Michigan Subpoena
Michigan gives a witness a choice of three fee measures and runs everything through one SCAO form that a judge, clerk or attorney can sign. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Michigan is the rare state that lets the witness fee be measured three different ways. MCL 600.2552(1) provides that a witness who attends any action or proceeding pending in a court of record shall be paid a witness fee of $12.00 for each day and $6.00 for each half day, or may be paid for loss of working time but not more than $15.00 for each day shall be taxable as costs as the witness fee. The $15 figure is a ceiling on the lost-time alternative, not a higher day rate, so read the three options as a menu rather than a ladder. Travel is handled separately and deliberately left floating: subsection (5) sets the per-mile rate of reimbursement at the same per-mile rate the Department of Management and Budget establishes by directive for state officers and unclassified employees engaged in state business, so no cents figure appears in the statute at all. Where the measurement starts is also fixed by statute, from the residence of the witness if that residence is in Michigan, or from the boundary line of the state the witness crossed coming in if the residence is out of state. The paperwork is centralised. Michigan uses SCAO form MC 11, titled SUBPOENA, Order to Appear and/or Produce, whose signature block reads Judge, Clerk or Attorney, with one printed exception: a subpoena for a judgment debtor's examination under MCL 600.6110, or for the property-transfer injunction, must be issued by a judge. DocDraft prepares your Michigan subpoena from your facts, and attorney review is available before service.
Key Things to Know
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A Michigan subpoena is an order in the name of the people of the State of Michigan, issued in a pending case, commanding a person to appear personally, to testify at trial, examination, hearing or deposition, to produce copies of listed items, to permit inspection or copying, or to testify as to assets.
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The witness fee is $12.00 for each day and $6.00 for each half day, or the witness may be paid for loss of working time but not more than $15.00 for each day is taxable as costs as the witness fee (MCL 600.2552(1)).
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Michigan prints no per-mile figure. The per-mile rate of reimbursement is the same rate the Department of Management and Budget establishes by directive for state officers and unclassified employees engaged in state business under MCL 18.1217 (MCL 600.2552(5)).
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Travel is estimated from the residence of the witness if the residence is within Michigan, or from the boundary line of the state that the witness passed in coming into the state if the residence is out of state (MCL 600.2552(1)).
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Michigan uses SCAO form MC 11, SUBPOENA, Order to Appear and/or Produce. Its signature line reads Judge, Clerk or Attorney, so any of the three may sign, but a judgment debtor's examination subpoena under MCL 600.6110 and the property-transfer injunction must be issued by a judge.
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A documents subpoena must be served at least 14 days before the time for production, and the subpoenaed person may serve a written objection no later than the compliance time stated in the subpoena (MCR 2.305).
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The requesting party must pay reasonable copying costs, and the MC 11 form states on its face that those costs cannot be waived under MCR 2.002, Michigan's fee-waiver rule.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Michigan, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Subpoena guide walks through them.
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Michigan Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $12 a Day or $6 a Half Day
A witness who attends any action or proceeding pending in a court of record shall be paid a witness fee of $12.00 for each day and $6.00 for each half day, or may be paid for loss of working time with not more than $15.00 for each day taxable as costs as the witness fee (MCL 600.2552(1)). The $15 figure caps the lost-time option rather than raising the day rate.
Mileage Rides on the State Business Directive
Michigan prints no cents figure. The per-mile rate of reimbursement of traveling expenses for witnesses is the same as the per-mile rate the Department of Management and Budget establishes by directive for state officers and unclassified employees engaged in the performance of state business under MCL 18.1217 (MCL 600.2552(5)). Confirm the current directive rate before you compute.
Travel Measured From Residence or the State Line
Traveling expenses in coming to and returning from the place of attendance are estimated from the residence of the witness if that residence is within Michigan, or from the boundary line of the state that the witness passed in coming into the state if the residence is out of state (MCL 600.2552(1)).
SCAO Form MC 11, Order to Appear and/or Produce
Michigan uses SCAO-approved form MC 11, SUBPOENA, Order to Appear and/or Produce, which opens In the Name of the People of the State of Michigan and carries check-box commands to appear, testify, produce copies, permit inspection, testify as to assets, testify at deposition, or abide by an attached property-transfer prohibition. The form is revised periodically, so pull the current revision from the Judiciary form index.
A Judge, Clerk or Attorney May Sign
The MC 11 signature line reads Judge, Clerk or Attorney signature and date, so any of the three may sign. The printed exception: a subpoena requesting a judgment debtor examination under MCL 600.6110, or the injunction against transferring or disposing of property, must be issued by a judge, and the affidavit for judgment debtor examination must also be completed.
Serve a Documents Subpoena 14 Days Before Production
A documents subpoena must be served at least 14 days before the time for production, and the subpoenaed person may serve a written objection to inspection or copying of some or all of the designated materials no later than the time specified in the subpoena for compliance (MCR 2.305).
Copying Costs Are Not Waivable Under MCR 2.002
Form MC 11 states that the requesting party must pay reasonable copying costs, which cannot be waived under MCR 2.002. A litigant holding a fee waiver still owes the record custodian the reasonable copying charge, so budget for it separately.
Contempt Warning, and Two Fee Carve-Outs
Form MC 11 warns that failure to obey the commands of the subpoena or to appear at the stated time and place may subject the person to penalty for contempt of court, citing MCL 600.1701 and MCR 2.506. Separately, an interested attorney in the matter is paid no witness fee (MCL 600.2552(2)) and a witness incarcerated under sentence receives neither a fee nor travel reimbursement (MCL 600.2552(3)).