Questions to Ask a Defense Lawyer About a Michigan CSC Case

This page lists questions for a first meeting about a criminal sexual conduct (CSC) case that are tied to rules: who makes which decisions, which deadlines the statutes and court rules set, and which consequences the statutes attach to a conviction. Michigan's Rules of Professional Conduct require a lawyer to explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions, so these are questions any lawyer can be asked.^[2]

This checklist is written for a meeting with any Michigan lawyer, appointed or retained. It makes no claim about any lawyer or firm, and it does not suggest what the answers should be. Each group of questions is followed by the rule that makes the question worth asking.

Questions about the relationship

• Who will handle the case day to day, and who will appear in court?
• How and how often will I hear about developments, and how do I reach you with a question?
• Which decisions are mine, and which are yours?
• Will every offer from the prosecutor be passed on to me, whatever you think of it?

The rules behind these: a lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter, comply promptly with reasonable requests for information, and notify the client promptly of all proposed plea bargains.^[2] In a criminal case the lawyer shall abide by the client's decision, after consultation with the lawyer, with respect to the plea, whether to waive jury trial, and whether the client will testify.^[1] A lawyer shall not knowingly reveal a confidence or secret of a client, except as the rule permits.^[7]

For appointed counsel, the indigent defense statute states, as a principle the state commission's standards must follow, that the same defense counsel continuously represents the client and personally appears at every court appearance, although local systems may exempt ministerial, nonsubstantive tasks and hearings.^[8]

Questions about cost

• What is the basis of the fee, and will it be put in writing?
• What is and is not covered: investigation, experts, a trial, an appeal?
• If a family member pays, how does that affect confidentiality and who gives instructions?
• If you are appointed: can the court order me to contribute now or repay later?

The basis or rate of the fee shall be communicated to a new client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after the representation begins.^[9] A lawyer may accept payment from someone other than the client only if the client consents after consultation, there is no interference with the lawyer's independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship, and information relating to the representation is protected.^[9]

For appointed counsel, a defendant who is able to pay part of the cost of a lawyer may be required by the court to contribute.^[10] If a defendant pleads guilty or no contest or is found guilty, the costs a court may impose include the expenses of providing legal assistance to the defendant.^[11] Under the commission's indigency standard, an appointing authority cannot require an indigent defendant to contribute to the cost of the defense.^[12] Under the state commission's standards, appointed counsel is to request funds for an investigator when appropriate and the assistance of experts where reasonably necessary.^[13] This page gives no fee figures; fees vary and no source reviewed for this guide sets them.

Questions about the charge

• Exactly which statute and subsection am I charged under, and what does the prosecutor have to prove?
• Does the charge depend on age, on force or coercion, on a relationship or position, or on the complainant's condition?
• Is consent a legally available issue on this charge?
• Could other charges be added, and is any charge barred by time?

The degrees of CSC differ in their elements and penalties; see the overview of criminal sexual conduct law. Whether consent can be raised depends on the theory charged: a person under 16 is legally incapable of consenting to a sexual act, so consent cannot be raised in a CSC charge based on the complainant being under 16, and Michigan does not recognize a reasonable-mistake-of-age defense.^[14][15] Those rules are explained in The consent defense and Mistake of age is not a defense. A charge of first-degree CSC may be brought at any time.^[16]

Questions about evidence and deadlines

• What has the prosecutor disclosed so far, and what have you asked for?
• Which notice and motion deadlines apply to my case, and when do they run?
• Does the prosecution intend to offer other-acts evidence?
• Is there a recorded interview, a forensic interview or a medical examination, and have you seen it?

Several deadlines are short and are set by statute or rule.

Subject	Rule
Discovery	On request in a case under the felony rules the prosecutor must provide, among other things, exculpatory information, police reports and interrogation records.[17]
Rape-shield evidence	A defendant who wants to offer evidence under either statutory exception must file a written motion and offer of proof within 10 days after the arraignment on the information.[18]
Alibi	Written notice must be filed and served at the arraignment on the information or within 15 days after it, but not less than 10 days before trial, or as the court directs.[19]
Other acts against minors	The prosecutor must disclose evidence offered under MCL 768.27a at least 15 days before the scheduled trial date, or later if the court allows for good cause.[20]
Polygraph	A defendant who allegedly has committed first- through fourth-degree CSC or assault with intent to commit CSC must be given a polygraph examination if the defendant requests it; testimony about the examination is not admissible in a criminal prosecution.[21][22]

The neighboring guides go deeper: the rape-shield law, other-acts evidence, forensic interviews of children and defenses to sex crime charges.

Questions about the sentence

• Does any mandatory minimum apply to a count I am charged with?
• What guidelines range do you estimate, and which offense variables are in dispute?
• Is probation legally possible on each count?
• Could sentences on different counts run consecutively?
• Would lifetime electronic monitoring apply?

Where a statute mandates a minimum sentence, the court must impose it.^[3] First-degree CSC committed by a person 17 or older against a child under 13 carries a minimum of not less than 25 years, and a second or subsequent conviction for first-, second- or third-degree CSC carries a mandatory minimum of at least 5 years.^[23][24] Outside those minimums, the sentencing guidelines recommend a range for the minimum sentence, and the range is advisory.^[25]

The probation statute excludes first- and third-degree CSC from the offenses for which a court may place a defendant on probation.^[26] A prisoner sentenced for first- through fourth-degree CSC or assault with intent to commit CSC, for a crime committed on or after December 15, 1998, comes under the parole board's jurisdiction only after serving a period equal to the minimum sentence imposed by the court.^[27] A court may order a first-degree CSC prison term to run consecutively to a term for any other offense arising from the same transaction.^[28] Under People v Comer, lifetime electronic monitoring must be imposed for all defendants convicted of first-degree CSC except those sentenced to life without the possibility of parole; the second-degree statute requires it where the sexual contact was committed by a person 17 or older against a child under 13.^[4][29] See mandatory minimum sentences, sentencing guidelines and lifetime electronic monitoring.

Questions about registration and other lasting consequences

• Is each charged offense, and each offense that might be offered in a plea, a listed offense? In which tier?
• Would registration be public?
• Is there any route to a later petition, and could the conviction ever be set aside?
• What happens to my immigration status, my professional license, my job, my firearms and my parenting time?

As the registration act is written, a Tier I offender must comply for 15 years, a Tier II offender for 25 years and a Tier III offender for life.^[5] By order of September 9, 2026 the Michigan Supreme Court held that the current act may not be applied retroactively to registrants whose criminal acts occurred before the 2011 amendments, so the date of the alleged offense belongs on the list of questions.^[6] The tier can turn on facts such as the complainant's age: a fourth-degree CSC conviction is Tier I if the victim was 18 or older, Tier II if the victim was 13 to 17, and Tier III if the actor was 17 or older and the victim was under 13.^[30] Convictions for second- and third-degree CSC and for any felony punishable by life cannot be set aside.^[31]

Other consequences are set by separate laws. A person convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm in Michigan until the conditions and periods the statute sets have been met.^[32] A health professional convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 years, is subject to summary suspension of the license, which the statute directs the department to order.^[33] A school that verifies through public records that an individual has been convicted of a listed offense shall not employ the individual in any capacity.^[34] The U.S. Supreme Court held in Padilla v Kentucky that counsel must inform a client whether a plea carries a risk of deportation.^[35]

The detailed guides are SORA tiers, public vs. non-public registry, immigration consequences and professional licenses.

Questions about parallel proceedings

• Is there a Title IX, workplace, licensing or Children's Protective Services matter running alongside the criminal case?
• Should the same lawyer be involved in those, and how does a statement given there relate to the criminal case?
• Is there a personal protection order or a bond condition I need to understand?

A party's own statement, offered against that party, is not hearsay under the Rules of Evidence.^[36] The hearing paragraph of the Title IX regulation contains no sentence about a party's refusal to answer or about what may be inferred from it, and the sources reviewed for this guide do not say how statements made in a school or employer process are used in a criminal case, which is why this belongs on the list of questions.^[37] See Title IX and criminal charges at the same time.

What a lawyer cannot answer

Nothing in the sources reviewed for this guide supports a promise about the result of a case. The model jury instruction given in every criminal trial tells jurors that the accused is presumed innocent, that the presumption continues throughout the trial, and that the prosecutor must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt.^[38] An answer to a question such as "what are my chances" is an assessment, not a guarantee. The factors that go into a plea decision are set out in Plea or trial in a CSC case: the factors.