What to Do in the First 48 Hours After an Arrest in Michigan

The first two days, in plain terms

You, or someone you care about, were arrested somewhere in West Michigan in the last day or two. Maybe the person is still in the county jail waiting to see a judge. Maybe you are already home with a stack of papers and a court date you do not understand.

This page is a checklist of what the law does in the first 48 hours and what you can do. It is general information about Michigan law, not advice about your case. Talk to a lawyer about your own facts before any decision that matters; the site’s just arrested page answers the common first-hours questions.

If the arrest was for domestic violence or drunk driving, the deeper checklists are the first 48 hours after a domestic violence arrest and the first 14 days after an OWI arrest. This page is the shorter, general version that applies to any charge.

Step 1: Say less, to everyone

Under Miranda v. Arizona, you have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer before and during police questioning, and if you say you want to remain silent the questioning must stop. The right only works if you use it clearly. In Berghuis v. Thompkins, a case that came out of Michigan, the U.S. Supreme Court held that sitting quietly for nearly three hours did not invoke the right; you have to say it. Plain words work: "I want a lawyer. I am not answering questions."

That caution covers more than detectives. Jail phone systems and video visits carry a notice that calls may be monitored or recorded, and a recorded call about the facts can be played back in court. Keep jail calls to logistics: rides, lawyers, dates. Say nothing about what happened, to anyone.

Do not delete texts, photos or posts, and do not ask anyone else to. Knowingly destroying, hiding or altering evidence for a present or future official proceeding is a felony punishable by up to 4 years under MCL 750.483a(6)(a). Save everything and let your lawyer sort it. For what to say when officers come back with questions, see should you talk to the police.

Step 2: Arraignment and bond, the part the court controls

Unless you were released earlier, you must be taken before a court for arraignment "without unnecessary delay," in person or by two-way video, under MCR 6.104(A). The U.S. Supreme Court set an outer marker in County of Riverside v. McLaughlin: a judicial probable cause finding within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest is generally prompt, and past 48 hours the government has to show a bona fide emergency. Intervening weekends do not count as one. That is the 48 hours in the title: a ceiling, not a promise, and many courts move faster.

For many misdemeanors, release can come sooner. MCL 780.581(2) lets a person arrested for a misdemeanor post an interim bond with the arresting officer, the department or the jail when no magistrate is available. That option is switched off for domestic assault: MCL 780.582a(1) says that person is held until arraigned or until a judge or district court magistrate sets interim bond. A person the officer believes is intoxicated is held until in proper condition to be released or until the next session of court under MCL 780.581(3).

At arraignment the judge or magistrate must do one of three things under MCR 6.106(A): hold you, release you on personal recognizance or an unsecured bond, or release you on conditions with or without money bail. Under MCR 6.106(C), release on personal recognizance is the default unless the court finds it would not reasonably ensure your return or protect the public. If money bail is set, MCR 6.106(E) lets the court pick a structure that allows a 10 percent cash deposit, a surety bond or a full cash deposit. Whoever is helping should ask the clerk which option the order allows before driving to the jail. The sibling guide what bond and bail mean walks through each type.

Step 3: Read the release order and follow it exactly

A bond condition is a court order, and the conditions matter as much as the amount. Under MCR 6.106(D)(2) the court may attach conditions it finds reasonably necessary. The ones that cause trouble in the first 48 hours:

• No contact with a named person, MCR 6.106(D)(2)(m). It can take effect immediately, even while you are in custody. A text, a call, a message through a friend, or a reply to a message that person sent can all count. If you share a home, ask your lawyer before going back for anything.
• No alcohol or drugs, testing or treatment, all listed in MCR 6.106(D)(2). A missed test can be treated as a violation.
• Appear at every date, stay in Michigan without permission to leave, commit no new crime, MCR 6.106(C). These three attach to every release, including personal recognizance.
• No firearms or other dangerous weapons, MCR 6.106(D)(2)(k). Ask a lawyer how to store or transfer lawfully; do not guess.
• Curfew, travel, residence or employment limits, and any other condition listed in MCR 6.106(D)(2).

Step 4: Gather the papers, write it down, save the evidence

Breaking a condition has fast consequences: a police officer may arrest without a warrant a person the officer has reasonable cause to believe is violating a release condition under MCL 764.15e(1), and the court may revoke release and forfeit the bond under MCR 6.106(I). If a condition is unworkable, the fix is a motion to modify the release decision under MCR 6.106(H), filed by your lawyer, not ignoring it.

Memory fades fast and the papers from an arrest scatter. In the first two days, put these in one folder:

• Every paper you were handed: the citation or complaint, the bond receipt, the release order with its conditions, any notice to appear, and any property receipt.
• The next court date, time, courtroom and case number, written where you will see it. A missed date generally brings a bench warrant under MCR 6.103.
• A private, dated account of what happened, written for your lawyer only. Do not post it, text it or share it. Include times, places, who was present and what was said.
• Screenshots and backups of texts, call logs, photos, videos and social media that touch on the incident, including messages the other person sent you.
• Names and numbers of anyone who saw or heard any part of it.
• Anything about your health or medications that mattered that night, and photos of any injuries, yours included.

Step 5: Get a lawyer in before the next hearing

You are entitled to a lawyer at the arraignment itself under MCR 6.104(A), unless you make an informed waiver or the court issues a personal bond and takes no guilty or no contest plea at that hearing. In a misdemeanor case, MCR 6.610(D)(2) gives an indigent defendant the right to an appointed lawyer whenever the charge carries a minimum jail term or the court might impose jail, even a suspended term. If you cannot pay, say so at arraignment; under MCR 6.005(B) the court refers you to the local appointing authority for screening.

Hired or appointed, the first conversation goes better with the folder from Step 4 in hand. What to bring to a first consultation lists it. The next pages in this series explain what happens after an arrest and what an arraignment is.

A lawyer matters most in this period when there is a no-contact order you cannot live with, a bond you cannot post, a detective asking for an interview, or a charge that carries a license, job or immigration consequence you do not yet see. The office of Attorney Shawn Haff, a Michigan criminal defense practice with offices in Wyoming and Grand Rapids, offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719, answered 24 hours a day; the contact page has the addresses. Whoever you talk to, make the call before the next court date, not after.