The Wayne Law Review presents the fifty-third Annual Survey of Michigan Law. This Survey edition covers Michigan Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions in twenty areas of law from June 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010. We thank all the authors for their contributions and support for this edition...

In its fifty-second edition, the Annual Survey of Michigan Law compiles and charts the development of the law in Michigan. Covering twenty areas of law, the publication serves as a big-picture view of the law for students, practitioners, jurists and scholars alike, affording the reader concise, insightful and relevant analysis. Unique to the Survey is its reliance on contributions from both academics and practitioners, presenting the widest possible perspective and examination of the state of the law.

The image of justice blindfolded conveys the idea that no favor is given to any person coming before the courts; that justice is blind to the position and standing of the individual. It is also an apt image of how, as a society, we often fail to acknowledge that we look blindly on the human spectacle of the law and the justice it is supposed to guarantee. In particular, we simply fail to see the human effect that judging, and the business of judging, can have on judges. For the last decade, the Michigan Supreme Court has made plain that sometimes all-too-painful effect. Those who watch Michigan’s highest court have witnessed an ongoing struggle that will likely continue to have an effect on the court, and therefore on the public, for years to come.

During this Survey period, the U.S. Supreme Court, Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals decided cases that will have a significant impact on Michigan criminal procedure jurisprudence. The decisions run the gamut from the scope of a search of an automobile following a lawful arrest; application of the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule; post-arrest, post-Miranda interrogation issues; joinder of offenses; right-to-counsel claims; as well as several significant sentencing decisions.

Michigan appellate courts rendered decisions on administrative law during the 2010 Survey period regarding the intersection of administrative law and what may be regarded as certain private rights.