Criminal Justice Reform Package Introduced

Liz Gullett

Jul 24, 2020

Using the recommendations of the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, a bipartisan group of legislators developed a plan of action. There are several measures within the plan that aim to reform the criminal justice system in Michigan, including:

- Reclassify many traffic misdemeanors as civil infractions.
- Eliminate license suspensions for violations of state law unrelated to dangerous driving.
- Eliminate mandatory minimum jail sentences for several low-level offenses, giving judges the discretion to set a penalty based on the facts of the case.
- Give law enforcement officers discretion to issue citations, rather than making arrests, for most misdemeanors.
- Ensure summonses are used for most first-time cases of a failure to appear in court and allow defendants to resolve low-level warrants without being arrested.
- Create a presumption of a sentence other than jail for most misdemeanors and certain felonies.
- Reduce probation terms, tailor probation and parole conditions to address an offender’s risks and needs, and cap jail sanctions for technical probation violations.

The plan will be referred to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for consideration.

To view the full report and recommendations from the task force, please click here.

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