Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan Document Format Requirements

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Format

DOCX

Counsel must email joint jury instructions as a Word document 48 hours before the final pretrial conference, with separate specified indexes and each instruction on its own page in 14-point font, tailored to the case and gender.

48 hours prior to the Final Pretrial Conference, Counsel shall email a Word Document copy of the joint jury instructions to the Judicial Attorney at Victoria.Lencione@3rdcc.org . The instructions shall include separate indexes titled “Preliminary Jury Instructions” and “Final Jury Instructions,” each index listing the JI number and title. Each instruction shall be on its own separate page, in size 14 font, case specific, and gender specific.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

The hearing date must be placed in the upper right-hand corner of every judge's copy of a motion, response, reply, or supplemental pleading.

The HEARING DATE of the Motion must be placed in upper right-hand corner of every Judge's copy of a Motion, Response, Reply, or supplemental pleading e-filed.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL

Each jury instruction must occupy a separate page, use 14-point font, and be case- and gender-specific.

Each instruction must be on separate page, in size 14 font, case specific, and gender specific.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Orders submitted through e-filing for signature must not contain firm lettering or they will be rejected.

ORDERS SUBMITTED VIA E-FILE FOR SIGNATURE SHOULD NOT CONTAIN FIRM LETTERING. ORDERS THAT CONTAIN FIRM LETTERING WILL BE REJECTED.

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Sep 20, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Orders must not be submitted on letterhead; such orders will be rejected.

DO NOT SUBMIT ORDERS ON LETTERHEAD If you submit an order on letterhead, the court will reject it.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

All hard copies must be securely bound; loose pages or binder clips will be rejected.

All hard copies must be securely bound (staple, metal fastener, or binder). Loose pages or copies with binder clips will be rejected and must be resubmitted.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

All judge's copies must be bound.

ALL JUDGE'S COPIES MUST BE BOUND.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Applies to

Brief

Do not underline portions of briefs.

Please refrain from underlining portions of briefs.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Written discovery must be served in both PDF and Word or native format.

Written discovery shall be served in both a PDF and Word (or native) format.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

MCR 2.119(A)(2) is strictly enforced as to form and typography.

MCR 2.119(A)(2) is also strictly enforced as written as to form and typography.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Applies to

Trial brief

Trial briefs must be bound and tabbed.

Parties shall submit trial briefs (bound and tabbed) to the Court and to opposing counsel no later than seven (7) days before trial, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 3, 2026WARNING

Exhibits must be tabbed and labeled with numbers or letters.

All exhibits must be tabbed with numbers or letters.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Required

Always ?

Format

PDF

Documents submitted to the Court must be sent via email to JudgeElassal-Court@3rdcc.org in PDF format.

Summary: Documents submitted to the Court must be in PDF format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

All motions, responses, and replies, along with any corresponding brief and any and all exhibits, must be bound together as one (1) single document. Merely using a binder clip, rubber band, or box is insufficient and will be rejected by the Court. Staples or two prong fasteners are sufficient.

Summary: Motions, responses, replies, briefs, and exhibits must be bound together as one single document; binder clips, rubber bands, or boxes are rejected, while staples or two-prong fasteners suffice.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Any and all exhibits attached to a brief must be tabbed. Failure to comply may result in the entire brief being stricken.

Summary: All exhibits attached to a brief must be tabbed, or the entire brief may be stricken.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

The FPTO must be bound together as one (1) single document.

Summary: The Final Joint Pretrial Order must be bound together as one single document.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Instructions shall include separate indexes for "Preliminary Jury Instructions" and "Final Jury Instructions," and list the JI number and title. Each instruction must be on separate page, in size 14 font, case specific, and gender specific.

Summary: Joint jury instructions must include separate indexes for preliminary and final instructions, list JI number and title, and each instruction must be on a separate page in size 14 font, case specific and gender specific.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Required

Always ?

Format

PDF

Any documents for consideration by the Court must be sent in .pdf format. Each document must be attached in an email as a separate PDF. Additionally, please include the case number in the document name and in the subject line of every email.

Summary: Documents sent to the Court must be in PDF format, attached as separate PDFs, and include the case number in the document name and email subject line.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

All exhibits must be tabbed, in a binder.

Summary: All trial exhibits must be tabbed and placed in a binder.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Proposed orders should be emailed to JudgeGlendening-Court@3rdcc.org in pdf format for the Court's review.

Summary: Proposed orders must be emailed to chambers in PDF format for the Court's review.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Written discovery shall be served in both a PDF and Word (or native) format.

Summary: Written discovery must be served in both PDF and Word (or native) format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Presumptively, all documents produced electronically shall be produced in native format and with the load files preserving all metadata.

Summary: Electronically produced documents must presumptively be produced in native format with load files preserving all metadata.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

All Exhibits should be tabbed individually.

Summary: All exhibits to a summary disposition motion should be tabbed individually.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Format

PDF

Exhibits shall be labeled and sent as individual PDF’s or photos so each exhibit may be considered on its own. DO NOT send multiple exhibits as one document.

Summary: Exhibits must be labeled and sent as individual PDFs or photos; multiple exhibits must not be combined into one document.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Exhibits: All exhibits are to be in electronic form, labeled, and separated per the final pretrial order and emailed to JudgeCholack-Court@3rdcc.org. Any videos or audio that needs to be submitted must be in MP3/MP4. If your exhibit cannot be emailed due to the size, then sending through a free cloud drive (that does not require an account/sign-in) is the easiest way for the Court to obtain a copy.

Summary: Trial exhibits must be electronic, labeled, and separated per the final pretrial order, emailed to chambers, with videos/audio in MP3/MP4 and large exhibits sent via a free cloud drive.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

All exhibits shall be tabbed in a binder.

Summary: All exhibits must be tabbed in a binder.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

Counsel are required to email the same in Word Document Format to lisa.damphousse@3rdcc.org.

Summary: Proposed joint jury instructions and the proposed joint verdict form must be submitted in Word Document Format.

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.WARNING?

Required

Always ?

Format

PDF

Any documents for consideration by the Court must be sent in .pdf format. Each document must be attached in an email as a separate PDF. Additionally, please include the case number in the document name and in the subject line of every email.

Summary: Documents for the Court must be in PDF format, attached as separate PDFs, with the case number in the document name and email subject line.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

DOCX ?

Please provide a Judge's copy in word format for review.

Summary: A judge's copy for an emergency preliminary-injunction request must be provided in Word format for review.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Exhibits must be tabbed to be accepted by the court.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

A tabbed binder of all Exhibits to be presented to the Jury must be provided to the Court on the morning of Trial.

Summary: Provide the court with a tabbed binder containing all exhibits to be presented to the jury on the morning of trial.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Civil cases

A tabbed binder of all Exhibits to be presented to the Jury must be provided to the Court on the morning of Trial.

Summary: A tabbed binder of all trial exhibits must be provided to the Court on the morning of trial.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Civil cases

All motions MUST be set forth in separately numbered paragraphs, limited as far as practicable to a single assertion. See MCR 2.113(B).

Summary: Motions must be set forth in separately numbered paragraphs, each limited to a single assertion.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Civil cases

11.  MCR 2.119(A)(2) is also strictly enforced as written as to form and typography.1

Summary: The form and typography requirements of MCR 2.119(A)(2) are strictly enforced.