Michigan domestic violence survivors work to change state Personal Protection Orders
The push to change personal protection orders
The push for change intensified after the August killing of a Detroit woman, Latricia Green, who had been granted a PPO, but it was never served, leaving it legally inert and her unprotected. Her ex-husband went to Henry Ford Hospital and shot her.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - There is a new push to change the law regarding what domestic violence survivors are required to do to serve personal protection orders (PPOs).
The proposed law would bring Michigan in line with more than 40 other states.
FOX 2 spoke with the two lawmakers behind the effort. This is bipartisan legislation.
Big picture view:
Under Michigan’s current PPO process, someone who obtains a protective order, often a domestic violence survivor, must ensure that the order is served on the respondent—the person it restricts—before it takes effect.
"It’s a problematic situation. The fact that 43 other states don’t charge for serving a PPO is telling," said State Senator Stephanie Chang.
The push for change intensified after the August killing of a Detroit woman, Latricia Green, who had been granted a PPO, but it was never served, leaving it legally inert and her unprotected. Her ex-husband went to Henry Ford Hospital and shot her.
Advocates, survivors, law enforcement leaders, and legislators argue that charging victims to serve protective orders puts them in danger and is inconsistent with how most other states handle PPOs.
"We should not be making victims jump through hoops. A law was put on the books 30 years ago, and Michigan got around it by letting a family member or friend serve that. It was just a bad setup," said State Senator Ruth Johnson.
Dig deeper:
The Michigan Senate unanimously passed the bills, which are now headed to the state House. If passed, PPOs would have to be served by law enforcement immediately once issued by a judge, and victims would not have to pay for them to be served.