Rights of Sexual Assault Survivors in Michigan

Michigan law gives a person who has been sexually assaulted a set of specific rights, and most of them do not depend on reporting to the police. A health care provider may not bill the victim for a medical forensic examination, and a victim cannot be required to cooperate with law enforcement in order to have one.^[1][2] Other rights attach once there is an investigation or a court case: rights to information, to privacy, to be consulted and to be heard.^[5][7][8][9]

If you are in danger or need medical care, call 911.^[10][11] The National Sexual Assault Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 800.656.HOPE (4673), or text HOPE to 64673.^[12] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 1-855-864-2374 at any hour.^[13][14] Local programs are in Where to get help.

This page lists each right with the statute it comes from, in the order a person is likely to meet them. Where a right has a condition or a limit, the limit is stated next to it.

Rights at the hospital or nurse examiner program

• To be offered an examination. If a person tells a hospital's attending or admitting staff that within the preceding 120 hours they were the victim of criminal sexual conduct, the staff must immediately tell the person that a sexual assault medical forensic examination, including an evidence kit, is available, and must perform it if the person consents.^[15]
• To be told how it is paid for. The same staff must inform the person of the payment provisions in MCL 18.355a.^[15]
• Not to be billed. A health care provider shall not submit a bill for any portion of the costs of the examination to the victim, including any insurance deductible or co-pay, denial of claim by an insurer, or any other out-of-pocket expense.^[1] If reimbursement cannot be obtained from insurance or insurance is unavailable, the provider may seek payment from the crime victim services commission, from another entity other than the victim, or both.^[16]
• To keep insurance out of it. The provider must advise the victim, orally and in writing, that a claim will not be submitted to the victim's insurance carrier without express written consent, and that consent may be declined if the victim believes a claim would substantially interfere with personal privacy or safety.^[17]
• To have the examination without the criminal justice system. A victim shall not be required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement as a condition of the examination.^[2]

One limit belongs here. A hospital, physician or surgeon treating a wound or injury inflicted by a deadly weapon "or by other means of violence" has a duty to report that fact to police, and the State notes that the exam-payment program does not change that duty. The victim still chooses whether to talk to the police.^[18] The exam itself is described in The sexual assault forensic exam, and payment in Crime victim compensation and exam costs.

A minor who has consumed alcohol and voluntarily goes to a health facility for examination and treatment of a condition arising from criminal sexual conduct committed against a minor is not considered in violation of the minor-in-possession law.^[19]

Rights over the evidence kit

Right or duty	What the statute says
The patient decides on release	A facility that has obtained written consent to release the kit must notify police within 24 hours.[3] The State notes there may be specific circumstances, such as child sexual abuse, in which police take and test a kit without the victim's release.[20]
An unreleased kit is kept	The facility must explain how long it stores kits and how to release one later, and must store an unreleased kit for a minimum of 1 year before destroying it.[4]
Police collect a released kit	Within 14 days after receiving notice of the release.[21]
Police send it to a laboratory	Within 14 days after taking possession.[22]
The laboratory analyzes it	Within 90 days after all the necessary evidence is received, "provided that sufficient staffing and resources are available to do so."[23]
Notice before destruction	If police intend to destroy or dispose of kit evidence before the limitations period expires, and doing so does not conflict with the post-conviction DNA testing statute, the investigating agency must notify the victim in writing at least 60 days beforehand.[24][25]
Tracking	A survivor can follow a kit in the State's Track-Kit portal with the kit's barcode number; the State says the system is free and stores no personally identifiable information.[26]

Two of these are weaker than they are often described. One year is the statutory minimum for an unreleased kit, not a promise that it will be kept longer.^[4] And the 90-day laboratory period is conditional on staffing and resources.^[23] The kit act also says what a missed deadline does not do: it does not end the agencies' authority to collect, submit and analyze the kit, it is not a ground for challenging a database match or excluding the DNA record, and it is not a ground for setting aside a conviction or sentence.^[27][28] See Kit testing deadlines.

Rights to information from the police

Two statutes each require written information within 24 hours after a victim's first contact with the investigating agency. Under the Sexual Assault Victim's Access to Justice Act, a sexual assault victim must be given a written copy of, or access to, contact information for a local community-based sexual assault services program, if available; notice that an evidence kit can be administered without a bill and without taking part in the criminal justice system; notice of the right to request case and DNA information; and notice of the right to request a personal protection order.^[29] Under the Crime Victim's Rights Act, every crime victim must be given written information on emergency and medical services, victim compensation, the prosecuting attorney's address and telephone number, and how to ask to be notified of an arrest or release.^[30]

After that, on request, the investigating agency must tell a sexual assault victim, if the information is available and disclosure would not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation:^[5][6]

• the contact information for the investigating officer, the current status of the case, whether it has been submitted to the prosecuting attorney for review, and, if the case was closed, the documented reason;^[5]
• when the kit was submitted to the laboratory, whether a suspect's DNA profile was obtained, whether it was entered into a data bank, and whether there was a match.^[6]

These rights are request-driven. The act does not require police to communicate this information to a victim who has not specifically asked, the agency may require the request in writing, and the victim may designate another person to receive the information.^[31] The act also states that it creates no cause of action for money damages against the state, a county, a municipality or their agencies or employees.^[32]

Police and prosecutors may not ask or order a victim of criminal sexual conduct to take a polygraph, and may not raise the option unless the victim asks about it or the statute's exception applies.^[33]

Rights once a case is in court

The Michigan Constitution lists rights of crime victims "as provided by law," among them the right to be treated with fairness and respect for dignity and privacy, to be reasonably protected from the accused, to notification of court proceedings, to attend the trial, to confer with the prosecution, to make a statement at sentencing and to restitution.^[34] The Crime Victim's Rights Act fills in the detail:

Right	Detail and limit
Notice of release	Not later than 24 hours after arraignment, police must tell the victim that pretrial release is available to the defendant and give the sheriff's telephone number; if the victim has asked, police must promptly notify the victim of the arrest or pretrial release.[35]
A plain-English rights notice	The prosecuting attorney must give it not later than 7 days after arraignment and not less than 24 hours before a preliminary examination; on request the prosecutor must also give notice of scheduled court proceedings.[36][37]
To be consulted	Before finalizing any negotiation that may result in a dismissal, plea or sentence bargain, or pretrial diversion, the prosecutor must offer the victim the opportunity to consult and give views.[8]
A separate waiting area	The court must provide one if it is available and practical, or else other safeguards to minimize contact with the defendant, the defendant's relatives and defense witnesses.[38]
A speedy-trial motion	The prosecutor may move for one where the victim is, among the categories listed, a victim of first-, second- or third-degree criminal sexual conduct, of child abuse including sexual abuse, or of an assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct involving penetration or second-degree conduct; fourth-degree is not named.[39]
To be present at trial	Throughout, unless the victim will be a witness, in which case the court may for good cause order the victim sequestered until first testifying.[40]
To speak at sentencing	The victim may make an oral impact statement, designate another adult to make it if physically or emotionally unable, or give it remotely.[9]

The right to be consulted is a right to be heard. The statute requires the prosecutor to offer the consultation; it does not give the victim a veto, and Michigan courts have said a crime victim may not determine whether a prosecution goes forward or is dismissed.^[8][41] What testifying involves is in What to expect as a witness in a CSC case. This page draws on the felony article of the Crime Victim's Rights Act; cases against juveniles are handled under a separate article that is not summarized here.

Testing the defendant for infection

If a defendant is bound over to circuit court on a listed criminal sexual conduct charge and the district court determines there is reason to believe the violation involved sexual penetration or exposure to the defendant's body fluid, the court must order the defendant examined or tested for sexually transmitted infection, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.^[42] On the victim's request, the court must order the testing done not later than 48 hours after the information or indictment is presented and the defendant is in custody or has been served.^[42] If the victim consents to their contact details being given to the tester, the results must be provided to the victim immediately, with a referral for counseling; a parent or guardian may consent for a minor.^[43]

Privacy rights

• Address and telephone numbers. The victim's home and work addresses and telephone numbers must not be in the court file or ordinary court documents, unless contained in a trial transcript or, for an address, used to identify the place of the crime. They are also exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as is a photograph or other image of the victim.^[7][44]
• Testifying about an address. Where the victim reasonably fears violence or intimidation by the defendant, the prosecutor may move that the victim not be compelled to testify to an address or place of employment; the hearing on that motion is held in private.^[44]
• Victims under 18. For a victim of criminal sexual conduct who was under 18 when the crime was committed, the victim's name and address and any other information that would tend to reveal identity are exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure.^[45]
• Names before the circuit-court stage. On request of the victim, the accused or counsel, the magistrate must order the names of the victim and the accused and the details of the alleged offense suppressed until the accused is arraigned on the information, the charge is dismissed, or the case otherwise ends, whichever comes first.^[46]
• Counselor communications. A confidential communication between a victim and a sexual assault counselor, meaning a person employed by or volunteering at a crisis center, is not admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding without the victim's prior written consent, except as the child protection law provides.^[47][48] That statute defines "sexual assault" as "assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct."^[49]
• Exam-payment records. Information the commission collects for exam payment that identifies a victim is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, cannot be obtained by subpoena or in discovery, and is inadmissible, except with the victim's consent or as that subsection otherwise provides.^[50]

The Freedom of Information Act exemptions apply to records held by public bodies. How privacy works inside the courtroom, including closed hearings and limits on questioning, is covered in Privacy and rights of victims in sex crime cases, Michigan's rape-shield law and Counseling and medical records in CSC cases.

Safety, work, housing and money

• A protection order. A person who has been subjected to, threatened with, or placed in reasonable apprehension of sexual assault can petition for a personal protection order whether or not the other person has been charged or convicted, and the court must grant one if the respondent has been convicted of sexually assaulting the petitioner.^[51] See Sexual assault PPOs.
• Custody notification. MI-VINE gives automated telephone notice to registered victims when a prisoner is released; the toll-free line is (800) 770-7657.^[52]
• A confidential address. The Address Confidentiality Program gives victims of sexual assault a designated substitute address and free forwarding of first-class, certified and registered mail. Private companies are not required by law to use the substitute address.^[53]
• Protection from retaliation for testifying. An employer who threatens, disciplines or discharges a victim because the victim is subpoenaed or requested by the prosecutor to attend court to testify is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both.^[54]
• Earned sick time. An employee who is, or whose family member is, a victim of sexual assault may use earned sick time for medical care or counseling, to obtain services from a victim services organization, to relocate, to obtain legal services, or to take part in related civil or criminal proceedings.^[55] An employer need not allow more than 72 hours of use in a year, or 40 hours at a small business of 10 or fewer workers.^[56]
• Release from a lease. A tenant with a reasonable apprehension of present danger from sexual assault is released from the obligation to pay rent after written notice by certified mail with documentation; the release takes effect no later than the first day of the second month that rent is due after notice, not before the tenant moves out, and does not reach prepaid amounts.^[57][58] A protection order, certain police reports, or a report verified by a qualified third party such as a sexual assault counselor satisfies the documentation requirement.^[59]
• Compensation. A claim to the state's crime victim compensation program must be filed not later than 5 years after the crime, and the aggregate award cannot exceed $45,000 per claimant.^[60][61] For exam payments and compensation, having a medical forensic examination satisfies the law's prompt-reporting and cooperation requirements.^[2]

What people get wrong

• "The exam is free only if you report." The statute bars billing the victim and bars making cooperation a condition.^[1][2]
• "The hospital can never tell the police." Providers keep their duty to report injuries inflicted by violence, and doctors and nurses are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse.^[18][62]
• "Police have to keep me posted." The information rights depend on a request.^[31]
• "Anything I tell a counselor is privileged." The statute covers counselors at sexual assault or domestic violence crisis centers and yields to the child protection law.^[48]
• "The victim decides whether there is a plea." The victim is consulted; the decision is the prosecutor's.^[8][41]

The choices about whether and where to report are in Your options for reporting.