Peace Bonds in Michigan

A peace bond is a court order requiring a person to post a recognizance, a financial promise backed by sureties, to keep the peace. In Michigan it is issued by a district or municipal judge under chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, MCL 772.1 to 772.14a.^[1][2] It starts with a sworn complaint that someone has threatened to commit an offense against another person or that person's property.^[2]

Peace bonds get much less attention than personal protection orders (PPOs), but the statutes remain in force and work quite differently. This page explains the procedure, the rights of the person accused, and how a peace bond compares with a PPO.

If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text "START" to 88788.^[5]

How a peace bond case starts

1. A sworn complaint. A complaint is made in writing and on oath to the district court or a municipal court that a person has threatened to commit an offense against the person or property of another. The judge examines the complainant and any witnesses on oath.^[2]
2. The judge's first decision. If the judge determines from that examination that there is just reason to believe the person will commit the offense, the judge may enter an order directing the person to appear on a date certain within 7 days.^[6]
3. Warrant. If the person fails to appear as ordered, the court must issue a warrant. Alternatively, the court may issue a warrant at the outset commanding that the person be promptly apprehended and brought before the court.^[6]
4. Discharge if there is no just cause. If on examination the court determines there is not just cause to believe an offense will be committed, the person must be promptly discharged.^[7]

The subject of the complaint is a threat of a future offense. Whether a threat is itself chargeable as a crime is a separate question, covered in Are threats a crime in Michigan?

The right to a trial

A person brought before the court on a peace bond complaint can consent to post a recognizance. If the person does not consent, the court must conduct a trial and determine whether a recognizance is required.^[8]

The person has a right to a trial by jury.^[2] A bench trial, meaning a trial before a judge without a jury, is possible only if the person waives the jury with the consent of the complainant and the approval of the court.^[8] The trial and jury selection are conducted in the same manner as for a minor offense in the same court.^[8]

The question for the judge or jury is whether the accused "is likely to breach the peace."^[9] They may also return a special verdict that the complaint and accusation is groundless or malicious.^[8]

What the court orders if the complaint is proved

If the judge or jury finds the accused is likely to breach the peace, the court must require the accused to enter into a recognizance with sufficient sureties "to keep the peace towards all the people of this state, and especially towards the person or persons named in the complaint."^[9]

Feature	What the statute provides
Amount	A sum set by the court, after considering the person's employment status, earning ability, financial resources, and other special circumstances bearing on the ability to provide it[9]
Length	A period the court directs, not exceeding 5 years[2]
Conditions	The court may require specific conditions as part of the recognizance[9]
Reduction	The person may at any time petition the court to reduce the recognizance or eliminate the requirement[9]
Notice to police	The clerk must file a true copy of the peace bond with the law enforcement agency or agencies having jurisdiction where the complainant resides or works[10]

If the person does not post the recognizance

A person who refuses or neglects to provide the recognizance is committed to the county jail for the period for which security was required, or until the person provides it.^[11] The statute limits that power where the problem is inability to pay: a person "shall not be incarcerated for failure to pay the recognizance unless the court conducts a hearing and determines that the person has the resources to pay the recognizance and has not made a good faith effort to do so."^[11]

What happens after a violation

If a peace officer has reason to believe that the conditions of a recognizance are being violated in the officer's presence or were violated, the officer "shall arrest the person and hold him or her for presentation to the court on the next day."^[3]

The court can also act on allegations presented to it. It may order the person to appear on a date certain within 7 days or issue a warrant. If the person appears and denies violating any condition, the court must schedule a hearing to be held within 7 days, conducted in the same manner as a probation violation hearing.^[12]

If the court finds, by admission or after a hearing, that the conditions were violated, it must order the recognizance forfeited.^[3] It may also require an additional recognizance, and on the person's petition it may remit a portion of the forfeited amount as the circumstances render just and reasonable.^[13]

The added contempt penalty for spouses, co-parents and household members

MCL 772.14a adds contempt for certain relationships. A person who is required to keep the peace toward a spouse, former spouse, person with whom he or she has had a child in common, or person residing or having resided in the same household, and who fails to comply, is subject to the contempt powers of the court and may be imprisoned for not more than 90 days or fined not more than $500, or both.^[3] That is in addition to forfeiting the bond.^[3] The section's list does not include a dating relationship.^[3]

Note the number. The peace bond contempt maximum is 90 days. The PPO contempt maximum is 93 days.^[3][14]

Protection against unfounded complaints

The chapter has two provisions aimed at complaints that should not have been brought. The judge or jury may return a special verdict that the complaint is groundless or malicious.^[8] And if the court finds the complaint unfounded, frivolous, or malicious, it must order the complainant to pay the costs of the prosecution.^[7]

Peace bond or PPO?

	Peace bond	Personal protection order
Court	District or municipal court[1]	Family division of circuit court[4]
How it starts	Written complaint under oath that a person has threatened an offense[2]	Petition by the person seeking protection; no filing fee[15]
Emergency order without notice	The statute provides for an order to appear within 7 days or a warrant[6]	An ex parte PPO is available on a showing of immediate and irreparable injury, and the court must rule within one business day[16][17]
Jury	Right to a jury trial on whether a recognizance is required[2]	A judge decides the petition; there is no right to a jury trial at a violation hearing[18][19]
What it does	Requires a recognizance to keep the peace, with any specific conditions the court adds[9]	Restrains the respondent from conduct on a statutory list, such as entering premises, contact amounting to stalking, or possessing a firearm[20]
Length	Not exceeding 5 years[2]	Until the expiration date on the order; an ex parte PPO is valid for not less than 182 days[21]
Violation	Arrest, forfeiture and, where the order protects a spouse, former spouse, co-parent or household member, contempt with jail of not more than 90 days[3]	Warrantless arrest and criminal contempt with jail of not more than 93 days[22][14]

A PPO is entered into LEIN and is enforceable anywhere in Michigan as soon as a judge signs it.^[23][18] For someone in a domestic relationship with the other person, or someone being stalked, the PPO statutes are written for that situation; see The three types of PPO and How to get a PPO. All of the similar-sounding orders are compared in PPO, no-contact order or restraining order: the differences.

How often peace bonds are used, and how a particular district court handles the complaint, varies. A person considering one should ask the district court clerk about local procedure, and anyone served with an order to appear on a peace bond complaint should treat the date as firm, since failing to appear leads to a warrant.^[6]

What people get wrong

"A peace bond is just another name for a PPO." They come from different courts under different statutes, with different procedures and penalties.^[1][4]

"There is no trial." The person has a right to a trial by jury on whether a recognizance will be required.^[2]

"Not being able to afford the bond means jail." The court must first hold a hearing and find that the person has the resources to pay and has not made a good faith effort.^[11]