Mich. Admin. Ord. Administrative Order No. 1991-1
Until further order of the court, all Michigan probate courts are authorized to utilize facsimile communication equipment to transmit petitions, physician's certificates and other supporting documents from the state regional psychiatric hospitals for filing in the courts.
Participation by Michigan probate courts shall be subject to the discretion of the Chief Judge of the probate court and with the approval of the State Court Administrator.
In all cases, the probate court will consider the documents filed when they are received by the facsimile equipment, and the probate court will initiate all notices so that the hearings are held within the time frames required by the Mental Health Code and Court Rules.
The facsimile documents shall be file-stamped when received and treated like originals, until the original documents are received by mail. If the originals are not received within five days, the facsimile documents shall be copied on ordinary paper.
When the original documents are received by mail, the probate court shall file-stamp the originals with the date they are received and place them in the court file. A statement shall also be placed in the file itemizing the documents received by facsimile and indicating the date received. After comparing the facsimile documents with the original documents, the facsimile documents and any copies thereof shall be discarded.
The State Court Administrative Office shall assist in the implementation of the use of facsimile equipment in mental health proceedings for those courts electing to participate.
The State Court Administrative Office shall review the pilot project after the participating courts submit a report within 15 days after January 1, 1992.
Mich. Admin. Ord. Administrative Order No. 1991-1