WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called MIP, minor in possession, under 21 drinking

For a minor under the liquor code, 0.02 or more, or any presence of alcohol from drinking outside a religious service or ceremony.

Also called too fast for conditions, assured clear distance

The rule that every driver drives at a careful and prudent speed for the traffic, the road and the conditions, and never faster than will permit a stop within the assured, clear distance ahead.

Also called shoplifting letter, civil recovery letter

A written demand a store may send for the retail price of property not recovered, plus civil damages of 10 times the retail price, not less than $50 and not more than $200.

Also called pattern, repeated contact

A pattern of 2 or more separate acts showing a continuity of purpose, which stalking requires.

Also called boyfriend, girlfriend, partner

Frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement.

Also called notice to quit, 7 day notice, eviction notice

The written notice that starts an eviction for unpaid rent. A tenant who has not paid within 7 days from service of the demand is the one the court may remove.

Also called disorderly conduct, drunk and disorderly

The statute's name for a list of misdemeanors, among them being intoxicated in a public place while endangering others or causing a public disturbance, indecent conduct in public, and window peeping.

Also called secret recording, wiretap

To overhear, record, amplify or transmit any part of the private discourse of others without the permission of all persons engaged in the discourse.

Also called emergency PPO, order without a hearing

An order issued without notice to the other side, where delay would cause immediate and irreparable harm. A personal protection order issued that way is valid for not less than 182 days.

Also called judgment proof, what they can't take

Property of a judgment debtor and their dependents that a creditor cannot have seized and sold under an execution, as the section lists it, such as household goods up to $1,000 in value.

Also called assault with a dangerous weapon, ADW

An assault with a gun, knife, club or other dangerous weapon: a felony of up to 4 years, a fine of $2,000, or both.

Also called running from the police, evading

A driver willfully failing to obey an officer's signal to stop by speeding up, turning off the vehicle's lights, or otherwise trying to flee or elude.

Also called new address, where to send the deposit

The written notice of a new address a tenant gives the landlord within 4 days after the occupancy ends, at the address the landlord gave.

Also called FOIA, public records request, open records

Michigan's public records law. A written request describing a record well enough to find it gives a right to inspect, copy or receive copies, and the public body has to respond within 5 business days after it receives the request.

Also called quit with good cause, voluntary quit

The reason for leaving that avoids disqualification from unemployment benefits for a voluntary quit. Anyone who left is presumed to have left voluntarily, and the claimant carries the burden of proving otherwise.

Also called super drunk, 0.17 or more

An alcohol content of 0.17 or more, the higher tier of the OWI section. A first conviction carries 1 or more of up to 180 days, a fine of $200 to $700, and up to 360 hours of community service.

Also called hands free law, texting and driving

To physically support a mobile electronic device with any part of the hands, arms or shoulders, which a driver may not do while operating a motor vehicle.

Also called door to door sale, three day cancel

A sale over $25 solicited in person, by phone or in writing, where the buyer receives the solicitation and agrees to buy at home. The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing.

Also called duty to inform, telling the officer about the gun

A concealed pistol licensee's duty, when stopped by a peace officer, to disclose immediately that a pistol is being carried, on the person or in the vehicle.

Also called chemical test, refusing the breathalyzer

The rule that a person who drives on a Michigan highway is considered to have consented to a chemical test on arrest for the offenses the section lists.

Also called bail at the station, bond before seeing a judge

Money posted with the arresting officer, a supervisor, or the sheriff or deputy in charge of the jail, after an arrest for a misdemeanor punishable by not more than 1 year, when no magistrate is available.

Also called move in checklist, condition report

The form used at both ends of a tenancy to record the unit's condition. The landlord gives the tenant 2 blank copies, and the tenant returns 1 within 7 days after receiving possession, unless both agree to a shorter period.

Also called itemized list, damage list, deduction letter

The list a landlord mails to claim part of a deposit: each item of damage with the estimated cost of repairing it, and the difference between the damages claimed and the deposit.

Also called resisting and obstructing, R and O

Under the resisting and obstructing statute, the use or threatened use of physical interference or force, or a knowing failure to comply with a lawful command.

Also called OWI, drunk driving, DUI

Operating a vehicle on a highway or any place open to the public or generally accessible to vehicles, parking areas included, while under the influence, or with an alcohol content of 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine.

Also called OWVI, impaired driving

Operating a vehicle when the ability to operate is visibly impaired by alcohol or another substance.

Also called open container, open bottle in the car

The area designed to seat the driver and passengers while the vehicle is in operation, and any area readily reachable from a seat, the glove compartment included.

Also called PPO, restraining order, protective order

An order of the family division of circuit court forbidding specific acts, available against a spouse or former spouse, a dating partner, someone they have a child with or a household member, or against anyone where the petition alleges stalking.

Also called points on my license, driving record points

The entries the Secretary of State records on a driving record for each conviction or civil infraction determination, by the schedule in the section: 1 for more than 1 and up to 5 mph over, up to 6 for the most serious offenses.

Also called PBT, roadside breath test, portable breathalyzer

The breath test at the roadside, before any arrest. Refusing it on a lawful request is a civil infraction for most drivers.

Also called expectation of privacy

A place where a person may reasonably expect to be safe from casual or hostile intrusion or surveillance.

Also called shoplifting

Taking goods, switching or hiding a price to pay less, or getting a refund for goods never paid for, in a store or its immediate vicinity while it is open.

Also called retaliation, evicted for complaining

An eviction intended primarily as a penalty for trying to enforce rights, or for complaining to a government authority about a health or safety code violation. A judgment for possession may not be entered where the tenant establishes it.

Also called deposit, damage deposit

A deposit a landlord may require for a rental unit, which may not exceed one and a half months' rent.

Also called expungement, expunge, clean slate

Michigan's term for expungement: an order after which the person is considered, for purposes of the law, not to have been previously convicted, with the exceptions the act lists.

Also called small claims court, people's court

The small claims division every district court has, for cases seeking money up to $7,000.

Also called time limit to sue, old debt, time barred

The period within which a lawsuit has to be started. For money due under an ordinary contract it is 6 years from when the claim first accrued, and on a Michigan judgment of a court of record, 10 years.

Also called eviction case, landlord tenant court

The court process by which a Michigan landlord recovers possession of a rental.

Also called inventory of seized property, search warrant receipt

The complete and accurate list of what officers seize under a search warrant, made in the presence of the person whose premises it was, or else of at least 1 other person.

Also called unwanted contact, keeps contacting me

Contact begun or continued without the person's consent or against their expressed wish, such as following, calls, messages, or showing up at home or work.

Also called lockout, self help eviction, changed the locks

An owner interfering with a tenant's possession by force or threat, removing belongings, changing the locks without immediately handing over keys, boarding the premises, removing doors or windows, or cutting off heat, running water, hot water, electric or gas.

Also called eviction order, order of eviction

The court's order, issued after a judgment for possession, that a court officer or bailiff, the sheriff or a deputy, or a local police officer carries out by removing the occupants and their property.