Every Way a Michigan Domestic Violence Case Can End

A Michigan domestic violence case can end in one of a handful of ways: no charge, a dismissal, an acquittal, a deferral or youthful trainee assignment that ends in dismissal, a plea to a different offense, or a conviction on the original charge. Each leaves a different mark on a person's record. A dismissal before trial leads to removal of the arrest record from ICHAT, the State Police public search tool, while a dismissal earned through a deferral leaves a nonpublic State Police record and counts as a prior.^[3][5][4]

If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or by texting START to 88788.^[10]

This page goes through the outcomes one at a time, for readers on either side of a case. It describes what each outcome is and what it leaves behind. It does not estimate how likely any outcome is.

The outcomes at a glance

Outcome	Is there a conviction?	What stays on record
Arrested, never charged	No	Fingerprints and arrest card are to be destroyed immediately[11]
Charges dismissed before trial	No	Arrest removed from ICHAT; records destroyed if the prosecutor agrees or no objection is made within 60 days[3]
Found not guilty at trial	No	Fingerprints and arrest card destroyed, with exceptions[8][9]
Deferral under MCL 769.4a, completed	No, but it is a prior for repeat-offense domestic assault[4]	Nonpublic State Police record; fingerprints kept[5][12]
Youthful trainee status, completed	Not a conviction for a crime[13]	Closed to public inspection; open to courts, corrections, law enforcement and prosecutors[14]
Plea to a different offense	Yes, for the offense pleaded to[15]	Depends on that offense
Convicted of domestic assault	Yes	Reported to the State Police; not set aside automatically; application possible after 5 years for a misdemeanor[16][6][7]

No charge is filed

An arrest is not a charge. The prosecuting attorney decides whether to prosecute and what charges to file.^[1] If a person who was arrested and fingerprinted is released without a charge being made, the official holding the fingerprints and arrest card must immediately destroy them.^[11] How the charging decision is made is covered in Who decides to file domestic violence charges.

The charges are dismissed

A case can be dismissed after it is filed, by the prosecutor or by the court on legal grounds. What it cannot be is dismissed on the complaining witness's say-so. In People v Williams the Court of Appeals held that a trial court erred by dismissing domestic assault charges when the complainant would not testify, observing that "nowhere in the laws of this state have crime victims been given authority to determine" whether a prosecution should go forward or be dismissed.^[2] See Can the victim drop the charges?

The victim does have a voice. Before finalizing a negotiation that may result in a dismissal, the prosecutor in a serious misdemeanor case must offer the victim an opportunity to consult and give his or her views.^[17]

For the accused, a dismissal before trial has specific record consequences under MCL 28.243(8). The arrest record shall be removed from ICHAT, the State Police public search tool.^[3][18] If the prosecutor agrees at any time, or if neither the prosecutor nor the judge objects within 60 days from the date the order of dismissal was entered, the arrest record, biometric data and fingerprints are expunged or destroyed and entries concerning the charge are removed from the Law Enforcement Information Network.^[3]

Acquittal at trial

At trial the defendant is presumed innocent and the prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.^[19] A not-guilty result can come from the jury or the judge as fact-finder, or from the judge directing a verdict of acquittal when the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.^[20]

If the accused is found not guilty of an offense for which fingerprints were taken, the fingerprints and arrest card must be destroyed on final disposition.^[8] There are exceptions. The destruction rule does not apply to a person who has a prior conviction other than a misdemeanor traffic offense, unless a judge of a court of record expressly orders destruction or return on the record.^[9] What trial involves is described in What happens at a domestic violence trial.

Deferral under MCL 769.4a

For a first domestic assault, the court may, with the consent of the accused and the prosecuting attorney, defer proceedings without entering a judgment of guilt and place the person on probation.^[21] If probation is completed, the court discharges the person and dismisses the proceedings.^[4]

This outcome sits between a dismissal and a conviction:

• It is not a conviction for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime.^[4]
• It is a prior conviction if the person is later prosecuted for repeat-offense domestic assault.^[4]
• The State Police retain a nonpublic record that courts, law enforcement, prosecutors, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services can use for listed purposes.^[5][22][23]
• The person is not treated as found not guilty, and fingerprints are not destroyed.^[12]
• If probation is violated, the court may enter the conviction, and for certain violations it shall.^[24][25]

Details are in The first-offender deferral (MCL 769.4a) and Does a 769.4a deferral count as a conviction?

Youthful trainee status (HYTA)

A person who pleads guilty to an offense committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th may be assigned youthful trainee status.^[26][27] On final release the court discharges the individual and dismisses the proceedings, and the assignment is not a conviction for a crime.^[13] The proceedings are closed to public inspection but open to courts, the Department of Corrections, law enforcement and prosecutors.^[14] See HYTA and domestic violence.

A plea to a different offense

With the prosecutor's consent, a court may accept a plea to an offense other than the one charged.^[15] The result is a conviction for that other offense, and every later consequence follows from which offense it is. Michigan's 8-year firearm restriction, for example, applies to convictions for the specific subsections listed as a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence."^[28][29] No source used for this guide lists standard reductions; this varies by prosecutor and by case. See Plea bargains in domestic violence cases.

A delayed sentence or treatment court

These are procedures, not outcomes in themselves. A court may delay sentencing for not more than 1 year, but with a delayed sentence the charge remains pending and the statute does not provide for dismissal.^[30][31] A treatment court may discharge and dismiss a domestic violence offense only on the terms of MCL 769.4a.^[32][33] See Delayed sentences and other negotiated outcomes and Specialty courts and domestic violence.

Conviction

A conviction follows a guilty or no-contest plea that the court accepts, or a guilty verdict.^[34][35] What comes with it:

• The sentence. For a first-offense domestic assault, up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both; probation of up to 2 years is also possible.^[36][37] See Jail and prison: what sentences are possible.
• Money. A crime victim rights assessment, state minimum costs and full restitution to any victim.^[38][39][40]
• Enhancement. A later domestic assault can be charged as a second offense, punishable by up to 1 year.^[41]
• Firearms. A Michigan restriction lasting until 8 years after the sentence is fully completed, and a separate federal prohibition.^[28][42] See Michigan's 8-year gun ban.
• The record. A 93-day misdemeanor is fingerprinted and reported to the State Police like more serious offenses.^[16]

Can a conviction be cleared later?

Domestic assault and aggravated domestic assault are excluded from automatic set-aside.^[6] A misdemeanor domestic assault conviction can be set aside by application, but the waiting period is 5 years, not the 3 years that applies to ordinary misdemeanors.^[7] A felony conviction for domestic violence cannot be set aside if the person has a previous misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.^[43]

Even a conviction that has been set aside can be used as a prior conviction for charging a second or subsequent offense, and the State Police keep a nonpublic record of it.^[44][45] See Setting aside a domestic violence conviction and Automatic expungement and domestic violence.

A conviction that is later overturned

If a judgment of conviction is vacated and the case is then dismissed or the defendant is found not guilty, the clerk reports that to the State Police and the Department of Corrections, which must remove all information indicating the conviction from each of their databases that is available to the public.^[46]

What each outcome means for the person who was harmed

Several rights do not depend on a conviction after trial. Restitution must be ordered when a case is resolved by a deferred judgment, youthful trainee status or a delayed sentence, just as after a conviction.^[40] Supervision under any of those outcomes can include conditions for the protection of a named person, including a no-contact condition.^{[47][48][49][50]} A victim has the right to make an impact statement at sentencing.^[51]

A personal protection order is an injunctive order sought in its own independent action in the family division of circuit court, separate from the criminal case.^[52][53] See Personal protection orders explained and Crime victim rights in Michigan domestic violence cases.

What people get wrong

"The complainant can end the case." The authority to prosecute or dismiss belongs to the prosecutor.^[1][2]

"A dismissal is a dismissal." A dismissal before trial leads to removal from ICHAT and possible destruction of the records; a dismissal after a 769.4a deferral does not.^[3][12][5]

"A dismissed charge stays on my record forever." For a dismissal before trial, the statute provides for removal and, on the conditions described above, destruction.^[3]

"A delayed sentence means dismissal." The statute only delays sentencing; anything more depends on the plea agreement.^[31]

"Clean Slate will clear a domestic violence conviction automatically." Domestic assault convictions are excluded from the automatic process.^[6]

What appears on a record at each stage is covered in more depth in What shows on your record after an arrest, dismissal or acquittal. Weighing a plea against a trial is discussed in Plea or trial: how to think about the decision.