Rule 410 - Pleas, Plea Discussions, and Related Statements(a) Prohibited Uses. In a civil or criminal case, evidence of the following is not admissible against the defendant who made the plea or participated in the plea discussions: (1) a guilty plea that was later withdrawn or vacated;(2) a nolo contendere plea - except that, to the extent that evidence of a guilty plea would be admissible, evidence of a nolo contendere plea to a criminal charge may be admitted in a civil proceeding to defend against a claim asserted by the person who entered the plea;(3) a statement made during a proceeding on either of those pleas under MCR 6.302 or MCR 6.310, a comparable state procedure, or Fed R Crim P 11; or(4) a statement made during plea discussions with an attorney for the prosecuting authority if the discussions did not result in a guilty plea or they resulted in a later-withdrawn or vacated guilty plea.(b) Exceptions. The court may admit a statement described in subrule (a)(3) or (4): (1) in any proceeding in which another statement made during the same plea or plea discussions has been introduced, if in fairness the statements ought to be considered together; or(2) in a criminal proceeding for perjury or false statement, if the defendant made the statement under oath, on the record, and with counsel present.Amended March 22, 2023, effective 5/1/2023; amended September 20, 2023, effective 1/1/2024.Staff Comment (ADM File No. 2020-29): The amendment in this file adds vacated pleas to the list of guilty pleas that may not be used against defendant. In addition, the amendment adds a reference to MCR 6.310 in subsection (3), which makes inadmissible statements made during a proceeding on defendant's motion to withdraw his or her plea and statements made during the prosecution's motion to vacate a plea for failure to comply with the terms of a plea agreement.
The staff comment is not an authoritative construction by the Court. In addition, adoption of an amendment in no way reflects a substantive determination by this Court.