(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/25/2024) Those contesting presidential election results or Board of State Canvasser certification must go straight to the Michigan Supreme Court with their complaints under new procedures adopted by the court Wednesday.

However, the court declined to adopt proposed amendments regarding the placement of youthful inmates in isolation in order to keep them safe from adults.

According to the rule change, a specific challenge can be filed within 24 hours of a completed recount but no later than 8 a.m. the day before the presidential and vice-presidential electors are required to convene. Complaints filed under MCL 168.845a must be filed within 48 hours of the certification and must name the Board of State Canvassers as a defendant.

The court gave itself until the day before the electors convene to issue a final order on complaints filed under the two statutes.

The most recent challenge to presidential candidate certification revolved around former candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who accepted the Natural Law Party’s nomination and then withdrew.

Kennedy has unsuccessfully fought in the Court of Claims and federal court to have his name withdrawn from the Nov. 5 ballot. He has appealed a federal judge’s ruling to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Youthful Offenders

The court declined to amend Michigan Court Rules that would have kept juvenile offenders in isolation.

Justice Kyra Bolden, a former House member, concurred, saying the proposed amendments were “well-intended,” but she believes the Legislature is “best suited to address the authority of correctional agencies to place youthful inmates in isolation under Michigan law.”

Bolden also noted that the Michigan Department of Corrections remains bound to federal regulations as long as the state “continues to accept federal funds” under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

Bolden, who was joined by Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement and Justice Megan Cavanagh, invited the Legislature “to study this issue as well as to consider whether the PREA regulation disfavoring the placement of youthful inmates in isolation should be adopted into Michigan law and whether any additional protections beyond those provided by federal regulation are warranted.”

The Supreme Court also approved an amendment to the court rules clarifying the process to admit out-of-state attorneys to practice in Michigan courts. The change is effective Jan. 1.