A Minor Misdemeanor Is A Citation
MCL 764.9c — an appearance ticket required for misdemeanors of 1 year or less, with exceptions
When a ticket is required. Except where the section allows otherwise, an officer issues an appearance ticket and releases a person arrested for a misdemeanor or ordinance violation with a maximum penalty of not more than 1 year in jail or a fine, unless it is a serious misdemeanor, an assaultive crime, a domestic violence offense, or an operating while intoxicated offense.
- The person refuses the officer's reasonable instructions.
- The person will not offer satisfactory evidence of identification.
- The offense would likely continue or resume, or another person or property would be endangered.
- The person presents an immediate danger to themselves or needs immediate medical care.
Those are among the circumstances in which the officer may take the person before a magistrate instead of issuing the ticket.
Never a ticket. An appearance ticket is not issued for domestic violence, a personal protection order violation, a serious misdemeanor, or another assaultive crime.
What happens if the person does not appear, and the offenses themselves, are set out in other sections that are not on this page. Whether an arrest was lawful in a particular case is a question for a licensed Michigan attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- MCL 764.9c — Appearance tickets for misdemeanors and ordinance violations
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.