victim's current address or address designated by the department of the attorney general if he or she is a program participant as that term is defined in section 3 of the address confidentiality program act and telephone number:
(a) The prosecuting attorney, until final disposition or completion of the appellate process, whichever occurs later.
(b) The sheriff, if the defendant is imprisoned for more than 92 days.
History: Add. 1988, Act 21, Eff. June 1, 1988 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 341, Eff. May 1, 1994 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 503, Eff. June 1, 2001 ;-- Am. 2020, Act 277, Imd. Eff. Dec. 29, 2020