Michigan Criminal Lawyer Blog
Uttering and publishing is the official title in Michigan given for the felony crime of falsifying or forging certain documents with the intent to defraud. This crime has been on the books in since 1931. In my opinion, it is a badly written law that needs to be modernized. However, the statute remains widely used to charge individuals whose conduct falls within the vague provisions of this law. Based upon the number of uttering and publishing / forgery cases that our firm handles in the Macomb County Courts, I would say that this statute is used most extensively to prosecute individuals that are involved in check scandals.
The crime of uttering and publishing is complete upon presenting a false document to be truthful with an intent to defraud another
The uttering and publishing statute (MCL 750.248) provides that: