What to Expect as a Witness in a Michigan Domestic Violence Case

If you are in danger right now, call 911. To talk with an advocate at any hour, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788), and Michigan's VOICES4 Hotline is 855-864-2374 by call or text.^[7][8][9] Local agencies are listed in Where to get help.

If you are the person named as the victim in a Michigan domestic violence case, you are a witness in a case brought by the prosecutor, who alone has the authority to decide whether to prosecute.^[1] You can expect written notices about the case, a subpoena if your testimony is needed, a chance to talk with the prosecutor's office, and a set of rights under the Michigan Constitution and the Crime Victim's Rights Act.^[2][10]

This guide calls that person the complaining witness. The statutes quoted here use the word "victim," so that word appears where a statute is being described.

What you should be told, and when

When	What you should receive
At the scene	A written notice from the officer with the agency's name and telephone number, the officer's name and badge number, and a statement of rights and resources.[11] The notice explains how to get the police report and the right to petition for a personal protection order.[12]
Within 24 hours after your first contact with the investigating agency	Written information that includes the address and telephone number of the prosecuting attorney to contact about victim's rights, and whom to call if you want to be notified of an arrest or of the arrested person's release.[13]
After an arrest for a serious misdemeanor	Not later than 72 hours after the arrest, notice of the availability of pretrial release, the sheriff's phone number, and notice that you may contact the sheriff to find out whether the defendant has been released.[14]
After arraignment in a serious misdemeanor case	A written notice from the prosecutor, in plain English, of the steps in a misdemeanor case, a list of your rights, how to tell the prosecutor you choose to exercise them, compensation details, suggested procedures if you are threatened or intimidated, and the person to contact for more information. The prosecutor has 48 hours to send it after receiving the court's notice of the arraignment.[15]
After arraignment in a felony case	A written notice from the prosecutor not later than 7 days after the arraignment and not less than 24 hours before a preliminary examination, including suggested procedures if you are threatened or intimidated.[16]

Domestic assault and aggravated domestic assault are "serious misdemeanors" under the Crime Victim's Rights Act, so the misdemeanor rows apply to them.^[10] The full list of rights is in Crime victim rights in Michigan domestic violence cases.

Who to talk to at the prosecutor's office

The prosecutor's written notice names a person to contact for further information.^[15] In many offices that person is called a victim advocate or victim-witness coordinator; the title and the size of the staff vary by county. This is the person to call with questions about dates, where to go, safety at the courthouse, and what you want the prosecutor to know.

You have a right to more than scheduling information. On your request, the prosecuting attorney must confer with you before trial.^[4] Before finalizing any negotiation that may result in a dismissal, a plea or sentence bargain, or pretrial diversion, the prosecutor must offer you the opportunity to give your views; that duty applies in felony cases and, where the defendant did not already plead guilty or no contest at arraignment, in serious misdemeanor cases such as domestic assault.^[17][18] These are rights to be heard. They are not a power to decide: the Court of Appeals has said that crime victims have not been given authority to determine whether a prosecution should go forward or be dismissed.^[19]

An advocate at a community domestic violence agency is a different person from the prosecutor's staff. A confidential communication made in a consultation with a counselor at a sexual assault or domestic violence crisis center is not admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding without the victim's prior written consent, except as the child protection law provides.^[20][21] If anyone else contacts you about the case, ask who they are and whom they work for before you discuss it.

The subpoena

A subpoena is a court paper that directs you to appear at a stated place, date and time. If a person fails to comply with a properly served subpoena, the court where the case is pending may consider the failure a contempt of court.^[3] Michigan's contempt statute gives courts power to punish, by fine or imprisonment or both, a person who has been subpoenaed as a witness and refuses or neglects to obey the subpoena, to attend, to be sworn, or to answer a legal and proper question.^[22] Under MCL 600.1715, punishment for contempt may be a fine of not more than $7,500, imprisonment, or both. Imprisonment may not exceed 93 days, except where the person is committed for failing to perform an act or duty that is still within the person's power to perform; in that case the statute sets no fixed number of days, and the imprisonment ends when the person performs the act or no longer has the power to perform it.^[23] These are the limits of what a court may order, not a description of what a court does in any particular case.

Practical steps when a subpoena arrives:

• Read the date, time, courtroom and the phone number printed on it.
• Call the prosecutor's office promptly if you have a conflict, need transportation or an interpreter, or are worried about being near the defendant.
• Call again the day before. Hearings are often rescheduled, and the office can tell you whether you are still needed.
• Tell your employer. An employer who threatens, discharges or disciplines a victim for being subpoenaed or asked by the prosecutor to attend court to testify commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.^[6]

What can happen when a witness does not appear, including the separate material witness procedure, is covered in Can a victim refuse to testify?

When you may be asked to testify

You testify only at a hearing where testimony is taken, and the subpoena tells you which one. A first-offense domestic assault is a misdemeanor.^[24] The stages of a misdemeanor case, including the trial, are laid out in the misdemeanor case timeline.

A felony case has an earlier hearing, the preliminary examination. At the prosecutor's request, the examination begins immediately at the time set for the probable cause conference for the sole purpose of taking and preserving the testimony of a victim who is present, and a victim who testifies that way is not called again at the adjourned examination absent a showing of good cause.^[25] Testimony given at a preliminary examination can be used at trial if the witness is later unavailable and the defense had the chance to cross-examine.^[26] See the felony case timeline and the preliminary examination.

Some hearings are scheduled by video. Where the court rules make videoconferencing the preferred mode, any participant, including a victim under the Crime Victim's Rights Act, may request to appear in person.^[27]

In the courtroom

Arrive early and check in with the prosecutor's office. When you are called, you take an oath, the prosecutor asks questions first, and the defense lawyer then cross-examines. The order of a trial is described in What happens at a domestic violence trial.

• Being present. You have the right to be present throughout the entire trial unless you are going to be called as a witness; in that case the court may, for good cause shown, order you sequestered until you first testify, and you may not be sequestered after that.^[5][28]
• Questions about credibility. Any party, including the party that called a witness, may attack the witness's credibility.^[29] Either lawyer may therefore ask about things you said earlier.
• Limits on questioning. Under MRE 611(a) the court must exercise reasonable control over the examination of witnesses to protect them from harassment or undue embarrassment. In a 2026 decision, the Court of Appeals upheld a trial court that barred a self-represented defendant from personally cross-examining his former girlfriend at his trial for assault with intent to murder her.^[30]
• Your address. Based on a victim's reasonable apprehension of violence or intimidation, the prosecutor may move that the victim not be compelled to testify to the victim's address, place of employment or other personal identification without consent.^[31] In felony cases the victim's address and telephone numbers are kept out of the court file and ordinary court documents, apart from a trial transcript or an address that identifies the place of the crime.^[32]
• A support person. The statute that entitles a witness to have a support person sit with or near them while testifying defines "witness" as an alleged victim of an offense listed in that statute who is under 16, is 16 or older with a developmental disability, or is a vulnerable adult.^[33][34] Ask the prosecutor's office ahead of time who may come with you and where they may sit.

On the stand, listen to the whole question, answer that question, and tell the truth. If you do not understand a question, say so. If you do not know or do not remember something, say that instead of guessing.

Your earlier statements

You may be asked about what you said on a 911 call, to an officer, or at an earlier hearing. Michigan law treats those statements differently depending on how they were made:

• A witness's earlier unsworn statement that conflicts with the testimony can be used to judge the witness's credibility, but it is generally not admissible as substantive evidence unless a hearsay exception applies.^[35]
• One such exception is MCL 768.27c, a statutory hearsay exception for a statement that narrates, describes or explains the infliction or threat of physical injury on the person making it.^[36]
• A prior inconsistent statement given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing or other proceeding is not hearsay when the witness testifies and is subject to cross-examination about it.^[37]

Testimony in court is given under oath. Perjury in a court proceeding requires proof that the person made a false statement while under an oath the person was legally required to take, and knew the statement was false when making it.^[38] It is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years in a case that is not the trial of a capital crime.^[39] The evidence rules are explained in Statements to police under MCL 768.27c and Recanting: when the accuser changes the story.

If someone pressures you about your testimony

It is a crime for any person to use threat or intimidation to discourage someone from attending or testifying at an official proceeding, to influence testimony, or to encourage someone to avoid legal process, withhold testimony or testify falsely.^[40] Offering or promising anything of value for those purposes is also prohibited.^[41] A violation is a felony punishable by up to 4 years in prison, and by up to 15 years if it involves committing or attempting a crime or a threat to kill or injure any person or to cause property damage.^[42]

If this happens, tell the prosecutor's office; the written notice you received is supposed to include suggested procedures for threats or intimidation.^[15] Based on any credible evidence of acts or threats of physical violence or intimidation by the defendant, or at the defendant's direction, against the victim or the victim's immediate family, the prosecutor may move to revoke the defendant's bond.^[43] If you are in danger, call 911. More detail is in Witness tampering and pressuring a victim not to testify.

After you testify

If the defendant is convicted, you have the right to make an oral impact statement at sentencing, and a victim who is physically or emotionally unable to do so may designate another adult to speak.^[44] See Victim impact statements and Restitution. To be told when a prisoner is released, you can register with MI-VINE, Michigan's automated notification service, or call (800) 770-7657.^[45]

What people get wrong

• "I am the one pressing charges, so I can stop the case." A Michigan court erred when it dismissed domestic assault charges because the complaining witness did not testify; the decision to prosecute belongs to the prosecutor.^[19][1] Your options are set out in If you want the charges dropped.
• "If I do not come, the case is over." A subpoena can be enforced through contempt, and the Court of Appeals has noted that a prosecutor may have a basis to proceed by showing that a witness is unavailable under the Rules of Evidence.^[3][46]
• "Anyone I choose can sit beside me on the witness stand." The support-person statute covers only the categories of witnesses listed above.^[33][34]