Given the amount of emotion that you and your partner have invested in your relationship, it may come as little surprise when the occasional outburst occurs between you. In these instances, some separation might help to smooth things over. Yet if that results in your being served with a personal protective order due to an accusation of domestic assault, you may be left reeling.
Michigan law classifies as physical, sexual or emotional abuse against a member of your household. The inclusion of emotional abuse could mean that a PPO results from an incident in which there is not physical encounter. Even so, the restrictions that such an order places on you are the same.
Your first impulse may be to contact your partner to try and talk through the situation (with the hope that will help the situation from escalating any further). Yet according to the Michigan Department of Community Health, a violation of a PPO could leave facing fines of up to $500, 93 days in jail or both. On top of that, you violating a PPO can be used against you in any subsequent hearings that are held to determine whether the order should remain in place.
You are entitled to respond to the charges your partner has made against you in a hearing. This may be the more appropriate forum to speak with them, in a controlled environment under the supervision of the court. Plus, such a hearing will allow you the opportunity to present your side of the story. You also do not need to worry about having a PPO taken out against you appearing on any public records; the record of such an order (absent any subsequent criminal charges) will not typically endure.