Michigan Supreme Court Allows Cell Phones in Courthouses Statewide

The prohibition on cell phones in courts presents a huge barrier to non-attorneys' access to justice.

Particularly with respect to low-income and unrepresented clients, access to a cellphone in court can assist litigants with: (1) getting to and from court and subsequent appointments, (2) gathering and presenting evidence, (3)) managing life’s logistics, especially when court runs longer than expected, and (4) connecting to legal and non-legal resources, e.g. legal self-help websites and language translation apps.

So we submitted a petition signed by more than 160 non-attorney litigants in support of a court rule amendment to allow cell phones. In January 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court adopted the amendment.