A personal protection order is designed to keep a person from either assaulting, beating, entering the property where a person lives or attends school, wounding or molesting a certain individual. A personal protection order has certain aspects that are going to be important to understand. Because of this, it is extremely important you work with an experienced domestic violence attorney who has a lot of experience dealing with PPO’s and therefore knows how to advise his clients how to abide by these orders.
Common Restrictions from a Personal Protection Order
These orders given out in Michigan courts always require a person to cease engaging in certain activities including:
- Contacting by phone,
- Physically following,
- Appearing in the victim’s sight,
- Having an object or putting an object on the property of an owner,
- Appearing within sight,
- Showing up at the person’s workplace or residence,
- Keeping a person from stopping another person from removing their personal property on a premise that they own,
- Confronting an individual or approaching them in private or public property,
- Sending communication to a person such as an e-mail,
- Keeping a person from entering a place of employment by an individual or taking steps to make sure a person is not able to get employment by harassment or other means.
Other PPO Conditions
Any person that has the ability to gather records that concern a minor child, such as records that include a telephone number, an address, employment address can use that information to cause physical or mental distress or control over a person. A personal protection order tries to prevent that from happening. A ppo can also order another person not to injure, torture, neglect an animal that a person has ownership interest in and prevent others from removing an animal that is in another person’s possession.
A PPO can prevent a person from getting possession of or purchasing an animal. These orders can also prevent a person from possession, owning and purchasing a firearm.
After a person has filed the required paperwork at court and served the other person the personal protection order or served the other party a notice that a hearing is coming up, the party must appear in court by themselves or with an attorney. If there is a lawyer present at court, the lawyer must explain to the judge why the order is no longer needed or invalid. In some circumstances, the attorney may only argue that certain conditions are of the ppo are no longer required or appropriate.
Protective Order Violations
If there is a ppo order out on a person because of a domestic violence charge, a person can be punished by up to 93 days in jail for violating this order as well as a $500 fine. When there is a personal protection order out in Michigan for a domestic violence charge or conviction, a new charge of domestic violence is probably not needed and inappropriate. A new charge could violate the double jeopardy right in the United States Constitution.
Three Types of Personal Protection Orders
There are three types of PPOs:
- Domestic RelationshipPPO
- Nondomestic (Stalking) PPO
- Nondomestic Sexual Assault PPO
One type of PPO is a Domestic Relationship order. A judge will grant this order when it shown that an abuser is likely to stalk, harass, assault and threaten a person that they have a domestic relationship with.
A nondomestic stalking ppo will be issued when the victim does not have a domestic relationship with the person. In order to grant this type of protective order, the judge must be shown that there were at least two incidents of harassment. Harassment is contact that a person does not want to have with another person. Harassment serves no valid purpose and causes fear or emotional harm. It must be something that would cause a reasonable person to suffer harm or fear.
Finally, there is a nondomestic sexual assault ppo. This protective order is designed to protect a person who has been sexually assault of threatened with sexual assault. There does not need to be a domestic relationship in order to establish this personal protection order. If a victim is under the age of 18, this would include giving them obscene material.
If you have any questions regarding these protective orders, a no contact order or have a court date set for a hearing on this matter, please contact me today at 616-438-6719. The call is free, so you have nothing to lose by calling me right now!
A PPO Is Civil — and That Is Exactly Why It Is Dangerous
A personal protection order is not a criminal charge, so people underestimate it. That is a mistake. A PPO can be entered on one person's sworn allegations, without you in the room, and it can put you out of your own home, off your own property, away from your children's school, and — if it qualifies under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) — take your firearms while it is in effect. All of that can happen without you being charged with any crime at all.
Two kinds exist. A domestic-relationship PPO under MCL 600.2950 covers a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, dating partner, or someone who lives or lived in your household. A non-domestic or stalking PPO under MCL 600.2950a covers everyone else and is tied to conduct amounting to stalking.
The Ex Parte Order
Michigan allows a judge to enter a PPO ex parte — on the petition alone, without notice to you — where giving you notice would risk irreparable injury, loss, or damage. It takes effect immediately and it is enforceable immediately, whether or not you agree with a word of it.
The deadline matters: to challenge an ex parte PPO you generally must file a motion to terminate or modify within 14 days of being served. Miss it and you can be left living under the order while it runs. If you have been served, do not wait to see what happens.
How I Fight One
The hearing on a motion to terminate is a genuine evidentiary hearing — testimony, exhibits, and cross-examination of the petitioner. In my experience that is where PPOs based on exaggeration come apart, because a petition written in one emotional afternoon has to survive questioning months later. What I work with:
- The petition's own words. Vague allegations, no dates, no specifics — a PPO has to rest on conduct, not on a characterization.
- Your messages. Full text threads, in context and in order, rather than the three screenshots attached to the petition.
- Timing. A PPO filed the week a divorce or custody motion is filed is a fact the court is entitled to know about — see false allegations.
- Independent evidence. Where you actually were, who was present, what other records show.
- Proportionality. Even where some contact occurred, the scope of the order — your home, your workplace, your children's school — may be far broader than anything justifies.
Living Under a PPO Without Making It Worse
- Obey it completely, even if it is unjust. The place to fight it is the hearing. A violation destroys your position.
- It binds you even if they contact you. Same trap as a no-contact bond condition. Do not respond. Save it. Send it to me.
- No third-party messages. Passing something through a friend or relative is still contact.
- Deal with firearms immediately. If the order qualifies federally, possession is a crime from the moment it is entered.
- Ask the court about your belongings. A civil standby, not a trip over on your own.
If You Are Also Facing Charges
A PPO and a criminal domestic violence case frequently run in parallel, in different courtrooms, with different terms — and testimony you give in the PPO hearing can be used in the criminal case. That is a real risk and it needs to be managed deliberately, by one attorney who is looking at both files. See my Grand Rapids domestic violence defense guide and gun rights after a DV charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a personal protection order in Michigan?
A PPO is a civil court order restraining one person from contacting or approaching another. A domestic-relationship PPO is issued under MCL 600.2950 and covers a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, dating partner, or household member. A separate non-domestic or stalking PPO is issued under MCL 600.2950a. It is a civil matter, entirely separate from any criminal charge.
Can a PPO be issued without me knowing?
Yes. Michigan allows an ex parte PPO — entered on the petitioner’s sworn allegations alone, without notice to you and without a hearing — where the judge finds that giving notice would risk irreparable injury, loss, or damage. You typically learn about it when you are served, and it is effective and enforceable immediately.
How do I fight a PPO in Michigan?
By filing a motion to terminate or modify it. For an ex parte PPO, that motion generally must be filed within 14 days of being served. The court then holds a hearing where you can present evidence, testify, and cross-examine the petitioner. This is a real evidentiary hearing, and it is the point at which unsupported allegations get tested.
What happens if I violate a PPO?
Violating a PPO is criminal contempt of court, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine. You can be arrested without a warrant. A PPO that qualifies under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) also prohibits you from possessing firearms while it is in effect — before any conviction for anything.
Talk to Me Before You Talk to Anyone Else
I am Shawn Haff, and I defend domestic violence cases across Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Van Buren counties. The call is free, I answer my own phone, and the earlier I am involved the more options you have. Call 616-438-6719 or send me a message.