After a great deal of collaboration, study, and public hearing, Michigan’s revamped Rules of Evidence went into effect on January 1. (Here is a clean version.)

The new version is impressively shorter by more than 1,200 words.

The administrative order’s staff comment explains:

The amendments of the Michigan Rules of Evidence (MRE) reflect the work of the MRE Committee established by Administrative Order No. 2021-8. The Committee was tasked with restyling the MREs in an effort to remain as consistent as possible with the 2011 restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Major reorganization of the rules appears in MRE 803 and MRE 804 where the residual exceptions found in both rules are moved into a new MRE 807, and in MRE 804 where the exception regarding deposition testimony is moved up from subrule (b)(5) to proposed subrule (b)(2).

Interested in seeing side-by-side comparisons between the old rules and the new? Download this “Compare Report” pdf, view it using Adobe, and scroll away.