Ordinances are local laws, commonly organized into codes, that have been enacted by municipalities — cities, towns, etc. — and counties. Charters are organic laws (similar in function to a constitution) of those local government entities for which “home rule” is authorized by state law. For local laws not found through the links given here, try the county web sites and municipality web sites at “State and Local Government on the Net” by Piper Resources, or a publisher’s web site:
Charters
Note that a charter could be included in a collection of ordinances (see below) instead of being separately accessible.
County Ordinances
Click on the button keyed to the name of the county. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.
Municipal Ordinances
Click on the button keyed to the name of the municipality. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.
Michigan State Law Review (Mich. St. L. Rev.) Formerly titled Michigan State DCL Law Review (until 2004) and The Law Review of Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law (1999–2003) and Detroit College of Law Review (1975–1999).
Michigan Friend of the Court Handbook [Midland County Friend of the Court] — This handbook describes the procedures available to all Friend of the Court offices to enforce the court’s orders and the process available to Michigan citizens for providing input into the operations of the Friend of the Court, which oversees the welfare of children whose support, custody, and parenting time are the subject of court orders because their parents are not married to each other.
See also links to state court web sites, maintained by the National Center for State Courts. Additionally, the Ballotpedia.org web site presents information about courts and judges in the state, covering both state courts and federal courts, in a Wikipedia-style format.
Business Entity Forms [Paracorp, Inc. (Cal.)] — Convenient interface to view and print in-blank official state forms (in PDF files) for filing by business entities. A JavaScript-enabled browser is required. Top
Bankruptcy Law and Procedures for Michigan Residents [Calicchia & Kinast LLP (Ohio)] — This web site, presented by a Cleveland bankruptcy law firm, covers basic information about the bankruptcy process, describes debt consolidation and credit counseling as alternatives to bankruptcy, lists the property that an individual is allowed to keep (with citations to governing provisions of Michigan law), and gives information about the bankruptcy courts and how to contact bankruptcy attorneys in Michigan.
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan LSEM specializes in the following areas of poverty law: family law, including domestic violence; housing; public benefits, including health; senior law, including elder abuse; education, and employment law, including Workfare, economic development, tax, consumer/bankruptcy, and fair housing. LSEM serves Arenac, Bay, Clare, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Lapeer, Midland, and Saginaw Counties.
Michigan Courts Self-Help Center “This site is designed to help you find legal assistance, learn about Michigan law, and represent yourself in some legal matters. This site does not provide legal advice.”
MichiganLegalAid.org “MichiganLegalAid.org provides help with legal problems to low income residents of Michigan. On this site you will find information about the law and about places to go for help with legal and related problems.”
WomensLaw.org — Sources of Legal Help [WomensLaw.org (N.Y.)] — Sources of legal help (not limited to legal help for women) include statewide domestic-violence resources, local domestic-violence resources listed by city or town, free or low-cost legal services, and lawyer referral services.
“The essence of legal research in two words . . . see ALSO!”