Cases Preceding End of Michigan Judges’ Power to Indict Stand

A Michigan Supreme Court decision that did away with a judge’s ability to serve as a “one-man grand jury” and unilaterally issue criminal indictments doesn’t undo the many cases that preceded it, the justices said Wednesday.

Prior to 2022, Michigan judges could review evidence and issue indictments—jobs that usually fall to a multi-citizen grand jury—and prevent defendants from getting a preliminary examinations of evidence as a result. Though the Supreme Court’s decision ended that system and established “a new rule of law,” the pre-2022 cases stemming from judge-issued indictments must stand, Justice Elizabeth M. Welch wrote for the ...