Progress.

As the Michigan Supreme Court considered its administrative file (in 2023) to amend a court rule that would allow parties and attorneys to include any preferred personal pronoun in the caption section of court filings and would require courts to use those pronouns (unless doing so would result in an unclear record), I submitted a written comment encouraging that the same respect be afforded to other court users like witnesses, jurors, and others.

The Court adopted its MCR 1.109(D)(1) rule change, effective January 1, 2024, after robust public comment.

Parties and attorneys may also include Ms., Mr., or Mx. as a preferred form of address and one of the following personal pronouns in the name section of the caption: he/him/his, she/her/hers, or they/them/theirs. Courts must use the individual’s name, the designated salutation or personal pronouns, or other respectful means that are not inconsistent with the individual’s designated salutation or personal pronouns when addressing, referring to, or identifying the party or attorney, either orally or in writing.

And now—as of July 2024—introductory court directions were added to Michigan’s Model Civil Jury Instructions:

These instructions utilize masculine and feminine pronouns. In the use of these instructions, trial judges are directed to follow the requirements of MCR 1.109 concerning the use of personal pronouns when referencing the parties to litigation or others who have expressed a preferred form of address or personal pronoun. Trial judges are further directed to adhere to the dictates of MCR 1.109 when addressing jurors collectively (e.g., “members of the jury,” rather than “ladies and gentlemen”) and individually.

Hopefully the Criminal Jury Instructions Committee will follow with a similar update to their instructions.