Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In part 1 of this article, we began examining the probability of avoiding jail in 1st and 2nd Offense DUI cases. We saw that with the exception of 1 Judge in the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills, a 1st Offender can safely assume that they are NOT going to face any Jail time.

We next looked at 2nd Offense cases, and saw that, while Jail can usually be avoided in Macomb and Wayne Counties, things change if the case is pending in an Oakland County Court, and we also noted that, generally speaking, the farther north one goes, the worse things get.

In this second part, we'll pick up by looking at 3rd Offense cases, and we'll wrap up by looking at certain general principles that apply in all cases, be they 1st, 2nd or 3rd Offenses.

To begin, we should bear in mind that 3rd Offense (Felony) cases are an entirely different species from their 1st and 2nd Offense Misdemeanor relatives. Of course, part of that difference is that while 1st and 2nd Offense cases are Misdemeanors, meaning punishable only by a Sentence of either 93 days or 1 year in the County Jail, respectively, a 3rd Offense is a Felony that can carry a Prison Sentence of up to 5 years.

Before anyone starts fearing being carted off to Jackson Prison to start a new career in License Plate Manufacturing, it should be noted that a Prison Sentence is usually reserved for people with far more than 2 or 3 prior DUI's. The law does, however, require a person convicted of a 3rd Offense to serve at least 30 days in Jail. That's not negotiable.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that in Macomb County, a person who has only 2 prior DUI's , and who is facing a "true" 3rd Offense (meaning it is only the 3rd time they've ever been charged with a DUI) can, if things are handled correctly, avoid a Felony conviction altogether. In other words, a "true" 3rd Offense, if things are done right, can be reduced to a 2nd Offense Misdemeanor (and can, possibly, also avoid a Jail Sentence). This is not an option in Oakland County, and is seldom, if ever done in Wayne County. This is almost entirely a Macomb County deal.

Continue reading "DUI - Staying out of Jail in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties - Part 2" »

Amongst the various articles within the Drunk Driving section of this blog, I have addressed the issue of avoiding Jail in 1st Offense DUI cases, 2nd Offense cases, and 3rd Offense cases, albeit separately. It has been politely suggested to me that not everyone wants to engage in the kind of time consuming, in-depth research that I find so interesting, and that some would prefer a single, more overview-type article about staying out of Jail in DUI cases covering all 3 levels of the Offense. This 2-part article will be my best attempt to do that.

At the risk of being both repetitive and overbearing, it is, I think, worth pointing out that my experience as a DUI Lawyer spans more than 20 years. I don't handle Divorce cases (never have), Don't do Wills (never have), and don't sue anybody. The bread and butter of what I do is DUI and Driver's License Restoration (which itself arises from multiple DUI's). Accordingly, what I am about to describe below is the product of tremendous experience handling DUI cases. It's not merely a part of what I do; it is the very foundation of what I do, day-in and day-out.

That said, in more recent years I have been able to restrict my DUI practice to the Tri-County area around Detroit. My Website's name, macombduidefense.com, should be a clue to that. I handle DUI cases in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties. Once in a while, I'll take a case in Lapeer or St. Clair County, or even Livingston County, but I do not and will not go beyond these areas. As a result, some, or even much of what I say may not apply to cases pending in other Counties.

After being hired, the first thing any good DUI Lawyer is going to examine is whether there is some way to beat the charge, or have some of the evidence (usually from the Stop, the Field Sobriety Tests, or the Chemical Testing, meaning Breath or Blood) "thrown out."

Even if a challenge to the evidence may not result in an outright dismissal of the charge, it can possibly aid the Lawyer in getting the case knocked down to a non-alcohol traffic charge. To be truthful, this examination is (and should be) undertaken in every case, but finding such "problems" with the evidence is far more the exception, rather than the rule.

This means that the vast majority of DUI Arrests will hold up, and the person will have to deal with a DUI charge as a DUI charge. Still, it doesn't hurt to "dot the I's and cross the T's" and make sure that case is solid.

Continue reading "DUI - Staying out of Jail in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties - Part 1" »

In part 1 of this article, we began examining the PSI process and the role of the Alcohol Assessment Test in DUI cases. We'll continue with a more detailed discussion of the Alcohol Assessment Test and the role of the Probation Officer is determining what happens to a person facing a DUI.

People often ask if doing well on an Alcohol Assessment Test is more a matter of common-sense than anything else. To a degree, it is, but there's way more to it than that. From a clinical point of view, a standardized Alcohol Assessment Test looks for and measures 5 traits, or markers, of an alcohol problem. If a person is NOT thoroughly familiar with these 5 "markers," and cannot explain them and their implications in detail, then they are just going though the Assessment blindly. Again, it takes hours to go over this stuff, but the 5 "traits" or "markers" of an alcohol problem are:

1. Family History of Alcoholism,
2. Instances of Social Comment,
3. History of Blackouts,
4. Instances of Social Conflict, and
5. Increasing Effects Threshold.

Preparing the Client for the Assessment Test, and how that Test will measure these things, is absolutely paramount to minimizing the consequences they will endure as a result of a DUI.

This means that if a person is not properly prepared for an Alcohol Assessment Test, and they'll go in to Probation and do, at best, an "okay" job on the Alcohol Assessment Test and in the PSI Interview.

As a result, they'll wind up with an Assessment Report and Recommendation that looks far worse than it would have if they had been properly prepared for the Alcohol Assessment and PSI Interview. A typical example would be something like this:

Continue reading "Getting Better Results in DUI Cases in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties - Part 2" »

In previous articles about Drunk Driving, I have pointed out that the most important "step" in a DUI case is the legally required alcohol assessment. Lately, within the context of my DUI Practice, I have handled an increasingly large number of 2nd Offense cases for people who had some other Lawyer represent them in their 1st case. I have repeatedly been told by them that their prior Lawyer never so much as mentioned preparing them for this step (the Alcohol Assessment). Then, when they came across my blog articles describing how important this step is, and how much of what happens at this point affects the outcome of the case, they immediately recognized, from their prior experience, how true this is, and called me.

In previous articles, I have outlined the steps in a DUI case. This article, which will be separated into 2 parts, will focus on one of those steps: The Pre-Sentence Investigation and the Alcohol Assessment Test that is a required part of that.

More than 20 years ago, as a young Lawyer handling DUI cases, I saw that what actually happened to the Client in a DUI case, meaning the results of a person's Sentencing, was almost identical to what was Recommended as a Sentence by the Probation Department.

In a DUI case, after a person has worked out some kind of Plea arrangement, the Court sets 2 dates. The first of those dates is a return date for the Client, and the Client alone, to come back to the Court for an interview with a Probation Officer, who has the job of preparing a written Recommendation for the Judge to be used at Sentencing. The Law requires that such a Recommendation be based upon the person's score on an Alcohol Assessment Test.

This means that a person will show up to the Court's Probation Department, take a written Assessment Test, fill out an information packet which asks about their background (a short life-history), and then meet with a Probation Officer for an interview. This process is called a "PSI," meaning Pre-Sentence Investigation. The result of this whole process is a written Sentencing Recommendation to the Judge indicating what should be Ordered for each particular person facing a DUI.

The second of those dates is the Sentencing itself, where the Judge decides what will be done to the person facing the DUI. And the reality of the situation is that in each and every Court out there, and in each and every case, the Judge will follow that Sentencing Recommendation, if not to the letter, then darn close to it.

Continue reading "Getting Better Results in DUI Cases in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties - Part 1" »

In part 1 of this article, we looked at how the particular County in which a person's 3rd offense DUI charge is pending plays an important role in how things ultimately turn out. In this second part, we'll begin examining why the threat of being sent to Prison is more bark than bite, and what kind of Sentences are really passed out in 3rd offense cases.

In the first part of this article, we confirmed the rather well-known fact that Oakland County is the toughest of the 3 local Counties in which to face a 3rd offense (Felony) DUI, or any DUI charge, for that matter.

Let's hit the "pause" button here for a moment. If Oakland County is the toughest of the 3 Detroit area jurisdictions, and a person is realistically facing a deal where the worst case is about 100 to 150 days in Jail, what all that racket about "up to 5 years in Prison?"

In order to be sent to Prison for 5 years, a person must usually have a number of prior 3rd Offense DUI Felonies. In 20 years of handling DUI cases, I've never seen anyone with 2 or 3 prior DUI convictions be sent to the State Prison. Remember, Jail is where a person goes for up to a year, and Prison is where they're sent for a Sentence that calls for a minimum of 1 year. In other words, you have to be a really hard case to actually be facing a Prison term. This means that the overwhelming majority of 3rd offense DUI Offenders are facing, at worst, a Jail term, and not a Prison Sentence.

I think one of the most underrated components of successfully handling DUI cases involves the degree of the Defense Lawyer's enthusiasm for the Client. I might ruffle a few feathers here, but I strongly believe that it is extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to switch sides and go from being a Police Officer, or a Prosecutor, to being a Defense Lawyer who has a real empathy for someone facing a DUI charge, particularly a 3rd Offense. To the Police, Drunk Drivers are (understandably) people best taken and kept off the streets. Prosecutors are the ones who try and keep them off the streets. An old investigator I once knew believed that those formative career years shape a person's natural disposition and can never be completely stripped away. His phrase about hat he perceived as the inability of a Prosecutor to become, heart and soul, a Defense Lawyer (or, for that matter, the other way around), is that "the die has already been cast."

For the most part, I agree with that, because it has always been my job to help my DUI Clients avoid any, or as much Jail as possible. I look for, and see the good in them, and share with them the regret for what's happened, and the fear for what is going to happen. I try with every fiber of my being to coax a better deal, or get a bigger break, or do whatever I can to make the outcome of their case as good and lenient as possible for them. If I suddenly became a Prosecutor, I would not be able to just not shake my concern for the person standing in front of the Judge, even though my job would be to make it tough on them. In short, I'd make a lousy Prosecutor because I just couldn't invest my whole heart into what I was doing. I picked my side long ago. The die, in other words, has already been cast.

Continue reading "3rd Offense (Felony) DUI cases and the Realities of Jail, or not - Part 2" »

This article will examine 3rd Offense (Felony) DUI cases. I have written extensively about 1st and 2nd Offense DUI cases in the Drunk Driving section of my blog. This article will examine the most serious of all DUI charges not involving a death or serious injury. Because this is an important subject, this article will be long, and divided into 2 parts.

Having been a DUI Lawyer for over 20 years, I know firsthand that absolutely no one needs to be reminded that a 3rd Offense DUI is serious business. My hope is to present a somewhat different perspective about these cases which, instead of focusing on how bad things are, or can be, will focus on how a 3rd Offense case can be handled in a way to minimize all the agony and misery so many other discussions seem to dwell upon.

About 4 years ago, on January 3, 2007, the Michigan Law regarding 3rd Offense Drunk Driving charges was drastically changed. Prior to that date, a person had to accumulate 3 alcohol-related traffic offenses within a 10-year period to be charged with a Felony. In other words, a person needed 2 prior DUI's (or, more specifically, alcohol-related traffic offenses, because a "zero tolerance" conviction could count as a prior offense) and then acquire a 3rd, all within 10 years, before the 3rd Offense Felony charge could be brought.

On January 3, 2007, what is known as "Heidi's Law" took effect. The purpose and effect of this law was to abolish the 10-year limitation for bringing a Felony DUI charge. Instead, ANY combination of 3 DUI's within a person's lifetime was enough to make that 3rd Offense charge a Felony. To this day, while many people know this, many do not.

What cuts across every 3rd Offense case is that sinking feeling a person has when they hear the words "Felony" and "up to 5 years in Prison." As I noted, everyone facing a 3rd offense DUI knows that things are not looking particularly rosy at the moment. And while there's no way to turn any DUI charge, much less a 3rd Offense, into a pleasant experience, there are plenty of things that can be done to avoid much of the unpleasantness a person fears. Even the most "red-handed" and clear-cut cases can be worked out in a way to not ruin a person's life. It may not feel that way at the moment, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

This article will concentrate on those cases where there is no viable challenge to the stop, the arrest, or the evidence. You could literally write volumes about all the things that could be wrong with a DUI case and could be used to beat the charge, or be acquitted at Trial. However, and statistically speaking, those cases which are thrown out of Court, or in which a person "beats" the charge, are far and away the exception, and not the rule. This article is about real hope in real cases, not hope for a miracle in the once-in-a-blue-moon kind of case.

Continue reading "3rd Offense (Felony) DUI cases and the Realities of Jail, or not - Part 1" »