“Except as provided by this rule, appeals involving [PPO] matters must comply with subchapter 7.200 [of the Michigan Court Rules]. Appeals involving minor [PPOs] under the Juvenile Code must additionally comply with MCR 3.993.”1 MCR 3.709(A). See also MCR 3.981, which requires compliance with MCR 3.709 and MCR 3.993 in minor PPO appeals. MCR 3.993 provides, in pertinent part:
“(A) The following orders are appealable to the Court of Appeals by right:
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(7) any final order.
In any appeal as of right, an indigent respondent is entitled to appointment of an attorney to represent the respondent on appeal and to preparation of relevant transcripts.
(B) All orders not listed in subrule (A) are appealable to the Court of Appeals by leave.
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(D) Request and Appointment of Counsel.
(1) A request for appointment of appellate counsel must be made within 21 days after notice of the order is given or an order is entered denying a timely filed postjudgment motion.
(2) If a request for appointment of appellate counsel is timely filed and the court finds that the respondent is financially unable to provide an attorney, the court shall appoint an attorney within 14 days after the respondent’s request is filed. The chief judge of the court shall bear primary responsibility for ensuring that the appointment is made within the deadline stated in this rule.
(3) The order described in subrule (D)(2) must be entered on a form approved by the State Court Administrator’s Office, entitled ‘Claim of Appeal and Order Appointing Counsel,’ and the court must immediately send to the Court of Appeals a copy of the Claim of Appeal and Order Appointing Counsel, a copy of the judgment or order being appealed, and a copy of the complete register of actions in the case. The court must also file in the Court of Appeals proof of having made service of the Claim of Appeal and Order Appointing Counsel on the respondent(s), appointed counsel for the respondent(s), the court reporter(s)/recorder(s), petitioner, the prosecuting attorney, the lawyer-guardian ad litem for the child(ren) under MCL 712A.13a(1)(f), and the guardian ad litem or attorney (if any) for the child(ren). Entry of the order by the trial court pursuant to this subrule constitutes a timely filed claim of appeal for the purposes of MCR 7.204.[2]
(E) Transcripts. If the court appoints appellate counsel for respondent, the court must order the complete transcripts of all proceedings prepared at public expense.” MCR 3.993.
Although mediation may be ordered during the pendency of certain appeals, “[a]ppeals of domestic relations actions and protection matters are excluded from mediation under [MCR 7.213].” MCR 7.213(A)(1)(a) (emphasis added).
MCR 3.709(B) provides:
“(1) Either party has an appeal of right from
(a) an order granting or denying a [PPO] after a hearing under subrule 3.705(B)(6),[3] or
(b) the ruling on respondent’s first motion to rescind or modify the order if an ex parte order was entered.
(2) Appeals of all other orders are by leave to appeal.”
“[A]n appeal taken from the entry of a [PPO] is [not] rendered moot solely due to the expiration of the PPO”; “identifying an improperly issued PPO as rescinded is a live controversy,” and “an appeal challenging a PPO, with an eye toward determining whether a PPO should be updated in [the Law Enforcement Information Network] as rescinded, need not fall within an exception to the mootness doctrine to warrant appellate review; instead, such a dispute is simply not moot.” TM v MZ, 501 Mich 312, 318-320 (2018) (holding that “the mere fact that the instant PPO expired during the pendency of this appeal does not render this appeal moot”).
Unpreserved issues on appeal in PPO proceedings are reviewed for plain error. HMM v JS, ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2024). Although the “raise-or-waive rule” applies in general civil cases and PPO proceedings are civil in nature, plain-error review applies to PPO proceedings “because of the potential criminal consequences for a respondent’s violation of a PPO, and the liberty interests at stake.” Id. at ___.
B.Appeals From Finding After Violation Hearing
MCR 3.709(C) provides:
“(1) The respondent has an appeal of right from a sentence for criminal contempt entered after a contested hearing.
(2) All other appeals concerning violation proceedings are by application for leave.”
A trial court’s sentencing order on a criminal contempt conviction for a PPO violation—including an extension of the PPO’s expiration date as a condition of the sentence4—is appealable as of right under MCR 3.709(C)(1). In re SB, ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2024) (“[A]lthough an extension of a PPO by itself is normally only appealable by leave granted, the order imposed here as a condition of respondent’s sentence is encompassed in the instant appeal as of right from this sentence.”). In other words, “[b]ecause the [trial] court clearly contemplated the PPO’s extension as a condition of its sentence, respondent’s appeal of the extension is an appeal from respondent’s sentence for criminal contempt entered after the contested hearing, which would then be by right.” Id. at ___.
1 “Minor personal protection action” refers to a PPO action in which the respondent is under age 18. MCR 3.702(6)-(7). For additional information regarding a minor as a party to a personal protection proceeding, see Section 5.4.
2 MCR 7.204, in part, prescribes the time requirements for filing an appeal.
3 For information on a hearing under MCR 3.705(B)(6), see Section 5.7(F).
4 For information on extending a PPO, see Section 5.11.