BY KATE WEAVER (OAKLAND)Ethics Committee, Referee Ilyssa Cimmino (Oakland), no updates since the last issue. Juvenile Justice Partnership Committee, Referee Patrick O’Meara of Oakland County and Katelyn Andrews of Ottawa County are the representatives on this committee. Referee O’Meara reports there is some pending legislation that would affect juvenile court referees and the court rules. SB 463 of 2025 - Criminal Penalties for minors that purchase or possess or use tobacco, vapor or alternative nicotine products - Statute Cite: MCL 722.642. This would make the purchase or possession of these items misdemeanors and give the court authority to order community service and participation in a health promotion and risk reduction class. From what I have heard from the referees who handle the ordinance docket, this would be very helpful because right now there is not much they can do. SB 735 of 2025 - Modifies the definition of child neglect Statute Cite: MCL 722.622. The modification has to do with what is not considered child neglect. It is not neglect if a child is left unsupervised unless being unsupervised could reasonably cause harm to the child, or when a child engages in an “independent activity” without a parent or supervision unless the parent or person responsible disregards obvious or likely risks. They list some examples of “independent activity” as traveling to and from school, playing outdoors, or going somewhere on a bike or on foot. This was a big win for the free-range parenting lobby, or basically how most of us grew up! Proposed Amendment to MCR 3.992. Would require courts to consider a motion for post judgment relief when the underlying order was entered following a referee’s recommendation and before the time of filing for judicial review under the MCR 3.991 has elapsed. Referee Katelyn Andrews reports the Juvenile Justice Partnership Committee (JJPC) Training Workgroup has 3 main focuses: 1) juvenile justice training needs, 2) strategic planning for education and trainings for stakeholders, and 3) development of a juvenile justice training clearinghouse. The JJPC currently meets quarterly and had their last meeting on October 21, 2025. The focus of the October meeting was to go through the workgroup deliverables/action items:
Also, during the October meeting, the workgroup training webinar survey results were reviewed and discussed. The group discussed the benefit of continuing virtual meetings vs specific workgroup check-ins via email and discussion was had regarding whether the meetings should continue to be on the quarterly timeframe or if it is more appropriate to switch to semi-annual. Currently there are no upcoming MJI webinars or trainings, but prior recorded JJPC/MJI Webinar trainings are available at: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/administration/offices/child-welfare-services/cws-training-and-development/jjs-reform-training-and-development/ The next CWJJS training is a Program Overview regarding Ingham County’s Intensive Neglect Services (INS) on March 3, 2026: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/48d41c/siteassets/offices/cwjjs/030326-ingham-county-ins-program-overview-ta.pdf Finally, there are currently no JJ Vision 20/20 events scheduled, but JJ Vision 20/20 research and resources can be located here: https://www.gvsu.edu/juvenilejusticevision2020/research-and-resources-11.htm. MI Weighted Caseload Study, Referee Erin Magley (Ottawa) reports that the process continues as the different work groups evaluate the data received. Commission on Wellness in the Law, Referee Patricia (Patty) Woodruff was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court’s Commission on Well-being in the Law in September 2025. Patty serves on the Commission as the RAM Representative. She reports, “Our next meeting is taking place in March. Our programming committee continues to work on our “Well-Being Lens” proposal, a website we are planning to launch to provide resources to the legal community. We are currently making significant modifications to our existing proposal. One of our goals for the “Well-Being Lens” is to support informed decision-making. We are also making additions to the lens to increase its’ accessibility, i.e. links to websites and static resources.” Family Law Council, Referee Michelle Letourneau of Oakland County did not renew her seat but reports: Council is still focused on Dedicated Family. Still working on having legislation proposed. Here is the link to the meeting page: https://connect.michbar.org/familylaw/events/recentcommunityeventsdashboard Here is the upcoming schedule. Note, the meetings are back to Saturday/Sunday as mid-week meetings did not result in more participants.
Children’s Law Section, Referee Matthew Hagen of Grand Traverse County is the RAM liaison with the Children’s Law Section, there are no updates since the last issue.
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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Alicia Bianchi (Wayne)
Tyler Martinez (Oakland)
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