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Committee hears bill to let magistrates deliver landlord-tenant advice-of-rights; supporters cite docket relief, opponents warn of scope
Summary
House Bill 4021 would allow district court magistrates to conduct the initial "advice of rights" hearing in landlord-tenant cases. Proponents said the change would clear dockets and formalize COVID-era practice; opponents raised constitutional and final-order concerns and asked for tighter language and tenant notice requirements.
House Bill 4021, introduced in the Michigan House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 30, would permit district court magistrates to conduct the initial advice-of-rights hearing in landlord-tenant disputes, a procedural step that precedes any final judgment.
Supporters, including Representative Matt Aragona and local district judges who brought the issue to his attention, said the change merely codifies a COVID-era practice that allowed magistrates to handle that initial, largely informational hearing and would reduce district judges’ dockets. “This is an advice of rights — you are explaining the rights of the tenant, you’re explaining the rights of the landlord,” Representative Matt Aragona told the committee. He said judges in…
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