IN RE PALLAS BELLA MULLINS MINOR
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
UNPUBLISHED
December 2, 2010
In the Matter of PBM, Minor.
No. 291874
Berrien Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 08-000103-NA
ON REMAND
Before: TALBOT, P.J., and WHITBECK and OWENS, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
This matter is on remand from our Supreme Court to address the tardy request by S.
Mullins for a jury trial.1 We affirm.
Mullins did not file her jury request until two days before trial was scheduled to initiate.
The trial court denied the request because it was untimely and stated concerns that the request
would “significantly delay the proceedings.” Because the start of the trial was postponed, albeit
for other reasons, Mullins contends that her late jury request could have been accommodated by
the trial court without incurring any significant further delay.
This Court reviews a trial court’s denial of an untimely request for a jury trial for an
abuse of discretion.2 An abuse of discretion is found to occur when a trial court’s decision falls
outside of the range of reasonable and principled outcomes.3
While Mullins had a right to a jury trial,4 that right was not without limitations. In
accordance with the Michigan Rules of Court:
1
In re PM, ___ Mich ___; 789 NW2d 172 (2010).
2
In the Matter of Hubel, 148 Mich App 696, 699-700; 384 NW2d 849 (1986).
3
Maldonado v Ford Motor Co, 476 Mich 372, 388; 719 NW2d 809 (2006).
4
MCL 712A.17(2).
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(B) A party who is entitled to a trial by jury may demand a jury by filing a
written demand with the court within:
(1) 14 days after the court gives notice of the right to jury trial, or
(2) 14 days after an appearance by an attorney or lawyer-guardian ad
litem, whichever is later, but no later than 21 days before trial.
The court may excuse a late filing in the interest of justice.[5]
There appears to be no factual dispute that Mullins received notice of the impending January 28,
2009, trial date on November 20, 2008, through personal service of the summons. The summons
indicated that she must request a jury within 14 days of its receipt, which she failed to do. Given
the substantial amount of time available to Mullins between receipt of the notice and the trial
date, and the failure to provide any excuse for the delay in submission of the jury request until
two days before trial was scheduled to begin, we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in
denying her request.
Affirmed.
/s/ Michael J. Talbot
/s/ William C. Whitbeck
/s/ Donald S. Owens
5
MCR 3.911; see also MCR 3.965(B)(7).
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