Michigan Legal Age of Adulthood
To understand Michigan`s Romeo and Juliet`s Law, a basic understanding of Michigan`s age of consent law is helpful. The age at which a person can legally consent to sexual activity in Michigan is 16. This means that persons under the age of 16 do not have the legal capacity to consent to sexual activity. If both parties involved in an alleged incident of legal rape are minors, the older party can only be charged with that crime if both have had oral or sexual intercourse. Other consensual sexual activities, such as touching intended to excite participants, are permitted by law. At the same time, parents complain that their children grow up too fast, children respond: “Not fast enough.” However, in the eyes of the law, the dividing line between minors and adults is usually quite clear. This article is a brief summary of Michigan`s legal age laws. While you can`t defend your case against a criminal charge of sexual behavior by pretending you don`t know your young partner`s actual age, you can challenge the charge through other legal defense strategies. To learn more about these strategies, your rights, and how to handle these types of charges, contact Michigan Defense Law today to schedule your legal advice with a defense attorney with experience in criminal law. The emancipation of a minor refers to a legal procedure by which a minor can become an adult in the eyes of the law. While Michigan sets the standard age of majority at 18, emancipation can allow a minor to be responsible for their own well-being and make all of their own important decisions regarding health care, school, and other matters. Until the age of 18 or enfranchisement, minors are generally treated as such in criminal cases, including offences related to age and status.
The following table shows the basics of legal age laws in Michigan. State laws, including those relating to family law, are always subject to change. If you want to learn more about emancipation or other related legal issues in Michigan, you should consult a local family attorney who is familiar with the current state of the law. The age of majority — the age at which a person is legally considered an adult — is 18 in most states, including Michigan. For persons under the age of 18, legal age laws prescribe certain rights and obligations of minors. For example, Michigan`s legal age laws state that a 14-year-old can sue for a lawsuit, while a child 16 and older can be emancipated by court order. Under Michigan`s rape laws, the age of consent is raised to 18 if the older party is an authority figure. An example of an authority figure would be a teacher; It is illegal for a secondary or elementary school teacher to have sexual relations with a student. When a student reaches the age of 18 and becomes legally an adult, rights and obligations change from parent to student.
Created by FindLaw`s team of writers and legal writers| Last updated: 09 March 2018 Enfranchisement is the legal process by which a child between the ages of 16 and 18 is removed from the control of his or her parents or legal guardian. How am I emancipated from a court? For more information on the process, visit the Michigan Courts website. To prove that rape took place, the prosecutor must prove beyond a doubt that consent to the sexual acts was not given. For this reason, consideration of the issue of consent is always an important step, which the prosecutor and a defence lawyer also carefully consider. An inevitable and fundamental step. In the case of legal rape, if one of the parties to sexual acts is a minor, consent cannot be given and a person can therefore be charged with legal rape. In Michigan, a person must be at least 16 years old to have consensual sex with an adult. The legal age of consent in Michigan is 16. People 15 years of age or younger in Michigan cannot legally consent to sexual activity. An adult who has engaged in such activity may be subject to legal allegations of rape. If a person commits vaginal, oral or digital penetration with a minor who cannot consent to sex, they can be charged with legal rape. This crime is also known as criminal sexual behavior.
If you find yourself or a loved one in this situation, it is imperative that you consult with an experienced Michigan criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to get legal help. Since these laws cover sexual activity, dating is not a legal issue without sexual activity. The difference between contact bans, protection orders and injunctions While 16- and 17-year-olds can consent to sex with adults, they cannot consent to sexual contact with teachers and other school staff. If a school employee has sexual contact with a teenager who is otherwise old enough to agree, the adult may face a charge of third-degree sexual conduct. If the child was between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of sexual contact, the adult faces second-degree charges. The age of consent means that once a person turns 16, in the state of Michigan, in most cases, another person can have consensual sex with that person. However, there are some exceptions to this rule that you should be aware of. Here are some of these exceptions to the rule: The effects of a legal conviction for rape have harmful consequences for anyone convicted of this crime. These effects will also be permanent. Social stigma, extreme difficulty finding or keeping a job, and loss of educational opportunities can destroy a person`s life. If the allegations are true, you should hire a tough and experienced criminal defense lawyer.
You need a lawyer who knows how to take steps to minimize the consequences. You need a lawyer who has litigation experience. You need a lawyer to present the bright side of your life in court. In such cases, if you are innocent, you usually have to prove your innocence, and it is presumed that you are guilty because you have been charged with such a serious crime. If a law enforcement officer contacts you or your son or daughter and requests more information about having sex with a teen, immediately contact a Michigan sex crimes attorney with extensive experience and expertise in criminal sexual behavior cases. Often, detectives don`t seem confrontational at first, even friendly. A good lawyer can handle communication with law enforcement and advise you on subsequent discussions with the detective in an effort to prevent charges. If you face this situation, the specialized criminal defense lawyers of the Barone defense firm can help you. By the next friend or guardian of the estate; if you are 14 years of age or older, you can choose your own (Me. Rules of the Court Rule 2.201 (E)) In addition to legal rape, there is also the crime of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13. It is a maximum sentence of 25 years, but sometimes the penalties can be even harsher. Sexual contact with someone under the age of 16 is called legal rape.
In Michigan, legal rape is called criminal sexual behavior. The penalties are severe and include imprisonment. Sanctions also include lifetime registration as a sex offender and GPS monitoring. In cases where sexual penetration occurs and the minor is under 13 years of age, the penalty may include a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 25 years. Visit Transition to Adulthood for more resources on the transition process. The email address cannot be subscribed. Please try again. If you are a victim of sexual assault and need help, there are resources such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline. They can be reached at 800-656-HOPE. In general, the Romeo and Juliet Laws were developed to prevent or reduce the persecution of a young adult engaged in consensual sexual activity with a minor.
For example, some Romeo and Juliet laws would prevent an 18-year-old from being prosecuted for legal rape for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old. So what is Michigan`s Romeo and Juliet`s Law? It`s important to remember that sexual activity in Michigan isn`t limited to sexual acts. If proven beyond doubt, even touching clothes could be enough to convict someone of criminal sexual activity. The Romeo and Juliet regulations prevent anyone from being registered as a sex offender. This occurs when the person charged with legal rape can meet the following requirements: Michigan`s Romeo and Juliet Act is codified in Michigan Statutes 750.520e(a). This law states that if someone is under the age of 16 and has sexual contact with someone four years older or younger, it is not a crime. The most important parts of this law are that the oldest participant must not be older than four years and the word “contact”. Essentially, this means that traditional sexual intercourse (penetration) is not permitted under this law. Therefore, an older participant is not guilty of criminal sexual behaviour if he or she is no more than four years older than the younger participant and the sexual act does not involve penetration. The age of consent is different when it comes to an authority figure.
In these cases, the age of consent is 18. For example, if a teacher has sex with a student, the age of consent in that situation is 18, not 16.