If you’ve been arrested for domestic violence in Michigan, you’re probably sitting in a jail cell right now — or you just got out. You’re confused. You’re angry. Maybe the situation was completely blown out of proportion, or maybe someone made a false accusation. It doesn’t matter what happened yet. What matters is what you do next.
I’m Shawn Haff, and I’ve defended hundreds of domestic violence cases across West Michigan. I know exactly how these cases play out in Kent County courts, including the specialized Kent County Domestic Violence Court. I know the prosecutors who handle these cases, and I know how to beat them.
The call is free. I’m available 24/7.
How Shawn Can Help You: Insights from a Seasoned Domestic Violence Lawyer
Under Michigan law, domestic violence is an assault or assault and battery against a person you have a domestic relationship with. This includes:
- A spouse or former spouse
- A person you share a child with
- A current or former dating partner
- A person you live with or have lived with
Michigan categorizes DV charges into multiple levels, each carrying increasingly severe penalties:
Domestic Violence — First Offense (MCL 750.81(2))
A misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and fines up to $500. Even a first offense can result in probation, mandatory counseling, and a no-contact order.
Aggravated Domestic Violence (MCL 750.81a)
If the assault inflicts serious or aggravated injury without a weapon, this becomes aggravated domestic violence — a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and fines up to $1,000 under MCL 750.81a(2). With a prior domestic assault conviction, the same charge becomes a felony punishable by up to 5 years under MCL 750.81a(3).
Domestic Violence — Second Offense (MCL 750.81(4))
A second DV conviction (with a prior) is a misdemeanor carrying up to 1 year in jail and fines up to $1,000. Prosecutors treat second offenses much more aggressively than first offenses — which means you need a criminal defense attorney who fights even harder.
Domestic Violence — Third Offense (MCL 750.81(5))
A third DV conviction is a felony carrying up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $5,000. This is where DV charges escalate from misdemeanor to felony territory. Judges take repeat offenses extremely seriously, and prison time becomes very real.
Assault With a Dangerous Weapon (MCL 750.82)
If a weapon is involved — even a household object used as a weapon — you could face a felony with up to 4 years in prison.
Domestic Assault by Strangulation (MCL 750.84)
Prosecutors increasingly charge strangulation or suffocation as a separate felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. All it takes is an allegation that you impeded someone’s breathing or blood flow — even briefly, and even without any lasting injury. These charges are serious, frequently overcharged, and demand an aggressive, evidence-based defense.
The Arrest Process: What You Need to Know
Michigan has a mandatory arrest policy for domestic violence. This means if police respond to a DV call and have probable cause to believe an assault occurred, they must make an arrest. They don’t have discretion. Even if the alleged victim tells police they don’t want to press charges, you’re getting arrested.
After arrest, you’ll be arraigned — typically within 24-48 hours. The judge will set bond conditions, which almost always include a no-contact order with the alleged victim. Violating that order — even a text message — is a separate criminal offense.
No-Contact Orders and Personal Protection Orders (PPOs)
Two very different orders can keep you away from your own home and family, and people constantly confuse them:
- No-contact bond condition: Set by the criminal court at your arraignment. It bars any contact with the alleged victim — in person, by phone, by text, even through a friend. Violating it can put you back in jail and adds a brand-new charge, so I move fast to modify these conditions when children, shared housing, or a family business are involved.
- Personal Protection Order (PPO): A separate civil order under MCL 600.2950 that the alleged victim can request — sometimes without you ever being in the room. A PPO can force you out of your own home and off your own property. Violating one is criminal contempt, punishable by jail. If a PPO has been entered or requested against you, I can challenge it at a hearing and cross-examine the person who sought it.
How Domestic Violence Charges Affect Your Life
DV charges reach far beyond the courtroom:
Child Custody
Domestic violence is one of the statutory best-interest factors a judge must weigh in any Michigan custody case — MCL 722.23(k) covers domestic violence "regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child." There is no automatic bar on custody, but in my experience a DV allegation reshapes a custody or parenting-time fight faster than almost anything else, which is why the criminal case and the family case have to be handled with each other in mind. See how DV charges affect divorce and child custody.
Gun Rights
Two separate bans now apply. Federally, the Lautenberg Amendment (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)) makes a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence a lifetime firearms prohibition. And since February 13, 2024, Michigan has its own ban: under MCL 750.224f, as amended by Public Act 201 of 2023, a misdemeanor conviction involving domestic violence bars you from possessing a firearm or ammunition for 8 years after you have paid every fine, served every day of any jail sentence, and completed every condition of probation. Possessing a firearm during that period is a 5-year felony on its own. Read what a DV charge does to your gun rights.
Employment
A DV conviction shows up on background checks and can cost you your job, professional licenses, and future opportunities.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a DV conviction can trigger deportation proceedings.
Domestic Violence Cases in Grand Rapids & Kent County
Most of my domestic violence cases run through the courts right here in Kent County — the 61st District Court in downtown Grand Rapids, the 62A and 62B District Courts in Wyoming and Kentwood, the 63rd District Court, and felony matters in the 17th Circuit Court. Grand Rapids also runs a specialized domestic violence docket, and the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has a dedicated domestic violence unit that pursues these cases hard — often over the objection of the very person who called 911.
I’ve stood in these courtrooms hundreds of times. I know the prosecutors, the judges, the pretrial officers, and which diversion options are actually on the table in each court. That local knowledge is the difference between a conviction that follows you for life and a resolution that lets you move on.
My Defense Strategies for DV Cases
I don’t just show up and negotiate a plea. I investigate, challenge, and fight. My common defense strategies include:
- False Accusations: In my experience, DV cases involve false accusations more than almost any other charge. Custody disputes, divorce proceedings, and personal vendettas drive people to lie. I expose those motives.
- Self-Defense: If you were protecting yourself, Michigan law allows it. I build the evidence to prove it.
- Lack of Evidence: Many DV arrests are based on a single person’s word with no witnesses, no injuries, and no physical evidence. I challenge every piece of the prosecution’s case.
- Inconsistent Statements: I obtain police reports, 911 recordings, and witness statements — then I find the inconsistencies.
- Constitutional Violations: If police violated your rights during the arrest or investigation, I move to suppress that evidence.
- Fighting the "other acts" evidence: MCL 768.27b lets prosecutors introduce other alleged acts of domestic violence — things you were never charged with — to argue you have a pattern. Keeping that material out, or limiting it, is often the single most important motion in a DV trial.
First-Offense Deferral: A Second Chance (MCL 769.4a)
If this is your first domestic violence offense, Michigan law gives you a powerful option most people have never heard of. Under MCL 769.4a — often called the domestic violence deferral or “spouse abuse” deferral — a first-time offender can plead to the charge and have the court hold the conviction in abeyance while completing probation and any required counseling. Finish successfully and the case is dismissed — it never becomes a public conviction.
That means no conviction on your record and, critically, you may avoid the lifetime firearms ban that comes with a domestic violence conviction. It is not automatic and it is not a free pass. The prosecutor has to consent after consulting the victim, you cannot have a prior assaultive conviction, and under MCL 769.4a(5) a case that is dismissed this way still counts as a prior conviction if you are ever charged with domestic violence again. The deferral can only be used once in your life — so it has to be handled correctly the first time. Here is how the 769.4a deferral actually works. Securing this outcome, or something better, is exactly the kind of result I fight for.
Why You Need Me on Your Side
I’ve handled domestic violence cases in the 63rd District Court, 61st District Court, 62B District Court, and 17th Circuit Court. I know how the Kent County DV Court operates. I know which prosecutors handle these cases and what it takes to get charges reduced or dismissed.
Check my case results — they speak for themselves.
Don’t wait. Call me at 616-438-6719 right now. A DV charge moves fast, and I need to be involved before you make a mistake that hurts your case. If you’re also interested in clearing your record after a case resolves, ask me about expungement options.
Explore Domestic Violence Defense Topics
Domestic violence is not one charge — it is a family of charges, orders, and consequences that reach into your record, your home, your job, and your gun rights. I have written a page on each piece of it. Start wherever your case is right now.
The charge you are facing
- Domestic violence, first offense — the 93-day misdemeanor under MCL 750.81(2), and why "first offense" is where the case is usually won.
- Domestic violence, second offense — a one-year misdemeanor under MCL 750.81(4), charged far more aggressively than a first.
- Domestic violence, third offense — a 5-year felony under MCL 750.81(5).
- Aggravated domestic violence — MCL 750.81a, charged when the injury is called "serious or aggravated."
- Assault by strangulation or suffocation — a 10-year felony under MCL 750.84, and the charge I see overcharged most often.
- Is domestic violence a felony in Michigan? — when a DV charge crosses from misdemeanor into felony territory.
- Penalties for domestic assault in Michigan — every tier, with the actual statutory maximums.
Orders that start controlling your life immediately
- No-contact orders — the bond condition that can lock you out of your own house the day after the arrest.
- Personal protection orders (PPOs) — the separate civil order under MCL 600.2950, and how to fight one.
- Kent County's domestic violence court — the specialized docket, who staffs it, and how a case moves through it.
Defending the case
- False allegations — what actually drives them, and how I prove them.
- Self-defense in a domestic violence case — Michigan's self-defense law and the burden the prosecutor carries.
- First-offense deferral under MCL 769.4a — how a case ends in dismissal instead of a conviction.
What a conviction costs you afterward
- Gun rights after a DV conviction — the federal lifetime ban and Michigan's new 8-year ban.
- Expunging a domestic violence conviction — why DV is left out of automatic Clean Slate expungement and what the application route requires.
- How DV charges affect divorce and child custody.
- The statute of limitations on domestic violence in Michigan.
Charges that travel with domestic violence
- Stalking and aggravated stalking — frequently charged alongside or instead of DV.
- Child abuse and CPS investigations — what happens when children were in the house.
- Assault and battery — the non-domestic version of the same statute.
- What to do if you have been accused — the first 48 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you get arrested for domestic violence in Michigan?
Michigan has a mandatory arrest policy — if police have probable cause to believe domestic violence occurred, they must arrest someone. After arrest, you’ll be arraigned within 24-48 hours. The judge will set bond conditions, which almost always include a no-contact order with the alleged victim. Violating that order is a separate criminal offense.
Can domestic violence charges be dropped if the victim doesn’t want to press charges?
No. In Michigan, the prosecutor — not the victim — decides whether to pursue charges. Even if the alleged victim asks to drop the case, the prosecutor can and often will proceed. This is why you need an experienced defense attorney who can challenge the evidence independently.
Does a domestic violence conviction affect gun rights?
Yes, and as of February 13, 2024 there are two bans. The federal Lautenberg Amendment (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)) makes a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence a lifetime prohibition nationwide. Michigan then added its own: MCL 750.224f now bars firearm and ammunition possession for 8 years after all fines are paid, all jail time is served, and probation is complete. Possessing a firearm inside that window is a separate 5-year felony.
How does domestic violence affect child custody in Michigan?
Michigan does not automatically strip custody over a DV conviction, but domestic violence is a best-interest factor the judge is required to consider under MCL 722.23(k) — whether or not the child saw it. In practice a DV case can reshape parenting time and decision-making authority, which is why the criminal case has to be defended with the custody case in view.
Is domestic violence a felony in Michigan?
Not usually on a first charge. A first or second domestic assault is a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony on a third offense (MCL 750.81(5), 5 years), on a second aggravated domestic assault (MCL 750.81a(3), 5 years), when a weapon is alleged (MCL 750.82, 4 years), or when the allegation includes strangulation or suffocation (MCL 750.84, 10 years).
How long does the prosecutor have to charge me with domestic violence?
Six years from the date of the alleged offense under MCL 767.24. That clock pauses for any period you are outside Michigan, so an old allegation is not automatically dead.
Can I get a domestic violence conviction expunged in Michigan?
Not automatically. Michigan's Clean Slate law leaves assaultive offenses out of automatic expungement, so a DV conviction only comes off by application — generally five or more years after your sentence, probation, or release, whichever is latest, because domestic assault is a "serious misdemeanor." No one may have more than two assaultive convictions set aside in a lifetime, and the prosecutor must notify the victim of your application.
What happens if the alleged victim contacts me first?
You still cannot respond. A no-contact order binds you, not the other person, and answering a text they sent is still a violation that can put you back in jail and add a new charge. Call me instead and I will move to get the condition modified through the court.
What are the penalties for domestic violence in Michigan?
First-offense DV is a misdemeanor with up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine (MCL 750.81(2)). Aggravated DV carries up to 1 year (MCL 750.81a(2)). A second offense is a misdemeanor carrying up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine (MCL 750.81(4)); a third is a 5-year felony (MCL 750.81(5)). Penalties also include fines, mandatory counseling, probation, no-contact orders, and a potential lifetime ban on firearm possession.
"I was falsely accused of domestic violence. Shawn took my case to trial and got me a not guilty verdict. I owe him my freedom! Thank you!" Willie R. read more testimonials
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