Mich. Admin. Ord. Administrative Order No. 1990-8
Until further order of the court, the probate courts in the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital catchment area are authorized to utilize facsimile communication equipment to transmit petitions, physician's certificates and other supporting documents from the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital for filing in the courts.
Participation by the probate courts listed below shall be subject to the discretion of the Chief Judge of the probate court and with the approval of the State Court Administrator.
The probate courts in the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital catchment area are located in the following counties: Allegan, Barry, Benzie, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Gratiot, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, St. Joseph, and Van Buren.
In all cases, the court will consider the documents filed when they are received by the facsimile equipment, and the court will initiate all notices so that the hearings are held within the time frames required by the Mental Health Code and Rules.
The facsimile documents shall be file-stamped when received and treated like an original, until the original documents are received by mail. If the original is not received within five days, the facsimile documents shall be copied on ordinary paper.
When the original documents are received by mail, the court shall file-stamp the originals with the date they were received and place them in the court file. A statement shall also be placed in the file, itemizing the documents received by facsimile and indicating the date received. After comparing the facsimile documents with the original documents, the facsimile documents and any copies thereof shall be discarded.
The State Court Administrative Office shall assist in the implementation of the use of facsimile equipment in mental health proceedings for those courts electing to participate.
The State Court Administrative Office shall review the pilot projects after the participating courts submit a report within 15 days after November 1, 1991.
Mich. Admin. Ord. Administrative Order No. 1990-8