State Charge vs. City Ordinance Domestic Assault in Michigan

A domestic assault in Michigan can be charged under the state statute, MCL 750.81, or under a city, village or township ordinance that substantially corresponds to it. On several important points the label makes no difference: an ordinance conviction counts as a prior conviction under state law, the same arrest and release rules apply, and a qualifying ordinance conviction triggers the state firearm prohibition.^[1][2][3]

Some questions about ordinance cases are not answered by the statutes and benchbooks this guide relies on. This page separates what those sources say from what they leave open.

What is an ordinance charge?

An ordinance is a local law. Under the Home Rule City Act, a city may provide in its charter for the punishment of people who violate city ordinances.^[5] Many Michigan statutes about domestic assault refer to "a local ordinance substantially corresponding to" MCL 750.81, meaning a local assault law that tracks the state one.^[2]

The paperwork is the practical clue. A complaint that cites a section of a city code and is brought in the name of the city is an ordinance case. A complaint that cites MCL 750.81(2) is a state case. In the Crime Victim's Rights Act, the "prosecuting attorney" in an ordinance prosecution is an attorney for the political subdivision that enacted the ordinance.^[8]

What is the same under either charge?

Issue	Does it reach an ordinance case?
Court	Yes. The district court hears both misdemeanors punishable by up to 1 year and ordinance violations.[9][10]
Arrest without a warrant	Yes. MCL 764.15a allows an arrest for a violation of MCL 750.81, 750.81a "or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to" MCL 750.81.[2][11]
No appearance ticket	Yes. An appearance ticket may not be issued to a person arrested for a domestic violence violation of a corresponding local ordinance.[12]
Held for a judge or magistrate	Yes. A person arrested without a warrant under MCL 764.15a or a corresponding local ordinance cannot be released on a bond set by police and is held until arraignment or until a judge or magistrate sets interim bond.[13]
Complaint signed by someone other than the complaining witness	Yes. A magistrate may not refuse a complaint alleging a domestic violation of MCL 750.81, 750.81a or a corresponding ordinance because it is signed on information and belief by someone else.[14]
Prior conviction for a later offense	Yes. See the next section.[1]
Crime victim's rights	Yes. A corresponding local ordinance violation is a "serious misdemeanor," and the victim has all the rights afforded under the state constitution and the Crime Victim's Rights Act.[8][15]
Restitution	Yes. A court sentencing a defendant convicted of a felony, misdemeanor or ordinance violation has to order full restitution.[16]
Fingerprints and reporting	Yes, for a 93-day ordinance that corresponds to a 93-day state misdemeanor.[17]

The steps of the case are the same as well; they are set out in the misdemeanor case timeline and in How long you are held after an arrest.

Does an ordinance conviction count as a prior?

Yes. Under MCL 750.81(4) and (5), the list of qualifying prior convictions begins with a conviction under "this section or an ordinance of a political subdivision of this state substantially corresponding to this section."^[1] A second domestic assault with one such prior is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year, and a third is a felony punishable by up to 5 years.^[18][19] The same wording appears in MCL 750.81a(3) for repeat aggravated domestic assault.^[1]

Ordinances in other states count too: the statute covers an ordinance of a political subdivision of another state that substantially corresponds to the listed Michigan sections.^[20] The statute has no look-back period, so the age of the ordinance conviction does not matter.^[21] The details are in Second and third offense domestic violence.

A prior ordinance conviction also matters for the first-offender deferral. A person is eligible under MCL 769.4a only if he or she has no previous conviction of an "assaultive crime," and that term includes a violation of a local ordinance substantially corresponding to a state assault offense.^[7][22]

Does it count for firearm bans?

Michigan. A person convicted of a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence" may not possess, use, transport, sell, purchase, carry, ship, receive, or distribute a firearm or ammunition in Michigan until 8 years after the sentence is fully completed.^[4] The definition lists nine state offenses and then adds two categories that reach ordinances: an ordinance that substantially corresponds to one of the listed violations, and an ordinance "that is specifically designated as domestic violence."^[23][3]

Federal. The federal definition of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" begins with an offense that is a misdemeanor under federal, state, tribal, or local law.^[24] Whether a particular conviction meets the rest of that definition is a separate question, covered in The federal gun ban and Michigan's 8-year gun ban.

Is the penalty different?

For a first offense in a home rule city, the ceiling can be the same. The Home Rule City Act caps most ordinance penalties at a $500 fine or 90 days, or both, but allows an ordinance to provide for up to 93 days or $500, or both, when the violation substantially corresponds to a state misdemeanor with a 93-day maximum.^[5] First-offense domestic assault under state law carries 93 days and $500.^[6]

That statute applies to home rule cities. The equivalent rules for villages and townships were not reviewed for this guide, so no figure is given for them here. The actual maximum in any case is the one printed in the ordinance being charged.

Records and background checks

A 93-day ordinance arrest is fingerprinted, and a conviction is forwarded to the State Police with the statutory citation for the state law the ordinance corresponds to.^[17] The same subsection of the fingerprint statute covers 93-day state misdemeanors such as first-offense domestic assault.^[17] What the public and employers can see afterward is covered in What shows on your record.

For clearing the record later, the set-aside statute's definition of "assaultive crime" includes corresponding local laws.^[25] See Expunging a domestic violence conviction.

Can a person face both an ordinance charge and a state charge?

For separate incidents, yes. In People v White, convictions for violating a township anti-stalking ordinance and for attempted aggravated stalking under state law did not violate double jeopardy, because the incidents did not arise out of a single criminal act, occurrence, episode, or transaction.^[26] That case involved different dates; it does not answer what happens when both charges rest on one incident.

What the sources do not answer

The Domestic Violence Benchbook's treatment of ordinance cases is limited to the cross-references described above.^[2] On three common questions, the statutes and benchbooks reviewed for this guide give no rule:

• Who decides between an ordinance charge and a state charge. No source reviewed addresses it. What is established is that the decision to prosecute belongs to the prosecutor and not to the complaining witness.^[27]
• Whether the MCL 769.4a deferral is available on an ordinance charge. The eligibility language names only MCL 750.81 and 750.81a, while the record-access provision mentions a corresponding ordinance.^[7][2] See The MCL 769.4a deferral explained.
• The penalty ceiling outside home rule cities. Only the Home Rule City Act was reviewed.^[5]

Because local practice varies, the charging document itself is the place to start: it shows which law is charged, which court has the case, and who is prosecuting it. The county pages in this guide, beginning with Kent County, describe the courts that hear these cases in West Michigan.

What people get wrong

"A city charge is not a real domestic violence conviction." It counts as a prior under MCL 750.81 and can trigger the state firearm prohibition.^[1][3]

"Pleading to the ordinance keeps it off my record." A 93-day ordinance conviction is reported to the State Police under the corresponding state-law citation.^[17]

"An ordinance case means a ticket and no arrest." The warrantless arrest statute and the ban on appearance tickets both name corresponding local ordinances.^[2][12]