December 18, 2001


01-22


Amendment of
Rule 2.516 of the
Michigan Court Rules
______________________


          On order of the Court, the following amendment of Rule
2.516 of the Michigan Court Rules is adopted, to be effective May
1, 2002.

      [The present language is amended as indicated below.]

ICLE Editor's Note:


[Italicized, bracketed text] indicates text that has been
deleted.

Bold text  indicates new text.



Rule 2.516     Instructions to Jury

(A) - (C) [Unchanged.]

(D)  Model Civil [Standard] Jury Instructions.

     (1)  The Committee on Model Civil [Standard]
Jury Instructions [Committee] appointed by the
Supreme Court has the authority to adopt model civil
[standard] jury instructions (M Civ JI) and to
amend or repeal those [standard jury] instructions
approved by the predecessor committee [in effect]. 
Before adopting, amending, or repealing an instruction, the
committee shall publish notice of the committee's intent,
together with the text of the instruction to be adopted, or the
amendment to be made, or a reference to the instruction to be
repealed, in the manner provided in MCR 1.201 [the
Michigan Bar Journal].  The notice shall specify the time and
manner for commenting on the proposal.  The committee shall
thereafter publish [in the Michigan Bar Journal] notice of
its final action on the proposed change, including, if
appropriate, the effective date of the adoption, amendment, or
repeal.  A model [standard] civil jury instruction
does not have the force and effect of a court rule.

     (2)  Pertinent portions of the instructions approved by
the [Michigan Standard] Committee on Model
Civil Jury Instructions [ (SJI)] or its predecessor
committee must be given in each action in which jury
instructions are given if

          (a)  they are applicable,

          (b)  they accurately state the applicable law, and

          (c)  they are requested by a party.

     (3)  Whenever the [SJI] committee recommends that no
instruction be given on a particular matter, the court shall not
give an instruction [on the matter] unless it specifically
finds for reasons stated on the record that

          (a)  the instruction is necessary to state the
applicable law accurately, and

          (b)  the matter is not adequately covered by other
pertinent model civil [standard] jury instructions.

     (4)  This subrule does not limit the power of the court to
give additional instructions on applicable law not covered by the
model instructions [SJI].  Additional instructions
when given must be [modeled] patterned as nearly as
practicable after the style of the model instructions
[SJI], and must be concise, understandable,
conversational, unslanted, and nonargumentative.


          Staff Comment:  The December 18, 2001 amendment
of subrule (D), effective May 1, 2002, is consistent with the
Supreme Court's adoption of Administrative Order 2001-6, which
established the membership and terms for the new Committee on
Model Civil Jury Instructions. 


The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench
and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.