Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys [APAs] appear primarily in the Court of Appeals and State Supreme Court, but also frequently appear in the lower courts, and may even appear in the United States Supreme Court.
This division is responsible for criminal mental commitments, training, and for the research of complex and novel legal questions as they may arise in any division.
A. There is no way to tell how long the case will take in the appellate system. As a rule of thumb, it will likely take at least 18 months to 2 years for the case to go through the Court of Appeals. If the defendant seeks review in the Michigan Supreme Court if he or she loses in the Court of Appeals, then another 9 months or so is typical. Only a small percentage of cases upheld in the Court of Appeals are overturned in the Michigan Supreme Court.