The Lab

The Lab is Clutch Justice’s suite of free interactive tools built to make Michigan’s judicial accountability systems legible to the people most affected by them. Ten tools, no account required, no paywall. Everything runs in your browser.

Accountability reporting is only useful if the people most affected by the systems being reported on can actually engage with what gets published. The Lab is the infrastructure for that engagement: tools that teach, tools that translate, and puzzles that make the vocabulary of Michigan courts feel less like a wall.

Every tool is built on the same premise. The system depends on most people not knowing how it works. The Lab is a direct argument against that.

The tools

Document guide
12 document types
The Interpreter
Always available — clutchjustice.com/the-interpreter/
Select your Michigan court document type and get a plain-language breakdown of what it means, what it requires, key dates and deadlines, and when to get an attorney involved. Covers bond orders, PPOs, probation, plea agreements, JTC notices, and more.
Open The Interpreter →
Civic tool
6 steps
The Dossier
Always available — clutchjustice.com/how-to-file-jtc-complaint-michigan/
A step-by-step interactive guide to filing a complaint with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. What qualifies, what to document, what filing actually requires, and what to realistically expect when you do.
Open The Dossier →
Weekly puzzle
Tuesdays 10 AM EST
The Docket
New issue every Tuesday at 10:00 AM EST
A logic deduction puzzle. Four fictional judges, four Michigan counties, four JTC complaint types, four outcomes. Use the clues to work out who is from where, what they were accused of, and what the JTC did about it.
Play The Docket →
Weekly puzzle
Thursdays 10 AM EST
Clutch Connects
New issue every Thursday at 10:00 AM EST
A word-grouping puzzle. Sixteen terms from Michigan courts sorted into four hidden groups. Each group has a cryptic title. One term is a disputed district: it looks like it belongs somewhere else. Four guesses.
Play Clutch Connects →
Reference tool
40 terms
Michigan Courts Glossary
Always available — clutchjustice.com/michigan-courts-glossary/
Forty terms from Michigan courts, the JTC, public defense, and judicial accountability. Filter by category, flip cards to reveal plain-language definitions, and drill the terms you have not learned yet.
Open the Glossary →
Searchable
Searchable
Judicial Misconduct Database
Always available — clutchjustice.com/judicial-misconduct/
A searchable record of Michigan judicial misconduct cases documented by Clutch Justice. Judges, courts, complaint types, and outcomes. The public record that the JTC’s confidentiality rules are designed to obscure.
Search the database →
Decision tool
New
Do I Need an Attorney?
Always available — clutchjustice.com/do-i-need-an-attorney/
Answer a few questions about your Michigan court situation and get a plain-language assessment of whether you need legal representation, why it matters in your specific situation, and which Lab resources apply to your case.
Use the guide →
Audit tool
8 categories
FitBench Interactive Audit
Always available — clutchjustice.com/fitbench-audit/
Rate a Michigan judge across the eight Fit-Bench performance categories based on what you have directly observed. Generate a structured scorecard using the framework from the proposed Fit-Bench Act.
Open the audit →
Document generator
Legally cited
Michigan FOIA Generator
Always available — clutchjustice.com/michigan-foia-generator/
Fill in a short form and receive a complete, properly formatted Freedom of Information Act request letter citing MCL 15.231 et seq., ready to print and send by certified mail.
Generate a letter →
Privacy tool
100% local
PDF Redaction X-Ray & Risk Scanner
Always available — clutchjustice.com/pdf-redaction-scanner/ — your document never leaves your device
Upload a redacted PDF and scan for hidden text under black boxes, author metadata, embedded annotations, form fields, JavaScript actions, and embedded attachments. Built for pro-se litigants and advocates who need to verify redactions before filing. All processing happens in your browser — nothing is uploaded or transmitted.
Scan a PDF →

How The Lab is built

Every tool in The Lab runs inside a WordPress Custom HTML block with no external app, no login, and no data collection. The Interpreter is a static reference guide covering the 12 most common Michigan court document types. The puzzles are entirely self-contained. The Dossier and Glossary are static interactive tools built on publicly available information about Michigan court processes.

The Lab is a living section of the site. Tools are added as they are ready. Upcoming additions include a case timeline builder for active investigations and a conviction rate explorer built on Michigan caseload data. If you have a suggestion for a tool that would have made a difference in your own experience with Michigan courts, the address is hello@clutchjustice.com.

What The Lab is not

The Lab does not provide legal advice. The Interpreter explains common document types in plain language. The Dossier explains a bureaucratic process. The Glossary defines terms. None of these tools tell you what to do, predict outcomes, or substitute for an attorney. If you are navigating an active case with a deadline, consult a lawyer before acting on anything in The Lab.

The puzzles are built on fictional scenarios. The judges, counties, and cases in The Docket and Clutch Connects are invented. The complaint categories and JTC outcome types reflect real processes, but no specific real case is depicted in any puzzle.

QuickFAQs
How do I know if I need a lawyer?
Use the Do I Need an Attorney guide. It walks through the most common Michigan court situations and explains whether legal representation is urgent, strongly advisable, worth considering, or optional — and why each answer applies to your situation specifically.
Does any of this cost money?
No. Every tool in The Lab is free. No subscription required, no account, no paywall. Subscribe to Clutch Justice if you want to support the work, but it is not required to use any tool.
Can I share these tools with someone going through a Michigan court case?
Yes. That is exactly what they are for. The Interpreter and The Dossier are the most directly useful for people in active situations. The Glossary helps with vocabulary. Send the URL, not a screenshot.
How often do new puzzles publish?
The Docket publishes every Tuesday at 10:00 AM EST. Clutch Connects publishes every Thursday at 10:00 AM EST. Subscribe to Clutch Justice to get each new puzzle in your inbox.
I found an error in a tool. How do I report it?
Email hello@clutchjustice.com with the tool name, what you found, and what the correct information should be. Factual corrections are taken seriously and addressed promptly.

Sources and Documentation

Primary Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission — jtc.courts.mi.gov
Law Michigan Court Rules, Subchapter 9.200 — Judicial Tenure Commission Proceedings
Clutch Clutch Justice Judicial Misconduct Database
Clutch The Dossier: How to File a JTC Complaint in Michigan
Clutch Michigan Courts Glossary — Clutch Justice
How to Cite This Page
Bluebook (Legal)

Rita Williams, The Lab: Interactive Tools for Understanding Michigan Courts, Clutch Justice (Apr. 10, 2025), https://clutchjustice.com/the-lab/.

APA 7

Williams, R. (2025, April 10). The lab: Interactive tools for understanding Michigan courts. Clutch Justice. https://clutchjustice.com/the-lab/

MLA 9

Williams, Rita. “The Lab: Interactive Tools for Understanding Michigan Courts.” Clutch Justice, 10 Apr. 2025, clutchjustice.com/the-lab/.

Chicago

Williams, Rita. “The Lab: Interactive Tools for Understanding Michigan Courts.” Clutch Justice, April 10, 2025. https://clutchjustice.com/the-lab/.

Work With Rita Williams · Clutch Justice
“I map how institutions hide from accountability. That map is what I sell.”
01 Government Accountability & Institutional Forensics 02 Procedural Abuse Pattern Recognition 03 Legal AI & Court Systems Domain Expertise
📅 Book a Discovery Call Services & Tracks → hello@clutchjustice.com