Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 750 / Act 328 of 1931
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.318 (2026)

Degree of murder; determination; testimony, open court, transcript.

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE


Act 328 of 1931


750.318 Degree of murder; determination; testimony, open court, transcript.

Sec. 318.

    The jury before whom any person indicted for murder shall be tried shall, if they find such person guilty thereof, ascertain in their verdict, whether it be murder of the first or second degree; but, if such person shall be convicted by confession, the court shall proceed by examination of witnesses to determine the degree of the crime, and shall render judgment accordingly. All testimony taken at such examination shall be taken in open court and a typewritten transcript or copy thereof, certified by the court reporter taking the same, shall be placed in the file of the case in the office of the county clerk.

History: 1931, Act 328, Eff. Sept. 18, 1931 ;-- Am. 1947, Act 295, Eff. Oct. 11, 1947 ;-- CL 1948, 750.318

FormerLaw Notes:

    See section 3 of Ch. 153 of R.S. 1846, being CL 1857, § 5713; CL 1871, § 7512; How., § 9077; CL 1897, § 11472; CL 1915, § 15194; and CL 1929, § 16710.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 52 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1954–2026 · leading case: People v. Watkins, 634 N.W.2d 370 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Watkins, 634 N.W.2d 370 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 8× “SlbCOQb), 1 following a plea of guilty of open murder and a degree hearing pursuant to MCL 750.318. Defendant received a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder conviction and two years’ imprisonment for the conviction of possession of a firearm during the commission of a…”
Joshua Tackett v. Tony Trierweiler, 956 F.3d 358 (6th Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “Michigan’s “open murder” statute, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.318 , “establishes a procedure for determining the degree of murder when the information does not charge the defendant with a specific degree of murder.”
People v. Watkins, 661 N.W.2d 553 (Mich. 2003). · cites it 5× “At the subsequent degree hearing held pursuant to MCL 750.318, the court heard from other witnesses and, without objection, questioned the defendant to determine the appropriate degree of the murder.”
People v. Johnson, 398 N.W.2d 219 (Mich. 1986). · cites it 2× “MCL 750.318; MSA 28.550 supports this conclusion.”
People v. Kevorkian, 527 N.W.2d 714 (Mich. 1994). · cites it 2× “[3] The Court of Appeals did not discuss the question of standing, and it has not been raised in this Court.”
Thomas Berry, Jr. v. Barry Mintzes, Warden, 726 F.2d 1142 (6th Cir. 1984). · cites it 2× “The primary issue raised by this appeal is whether Berry’s guilty plea was made voluntarily and knowingly in view of the alleged insufficiencies in the information imparted to Berry prior to the acceptance of his plea and the imposition of sentence. Because we hold that Berry’s…”
People v. Harper, 188 N.W.2d 254 (Mich. Ct. App. 1971). · cites it 8× “[2] The court conducted an examination as to the degree of murder pursuant to MCLA § 750.318 (Stat Ann 1954 Rev § 28.550), and determined that at most defendant could be guilty of manslaughter.”
People v. Fernandez, 398 N.W.2d 311 (Mich. 1986). · cites it 2× “[13] One might say that Fernandez did not change his mind, but at most the two other actors who pled guilty of assault with intent to murder and who testified against Fernandez changed their minds.”
People v. Berry, 497 N.W.2d 202 (Mich. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “Contrary to defendant’s first assertion, we conclude that he did assent to his counsel’s assertion of a guilty plea to the charge of open murder and a request that the trial court conduct a hearing pursuant to MCL 750.318; MSA 28.550 to determine the degree of the murder.”
People v. Spalla, 269 N.W.2d 259 (Mich. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 2× “See MCL 750.318; MSA 28.550; cf. People v Carter, 395 Mich 434, 438 ; 236 NW2d 500 (1975).”
James W. Armstrong v. Charles E. Egeler, Warden, 563 F.2d 796 (6th Cir. 1977). “Under Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.318 , a person charged with murder and desirous of pleading guilty, pleads guilty to the “open!’ charge and the court thereupon proceeds to a hearing to determine whether it should be in the first or second degree: The jury before whom any person…”
People v. McKinney, 237 N.W.2d 215 (Mich. Ct. App. 1975). · cites it 2× “" The defendant in this case was charged with murder in both the warrant and information under the provisions of MCLA 767.”
Show all 52 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.