NCJ Number
208755
Date Published
2002
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This document explains the characteristics of and procedures associated with the following types of legal cases that may be linked to incidents of domestic violence: criminal cases, personal protection orders, suits for divorce, and suits for civil damages, with a focus on Michigan law and legal procedures.
Abstract
In discussing criminal cases that may be brought for various types of domestic violence, the focus is on assault and battery, stalking, and criminal sexual conduct. Federal crimes associated with domestic violence are also defined, namely, crossing State borders to commit domestic violence or stalking or to violate a protection order. In describing the police response in Michigan criminal cases, topics addressed include when the police can arrest an assailant without a warrant, rights of a crime victim after the police have come to the crime scene, what to do if the police don't respond to a call for help or if the police do not arrest the perpetrator, and how to get the best police response. The next section of the document describes what happens after the perpetrator is arrested. Court procedures in criminal cases are then described. A section on personal protection orders (PPO's) explains the features of a PPO, what the court can order in a PPO, how to get a PPO, what can be done if the PPO is violated, and whether a PPO applies when the party protected travels to another State. Remaining sections explain various legal proceedings associated with suits for divorce, suits for civil damages, going to court, and firearms restrictions.