Domestic Violence Defense
Defense for domestic assault charges in the 19th District Court and across Wayne County, including bond conditions, no-contact orders, and the first-offense deferral that avoids a conviction.
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The charge
LegalSolv’s domestic violence lawyers in Dearborn, Michigan defend domestic assault charges in the 19th District Court, the 36th District Court in Detroit, and the other district courts across Wayne County, in English and Arabic.
A domestic violence charge in Michigan is an assault charge with a relationship attached. Under MCL 750.81, an assault or assault and battery against a spouse, former spouse, dating partner, co-parent, or household member is a misdemeanor with up to 93 days in jail on a first offense, up to one year on a second, and a felony with up to five years on a third. Aggravated domestic assault, where the injury is serious, carries up to one year on a first offense and up to five years on a second.
The number on the charge is only part of the exposure. A conviction brings a federal firearm ban and Michigan’s own eight-year ban, shows up on every background check, can be used in a custody case, and for a non-citizen is a ground of deportability. That is why the goal in most first-offense cases is to end the matter without a conviction at all.
The first 48 hours
Police responding to a domestic call in Michigan can arrest without a warrant on probable cause, and in practice someone usually leaves in handcuffs. The arraignment follows quickly, and the bond conditions set there matter more than people expect: a no-contact order with the complaining witness, often an order to stay away from the shared home, sometimes alcohol testing. Those conditions stay in place for the life of the case unless a judge changes them.
We try to be in the case before the arraignment. When we cannot, the first motion we file asks the court to modify the no-contact terms so that children can be exchanged, a shared business can run, and a client is not sleeping in a car for six months because of a bond condition. Judges in the Wayne County district courts grant reasonable modifications regularly when they are asked properly.
The second rule of the first 48 hours is simple and ignored constantly: do not contact the other person. Not to apologize, not to ask them to drop it, not through a relative. Contact in violation of the bond order is a new charge and the fastest way to turn a defensible case into an indefensible one.
The first-offense deferral
Michigan law, at MCL 769.4a, allows a court to accept a plea on a first domestic violence charge without entering a judgment, place the person on probation with conditions, and dismiss the case when probation ends. The record is nonpublic. It requires the prosecutor’s consent after consulting the complaining witness, it is unavailable to anyone with a prior assaultive conviction, and it is a one-time option.
For a client with no record, the deferral is usually the best realistic outcome, and the work in the case is positioning for it: a clean bond record, early enrollment in counseling where appropriate, and a presentation to the prosecutor that supports consent.
When the case should be fought
Some domestic violence charges are not what the complaint says. Mutual fights where the person who called first became the complaining witness. Self-defense, which Michigan law recognizes without a duty to retreat when you are lawfully where you are. Injuries that the photographs do not support. A complaining witness whose account has changed. Statements taken from a client who was intoxicated, injured, or did not understand the questions.
Those cases are built on the 911 recording, the body camera footage, the photographs, the medical records, and the witness statements, all of which we obtain before any plea discussion. A complaining witness who does not want to proceed does not end the case, but it changes what the prosecutor can prove, and that changes the negotiation.
Where Wayne County domestic violence cases are heard
Misdemeanor domestic violence charges from Dearborn are heard at the 19th District Court from arraignment through sentencing. Felony charges start there and bind over to the Wayne County Circuit Court. Detroit cases run through the 36th District Court, Dearborn Heights through the 20th. Personal protection orders are a separate civil matter in the Circuit Court’s family division, and because a PPO and a criminal charge often arrive together, our family law attorneys and criminal defense attorneys in Dearborn work the two sides as one case.
How we handle it
The same attorney handles the case from the arraignment through resolution. The first meeting covers the bond conditions, whether a 769.4a deferral is realistic, the firearm and immigration consequences of each possible outcome, and what evidence exists. Bring the complaint, the bond paperwork, and any order you were served with.
This is a focused part of our criminal defense practice. Call (313) 425-5555 to talk through your situation.
Domestic Violence FAQ
Michigan does not have a separate crime called domestic violence. It is an assault or an assault and battery committed against a person in a protected relationship: a spouse or former spouse, someone you have a child with, someone you are or were dating, or a current or former member of your household. The relationship is what makes it domestic. A first offense is a misdemeanor with up to 93 days in jail; a second is up to one year; a third is a felony with up to five years. Aggravated domestic assault, involving serious injury, carries up to one year for a first offense and up to five years for a second.
No. In Michigan the charge belongs to the prosecutor, not the complaining witness. A person who calls police and later wants the case dropped can tell the prosecutor so, and that matters, but the prosecutor decides whether to proceed and can go forward using the 911 recording, photographs, body camera footage, and statements made that night. Contacting the other person to ask them to drop it, while a no-contact order is in place, creates a new charge.
For a first domestic violence offense, Michigan law lets the court take a plea without entering a judgment of conviction, place you on probation with conditions such as a batterer intervention program, and dismiss the case when probation is completed. The record becomes nonpublic. It requires the prosecutor's agreement after consulting the complaining witness, it is not available to someone with a prior assaultive conviction, and it can be used once. For most first-offense clients it is the outcome we work toward from the first day.
A conviction can. Federal law bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms, and Michigan law adds its own eight-year ban following a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. A felony conviction carries the standard firearm prohibitions. A 769.4a deferral that ends in dismissal is not a conviction, which is one of the reasons the deferral matters so much to clients who hunt, work security, or hold a concealed pistol license.
A no-contact order is a bond condition set by the criminal court at arraignment. It usually bars any contact with the complaining witness and can bar you from the shared home. Violating it is a new offense and can revoke your bond. A personal protection order is a separate civil order that the other person asks the Wayne County Circuit Court's family division for, under MCL 600.2950. It can be issued without you present and carries its own penalties. We handle both, and we ask the criminal court to modify no-contact terms when children, a shared home, or a shared business make a complete bar unworkable.
Yes. A domestic violence conviction is a ground of deportability under federal immigration law, and it can affect green card renewals and naturalization. For non-citizen clients, that risk shapes every decision in the case, including whether a deferral or a plea to a different offense is the right path. We coordinate with immigration counsel before any plea is entered.
Criminal Defense Across Metro Detroit
We represent criminal defense clients throughout Wayne County from our Dearborn office.
Visit Our Dearborn Office
We represent domestic violence clients throughout Wayne County and Metro Detroit from our Dearborn office.
- Address 22226 Garrison St
Dearborn, MI 48124 - Phone (313) 425-5555
- Hours Mon - Fri: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
- Languages English & Arabic
Charged with domestic violence? Do not wait for the next hearing.
Bond conditions set at the arraignment decide where you can live and who you can talk to. Get counsel before that hearing, not after.