Opinion
98-51.
December 1, 1999.
On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an opportunity for comment in writing and at a public hearing having been provided, and consideration having been given to the comments received, the following amendments of Rule 9.123 of the Michigan Court Rules are adopted, to be effective February 1, 2000.
[The present language is amended as indicated below.]
Rule 9.123 Eligibility for Reinstatement
(A) — (C) [Unchanged.]
(D) Petition for Reinstatement; Filing Limitations.
(1) Except as provided in subrule (D)(3), an attorney whose license to practice law has been suspended may not file a petition for reinstatement earlier than 56 days before the term of suspension ordered has fully elapsed.
(2) [Unchanged.]
(3) An attorney whose license to practice law has been suspended because of conviction of a felony for which a term of incarceration was imposed may not file a petition for reinstatement until six months after completion of the sentence, including any period of parole.
(3 4) [Renumbered, but otherwise unchanged.]
Staff Comment: The December 1, 1999 amendment of Rule 9.123(D), effective February 1, 2000, precludes a lawyer whose license to practice law has been suspended because of a felony conviction from petitioning for reinstatement until six months after completion of any sentence of incarceration, including any term of parole. The word "parole" indicates that the lawyer was in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections. The rule also applies, however, to persons who were incarcerated in other jurisdictions under similar circumstances, regardless of the terminology employed.
The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.