Rule 3.709.Appeals
Subchapter 3.700 — Personal Protection and Extreme Risk Protection Proceedings · Last verified September 5, 2026
Full Text of Rule 3.709
Plain-English Summary
MCR 3.709 sorts personal protection rulings into two piles: those a party may appeal as of right, and those that reach a higher court only by leave. The sorting turns on whether a hearing has happened.
Which rules apply
Subrule (A) sends these appeals to subchapter 7.200 except as this rule provides. Appeals involving minor personal protection actions under the Juvenile Code must also comply with MCR 3.993. A reader handling a case against a minor respondent has two sets of appellate requirements to satisfy, not one.
Appeals from the order itself
Subrule (B)(1) gives either party an appeal of right in two situations:
- An order granting or denying a personal protection order after a hearing under MCR 3.705(B)(6).
- The ruling on the respondent's first motion to rescind or modify the order, where an ex parte order was entered.
The logic is consistent. An appeal of right follows a contested proceeding. Where the order issued without notice, the appeal of right attaches not to the ex parte order but to the ruling on the respondent's first challenge to it, which is the first point at which both sides have been heard. Subrule (B)(2) puts everything else on the leave track. A second motion to rescind or modify, and other orders along the way, reach the appellate court only if that court agrees to take them.
Appeals after a violation hearing
Subrule (C)(1) gives the respondent an appeal of right from a sentence for criminal contempt entered after a contested hearing. Two limits sit inside that sentence. The appeal belongs to the respondent, and it runs from a sentence for criminal contempt, entered after a contested hearing rather than following a plea. Subrule (C)(2) routes all other appeals concerning violation proceedings through an application for leave.
Read as a whole, the rule keeps a narrow entrance. A party who litigated the question and lost gets review without asking permission. Everyone else asks. That structure fits a subchapter built for speed, where an order takes effect when the judge signs it and expires on a date stated on its face.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a denied PPO be appealed in Michigan?
Subrule (B)(1)(a) gives either party an appeal of right from an order granting or denying a personal protection order after a hearing under MCR 3.705(B)(6).
How does a respondent appeal an ex parte PPO?
Subrule (B)(1)(b) attaches the appeal of right to the ruling on the respondent's first motion to rescind or modify the order where an ex parte order was entered, rather than to the ex parte order itself.
Which PPO orders require an application for leave to appeal?
Subrule (B)(2) puts appeals of all other orders on the leave track, and subrule (C)(2) does the same for appeals concerning violation proceedings other than a sentence for criminal contempt after a contested hearing.
Can a PPO contempt sentence be appealed?
Subrule (C)(1) gives the respondent an appeal of right from a sentence for criminal contempt entered after a contested hearing. Other appeals concerning violation proceedings go by application for leave.
What appellate rules apply to a personal protection order appeal?
Subrule (A) requires compliance with subchapter 7.200 except as MCR 3.709 provides. Appeals involving minor personal protection actions under the Juvenile Code must additionally comply with MCR 3.993.