Decide
What to do next
Checklists and step-by-step pages for the decisions in front of you right now: the first two days, your court dates, your license, your record.
- First 48 hours after an arrestA step-by-step checklist for the two days after a Michigan arrest, with the court rule behind each step.
- If there is a warrantArrest warrant, bench warrant or summons: how to find out, what each means, and how to clear it on your own terms.
- Should you talk to policeWhat you must do, what you may decline, and the words that invoke your rights, at a stop, at your door or after an arrest.
- How to prepare for an arraignmentA checklist for the first court date: what to confirm, bring, decide and avoid, with the court rule behind each step.
- What happens at a pretrialThe pretrial conference in plain English: discovery, plea talks, deadlines and the trial date, and what you do not have to decide there.
- How to check your case statusThe official lookups for each Kent County court, what a docket shows and does not show, the jail roster, and why ICHAT is not your court record.
- What to bring to a consultationThe papers, facts and questions to carry into a first meeting with a Michigan criminal defense lawyer, and why each matters.
- Questions to ask a lawyerNeutral questions for any Michigan criminal defense lawyer, why each matters, and the answers that should give you pause.
- Getting your license back after an OWISuspensions end on a date. Revocations end only after a hearing. Find your situation and the steps that go with it.
- How to prepare an expungement applicationThe set-aside application step by step: records, form MC 227, fingerprints, filing, service and the hearing.
Compare
Which is which
Side-by-side pages for the choices and labels that confuse people: misdemeanor or felony, OWI or OWVI, plea or trial, PPO or no-contact order.
- District court vs. circuit courtWhich court hears what, where a felony starts and ends, jury size, appeals, and the five Kent County courts by name.
- Bond types comparedPersonal recognizance, unsecured, cash, surety and 10% deposit bonds side by side: who pays, what comes back, and the rule.
- Retained vs. court-appointed lawyerWho qualifies for appointed counsel, how to ask, how hiring works, and what is the same either way.
- OWI, OWVI and High BAC comparedThree charges, one statute. What the prosecutor has to show for each, and what each one costs on a first offense.
- Refusing a breath test: PBT vs. station testRefusing the roadside test and refusing the test after arrest are not the same. Here is what each refusal sets in motion.
- Misdemeanor vs. felonyOne word on your charging paper changes the court, the jury, the steps and what the conviction follows you with.
- PPO vs. criminal no-contact orderTwo orders, two courts, two clocks: how a PPO and a bond or probation no-contact condition differ, and what to do when you have both.
- Probation vs. jail vs. delayed sentenceThree sentencing words explained side by side: what each one is, the statutory limits, how each ends and what a violation can bring.
- Plea vs. trialWhose decision it is, what a plea gives up, how sentence agreements and plea withdrawal work, and what a trial involves.
- Automatic vs. application expungementClean Slate clears some old convictions on its own. Others need an application and a judge. How to tell which route fits.
Learn
How Michigan criminal cases work
Plain-English explanations of the words you will hear from police, the court and your lawyer, each tied to the Michigan statute or court rule behind it.
- What happens after an arrestThe order of events after a Michigan arrest, from booking to arraignment to the misdemeanor and felony tracks, with the rule for each.
- What an arraignment isYour first court date explained: what the judge must say, what is decided, the pleas available, and district vs circuit court.
- What a preliminary exam isThe felony "prelim" explained: when it happens, what the judge decides, what evidence counts, and what holding or waiving it can do.
- What bond and bail meanThe words the court used at arraignment, what each one means, and the Michigan rule behind it.
- PBT and implied consentThe roadside breath test and the test after arrest follow different laws. Here is what each one means for you.
- What a PPO isA civil order from circuit court, not a criminal charge: the three types, what one can order, the 14-day deadline and the penalty for violating it.
- What a no-contact order meansA bond or probation condition set by the criminal judge, not a PPO: what contact covers, who can change it, and what a violation brings.
- What expungement meansMichigan calls it setting aside a conviction. Here is what changes, what does not, and who can apply.
- What HYTA isMichigan’s youthful trainee law in plain English: who qualifies by age, which charges are excluded, and what the record shows after.
- Diversion, 7411 and deferralsThe Michigan laws that let a case end in dismissal after probation, who each one is for, and why none of them covers OWI.
Go deeper
The complete guides
Three long, fully cited reference libraries. Start with a short guide above, then read the matching chapter here.
- Michigan Domestic Violence Guide175 articles. A free, fully cited reference to Michigan domestic violence law.
- Michigan Sexual Misconduct Guide141 articles. A free, fully cited reference to Michigan sexual misconduct law.
- Michigan Drunk Driving Guide140 articles. A free, fully cited reference to Michigan drunk and drugged driving law.
Legal information, not legal advice. This page is general legal information about Michigan law, published by the office of Attorney Shawn Haff. It is not legal advice and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Check the sources linked above and talk to a licensed Michigan attorney about your own situation. In an emergency, call 911.