False Reports of Domestic Violence in Michigan

Michigan makes it a crime to intentionally report a crime to the police or a 911 operator knowing the report is false.^[1] The statute turns on what the person knew. It reaches a report the person knew was false when making it, and it does not reach a report that was made in good faith and later could not be proven.^[2]

This page sets out what the false-report statute covers and how it is punished, how perjury and the personal protection order (PPO) statutes deal with false statements, and why a dismissal, an acquittal, or a recantation is not the same thing as a false report. It makes no claim about how often false reports happen; it describes what the law covers and what has to be proven.

What does MCL 750.411a prohibit?

The statute applies to a person who intentionally makes a false report of the commission of a crime, or intentionally causes one to be made, to a peace officer, a state or local police agency, a 9-1-1 operator, or another government employee or contractor authorized to receive crime reports, "knowing the report is false."^[7]

Under the model jury instruction, the prosecutor must prove each of the following:^[2]

1. The person reported, or caused a report, that a crime had been committed.^[2]
2. The report was made to the police, a 911 operator, or another authorized recipient.^[2][7]
3. The report was false as to either the fact that the crime was committed or the details of the crime.^[2]
4. When the person made the report, he or she knew it was false.^[2]
5. The person made the false report intentionally.^[2]

Elements four and five do the work. A person who is mistaken, who remembers events differently from the other person, or whose account cannot be confirmed has not "known" the report to be false.^[2]

What are the penalties?

The tier depends on what was falsely reported and on whether anyone was hurt in the response.

Situation	Classification	Maximum penalty
False report of a misdemeanor	Misdemeanor	93 days, $500 fine, or both[1]
False report of a felony	Felony	4 years, $2,000 fine, or both[1]
The response to the false report results in physical injury to a person	Felony	5 years, $20,000 fine, or both[8]
The response results in serious impairment of a body function	Felony	10 years, $25,000 fine, or both[8]
The response results in a death	Felony	15 years, fine of $25,000 to $50,000, or both[8]

The three higher tiers apply when a person is injured or killed "as a proximate result of lawful conduct arising out of" the response to the report.^[8]

In a domestic case the tier follows the crime that was reported. A first-offense domestic assault is a misdemeanor, so a knowingly false report of one falls in the first row.^[9][1] Strangulation and felonious assault are felonies, so a knowingly false report of either falls in the second row.^[10][11][1] The classification of each domestic offense is set out in the penalties chart.

A violation occurs if the false report originates in Michigan or is intended to terminate in Michigan or with a person in Michigan, and it may be prosecuted in any jurisdiction where the communication originated or terminated.^[7]

A false report is not the same as an unproven allegation

A criminal case can end without a conviction for reasons that have nothing to do with whether the report was true. The accused is presumed innocent, and the prosecutor must prove each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.^[3] Jurors are told that proof beyond a reasonable doubt is proof that leaves them firmly convinced of guilt.^[12] A verdict of not guilty therefore means the prosecutor did not meet that standard. It is not a finding that the complaining witness lied.

The reverse is also true. If a prosecutor later charges the reporter under MCL 750.411a, the reporter is the one presumed innocent, and the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the report was false and that the reporter knew it.^[3][2] The same demanding standard protects both people.

The table below separates situations that are different in law.

What happened	What it shows about a false report
The prosecutor declined to file charges	The prosecutor alone decides whether to prosecute; the decision is not a finding about the reporter.[13]
The case was dismissed, or the jury found the accused not guilty	No conviction was entered. A conviction requires proof of each element beyond a reasonable doubt, and the false-report offense separately requires proof that the reporter knew the report was false.[3][2]
The two people describe the event differently	A report is criminal only if it was false and the reporter knew that when making it.[2]
The complaining witness later recanted	Courts allow expert testimony that explains recanting, and a prosecutor may proceed after a recantation.[14][15]
The reporter intentionally told police a crime occurred, knowing it had not	This is what MCL 750.411a describes.[1]

Does taking back a statement prove the first one was false?

No. In People v Christel the Michigan Supreme Court recognized that expert testimony may be used to explain a complainant's conduct, including hiding or minimizing abuse, delay in reporting, and recanting.^[14] The Court of Appeals has also held that a trial court exceeded its authority when it dismissed a prosecution on its own after the sole complaining witness recanted her earlier testimony; the decision to proceed was the prosecutor's.^[15]

A person thinking about changing a statement should read Recanting: when the accuser changes the story and If you want the charges dropped first. Why the complaining witness cannot end the case is explained in Can the victim drop the charges?

Perjury: false statements under oath

Perjury is a different offense with a different trigger. Perjury in a court proceeding requires proof that the person was legally required to take an oath in a court proceeding, took it, made a false statement under that oath, and knew the statement was false when making it.^[4] It is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison in a case other than the trial of a capital crime.^[5]

The oath is the dividing line. The court-proceeding offense requires a false statement made under an oath taken in a court proceeding.^[4] The false-report statute is written for reports made to a peace officer, a police agency, a 9-1-1 operator, or another authorized recipient, and has no oath requirement.^[7]

A second perjury statute covers a person of whom an oath is required by law who willfully swears falsely, and a person who willfully makes a false declaration in a record that is signed and given under penalty of perjury. It is also a felony punishable by up to 15 years.^[16]

False statements in a PPO petition

The PPO statutes contain their own provision: an individual who knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement to the court in support of a petition for a PPO is subject to the contempt powers of the court.^[6] Unless another law provides otherwise, contempt may be punished by a fine of up to $7,500, jail for up to 93 days, or both.^[17]

Michigan's extreme risk protection order law goes further. A petitioner who knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement in an ERPO complaint commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days for a first offense, and a felony for a second or later offense.^[18]

As with criminal reports, a petition that is denied is not thereby shown to be false. The contempt provision reaches statements that are knowingly and intentionally false.^[6] The remedies available to a respondent are covered in False or retaliatory PPO petitions and How to challenge, modify or terminate a PPO.

If you reported and are worried about being charged

A person who told the police what he or she believed happened has not committed this offense, even if the case is later dismissed. The statute requires a report the person knew to be false.^[2] A court also may not refuse a domestic relationship PPO solely because there is no police report, medical report, or physical sign of abuse.^[19]

If someone is pressing you to say that your report was false, that pressure may itself be a crime. Michigan law prohibits using threats or intimidation to influence testimony or to encourage a person to withhold testimony or testify falsely.^[20] See Witness tampering and pressuring a victim not to testify.

If you believe a report against you is false

The place to contest an accusation is the criminal case itself, where the prosecutor carries the burden and the accused does not have to prove innocence.^[3] The available defenses, and how a claim that the accusation is untrue is presented, are covered in False accusations and Defenses to a domestic violence charge.

Two cautions apply. First, do not contact the complaining witness to ask for a retraction. Threatening or intimidating a person to influence what he or she tells the police is a crime, and contact may also violate a bond condition.^[21][22] Second, a false-report charge against the other person is not something the accused controls; the charging decision belongs to the prosecutor.^[13] See Who decides whether charges are filed?

What remains on a record after a dismissal or acquittal is a separate subject, covered in What shows on your record after an arrest, dismissal or acquittal.