Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: personal protection order

If the PPO "does not get terminated", then you have to obey it until the order is changed or terminated.

A plaintiff cannot violate a PPO because the order is entered against the PPO defendant/respondant. The order does not say "Plaintiff/Petitioner cannot do A, B and C", it says "Defendant/Respondant cannot do X, Y and Z".

Yes, some PPO petitioners act inconsistently with the protections afforded by the PPO. Yes, a court can consider this as evidence that the petitioner no longer needs some or all of the PPO terms in place when ruling on a request to modify or terminate the PPO. But a court will probably not take a "one strike and the petitioner's out" approach.

Again, the PPO tells the DEFENDANT to stay away from the PLAINTIFF. The Plaintiff isn't supposed to adjust his/her life to stay away from the Defendant ... it's the other way around. And, the Defendant is supposed to obey the court order ... or face possible criminal contempt of court, with up to 93 days in jail. If the Plaintff approaches or calls or writes the Defendant, or asks the Defendant come "come over", the Defendant should obey the court order and say, "No, I can't do that. Sorry. Your PPO says that I can't do that."

Yes, the defendant can then use that Plintiff's conduct/request in a motion to modify/terminate the PPO. But don't use the plaintiff's conduct-of-the-moment as a "defense" or a justification for violating the PPO. Some judges might cut you some slack, but others might not. Is it worth the risk?

The plaintiff/petitioner used the system to get the PPO. If you disagree and feel that the PPO is not justified, you can use the same system to get the order terminated or modified. Don't use "self-help". Don't point the finger at the plaintiff and say, "I violated the PPO because the plaintiff invited me over." (Cops won't care. They'll confirm with LEIN that you are violating the court order's terms and arrest you on the spot.) Rather, gather your evidence of why the plaintiff's original allegations supporting the PPO are untrue and/or evidence of why the plaintiff doesn't need PPO protection anymore and include that in your motion to modify/terminate the PPO.

If you lose such a request once and the plaintiff does more things that essentially tell the world that he/she no longer needs PPO protections from you, then file a second motion. Etc.