Post-conviction relief, restored appeal rights and DNA testing in Michigan

Possibly. Under MCR 6.428, if you were denied appellate review or appointed appellate counsel because of errors by your earlier lawyer or the court, or other factors outside your control, the trial court shall issue an order restarting the time to appeal or request counsel. The motion must be filed within a reasonable time, and one filed within 2 years after the judgment you wanted to appeal is presumed reasonable.

MCR 6.428 applies whether you were convicted by plea or at trial. If the problem is that you lost the right to appellate review, the motion must be filed within a reasonable time after the final judgment or order you wanted to appeal, or after your claim of appeal was dismissed. A motion filed within 2 years after that judgment or order, or within 1 year after the dismissal of a claim of appeal, is presumed reasonable. If the problem is that you were denied appointed appellate counsel, the motion must be filed within a reasonable time after that denial, and one filed within 2 years of the order denying counsel is presumed reasonable. A later motion is not automatically barred, because in deciding what is a reasonable time the court must consider whether factors outside your control contributed to the delay. The rule will not consider a motion that raises grounds already resolved against you in a prior proceeding or appeal. If the court grants the motion, you must give the Court of Appeals a copy of the order when you file the appeal, unless that court excuses it for good cause. The order only restarts the time to appeal or request counsel. It does not decide the appeal itself. This route differs from a motion for relief from judgment, because MCR 6.508(D)(1) bars relief under subchapter 6.500 while the conviction can still be challenged on appeal.

Authority: MCR 6.428; MCR 6.508(D)(1). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

MCR 6.501 to 6.509 set no filing deadline for a motion for relief from judgment. The rules set conditions instead: relief cannot be granted while the conviction can still be challenged on appeal (MCR 6.508(D)(1)), you generally get one motion (MCR 6.502(G)), and the one-year federal habeas period in 28 USC 2244(d) can keep running while you wait.

Subchapter 6.500 sets no time limit on filing a motion under MCR 6.502. That does not make waiting safe. First, the motion is only available once the conviction is no longer subject to appellate review, and MCR 6.508(D)(1) bars relief while an appeal under subchapter 7.200 or 7.300 is still possible. Second, MCR 6.502(G)(1) allows one and only one motion per conviction, and the exceptions in MCR 6.502(G)(2) are limited to a retroactive change in law after the first motion, new evidence not discovered before the first motion, or a final order vacating a related conviction. Third, MCR 6.502(A) requires the motion to specify all available grounds, and MCR 6.508(D)(3) bars grounds that could have been raised on appeal or in a prior motion unless you show good cause and actual prejudice. Fourth, a federal habeas petition has its own deadline. Under 28 USC 2244(d)(1) the one-year period generally runs from finality of the judgment, and under 2244(d)(2) it is paused only while a properly filed state post-conviction application is pending. Time that passes before the motion is filed is not paused. The practical point is that the Michigan rules do not set a deadline, but other rules and the federal clock make the timing matter.

Authority: MCR 6.501 to 6.509; MCR 6.502(A), (G); MCR 6.508(D); 28 USC 2244(d). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

The motion goes to the judge who handled your case. Under MCR 6.504(B), the judge may deny it without a response if it plainly appears you are not entitled to relief; otherwise the prosecutor must respond and the court decides whether a hearing is needed. Counsel may be appointed if you are indigent and asked for one, and must be appointed if the court orders oral argument or an evidentiary hearing (MCR 6.505(A)).

Under MCR 6.504(A), the motion is presented to the judge assigned at the time of your conviction, or another judge if that judge is unavailable. The motion may not be noticed for hearing (MCR 6.502(C)). The court first examines the motion and the court file. If it plainly appears from those materials that you are not entitled to relief, the court denies the motion with a concise statement of reasons, and you may move for reconsideration within 21 days after the clerk serves the order (MCR 6.504(B)(2) and (3)). Otherwise the court orders the prosecutor to respond, and the prosecutor must be allowed at least 56 days (MCR 6.506(A)). The court may also direct the parties to expand the record with affidavits, documents and similar materials (MCR 6.507). It then decides whether an evidentiary hearing is required, and at that hearing the rules of evidence other than privilege do not apply (MCR 6.508(B), (C)). On counsel, if you asked for a lawyer and the court finds you indigent, the court may appoint one at any time, and must appoint one if it directs oral argument or an evidentiary hearing (MCR 6.505(A)). Appointed counsel gets 56 days to amend or supplement the motion (MCR 6.505(B)). The court must state findings of fact and conclusions of law (MCR 6.508(E)). Because the court may deny without hearing, the written motion carries most of the weight.

Authority: MCR 6.504; MCR 6.505; MCR 6.506, 6.507; MCR 6.508(B), (C), (E); MCR 6.502(C). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Possibly, but the standard is demanding. Under People v Cress, you must show that the evidence itself was newly discovered, was not cumulative, could not have been discovered and produced at trial with reasonable diligence, and makes a different result probable on retrial. Where and when you file depends on the stage of the case under MCR 6.431(A).

MCR 6.431(B) lets the court order a new trial on any ground that would support reversal on appeal or because the verdict resulted in a miscarriage of justice, and the court must state its reasons. For newly discovered evidence, People v Cress states a four-part test: the evidence itself, not merely its materiality, was newly discovered; it was not cumulative; the party could not, using reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced it at trial; and it makes a different result probable on retrial. A denial is reviewed for abuse of discretion. In Cress, the trial court had found the person who confessed to be not credible, and the Supreme Court held that denying a new trial on that basis was not an abuse of discretion. Timing follows MCR 6.431(A). A motion may be filed before a timely claim of appeal. After a claim of appeal, it may be filed only through MCR 7.208(B) or a remand under MCR 7.211(C)(1). If you may appeal only by leave or missed the claim of appeal, it may be filed within the time for an application for leave under MCR 7.205(A)(2). If appeals are over, the route is subchapter 6.500, where a second motion on new evidence not discovered before the first is allowed by MCR 6.502(G)(2)(b), and new scientific evidence counts under MCR 6.502(G)(3). DNA testing has its own statute, MCL 770.16.

Authority: MCR 6.431; MCR 6.502(G); People v Cress, 468 Mich 678, 691-692 (2003). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Possibly. A defendant is entitled to effective counsel in plea bargaining. If bad advice led you to reject an offer, you must show a reasonable probability that the offer would have been presented to the court (you would have accepted and the prosecutor would not have withdrawn it), that the court would have accepted it, and that the result under the offer would have been less severe. Counsel also generally must tell you about formal offers.

The Michigan Supreme Court applies the Strickland two-part test to plea bargaining. In People v Douglas, it held that a defendant is entitled to effective assistance in that process, must show that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and, where the claim is that he rejected an offer and went to trial, must show a reasonable probability that the offer would have been presented to the court, that the court would have accepted its terms, and that the conviction or sentence under the offer would have been less severe than the one imposed. The defendant bears the burden of proving the facts behind the claim. Missouri v Frye adds that, as a general rule, defense counsel has the duty to communicate formal prosecution offers that may be favorable to the accused. In a motion under subchapter 6.500, MCR 6.508(D)(3)(b)(i)(B) defines actual prejudice in this situation as a reasonable likelihood that the prosecutor would not have withdrawn the offer, that you and the court would have accepted it, and that the terms would have been less severe than the judgment imposed. Lafler v Cooper says the remedy is left to the trial court and, in some circumstances, may be to require the prosecution to reoffer the plea. A claim like this turns on what you were told and what the offer was, so records of the offer and of counsel's advice matter.

Authority: People v Douglas, 496 Mich 557, 591-592 (2014); Lafler v Cooper, 566 US 156, 163-164, 171 (2012); Missouri v Frye, 566 US 134, 145 (2012); MCR 6.508(D)(3)(b)(i)(B). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Sometimes. MCL 770.16 lets a person convicted of a felony at trial petition the circuit court for DNA testing of biological material identified in the investigation, and for a new trial based on the results. If you were convicted at trial before January 8, 2001 and are serving a prison sentence you may petition; for later trial convictions, earlier DNA testing must have been inconclusive and current technology likely to give conclusive results.

The petition is filed in the circuit court of the county where you were sentenced, assigned to the sentencing judge, and served on the prosecutor (MCL 770.16(2)). The court must order testing if you present prima facie proof that the evidence is material to your identity as the perpetrator or an accomplice, and establish by clear and convincing evidence that a sample is available, that it was not previously tested or will be tested with technology not available at your conviction, and that identity was at issue at trial (MCL 770.16(4)). If you are indigent, the state bears the cost of testing (MCL 770.16(6)). If the results are inconclusive or show you are the source, the new trial motion is denied (MCL 770.16(7)). If they show you are not the source, the court appoints counsel under MCR 6.505(A) and holds a hearing, where you must show by clear and convincing evidence that only the perpetrator could be the source, that the material was handled so it is not contaminated or degraded, and that the exclusion, balanced against the other evidence, justifies a new trial (MCL 770.16(8)). Either side may seek leave to appeal the decision (MCL 770.16(10)). By its terms the statute covers felony convictions at trial. The investigating agency must preserve identified biological material while anyone is incarcerated in connection with the case (MCL 770.16(12)).

Authority: MCL 770.16; MCR 6.505(A). Reviewed Oct. 2026.