Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Within my Criminal Practice, I am regularly called upon to Represent former and new Clients in Probation Violation proceedings. This article will be a real-life examination of that process, and how a person can, in fact, stay out of Jail, rather than a confusing discussion filled with useless legal mumbo-jumbo. Let's start by being candid; a Probation Violation is always a bad situation. While there are a million different reasons why a person can have their Probation "violated," these charges tend to fall into one of only a few categories. In other words, a person will most often face a Probation Violation for one (or more) of 5 reasons:

1. Missing a urine or other chemical test
2. Testing positive for alcohol and/or drugs
3. Missing a Probation appointment, or just stop Reporting
4. Picking up a new case, or
5. Not completing some condition of Probation, like community service, counseling, or paying all outstanding Fines and Costs.

Anyone who gets "violated" knows, in the pit of their stomach, that the Judge is not likely to be happy with them. After all, "Probation" specifically means "not in Jail." Even if a person is given an initial Jail Sentence, they had to have been Sentenced to less than the maximum possible Jail term in order to have any Probation left to do. Thus, Probation stands in as a substitute for Jail. And when facing a Probation Violation, the first and biggest concern is staying out of Jail.

Everyone has their reasons for "violating" Probation, and we'll get to those shortly. First, however, a person has to understand that from the Judge's point of view, this all boils down to the simple notion that a break was given, and the person apparently didn't live up to their end of the bargain. This is, understandably, frustrating to the Judge.

That said, there are certain Courts, very often in Oakland County, that seem to "load up" on the Conditions of Probation. While no one ever wants to face a Violation charge, some people feel like they knew it was going to happen sooner or later, especially when they walked out of Court wondering if Jail wouldn't have been easier than having to do all the things that they feel were dumped upon them.

By contrast, plenty of other Courts, most often in Macomb County, dispense with imposing a million conditions and classes and community service and testing and Reporting and whatnot, and instead of almost setting a person up for failure, will rather sensibly and simply Order a person to just stay out of trouble, and maybe report once a month, as well.

The reader can no doubt tell which approach I favor...

Continue reading "Probation Violations - Staying out of Jail in Macomb, Wayne and Oakland Counties" »

This article is a companion to a previous article about having an outstanding Probation Violation Warrant for not Reporting. In this article, we'll look at those cases where someone has, for lack of a more proper term, essentially "skipped out" or "bailed" on a Criminal case at some point in the process (even if it's because they never took the first step). This situation comes up often enough in my Criminal Practice to require some discussion. We'll be talking about those individuals who either did not show up to turn themselves in on a Warrant (either to a Police Station or to a Court) and were never formally Arraigned, or those individuals who have been Arraigned, and at some point in the Criminal Process, just failed to come back. Since I limit my Practice to Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties, we'll be talking about how things are handled within the Tri-County area.

In some cases, a person will receive a Notice (and this can take the form of a written Court Notice or a call from a Police Detective) that there is a Warrant for their arrest, and they need to turn themselves in. These "turn-in" instructions can require that the person either report directly to a Court, or to a Police Department. For whatever reason or reasons (usually because they're scared) the person will simply just fail to follow-up as directed.

In cases where a person has already gone through that first step of "booking" and/or Arraignment, a subsequent Court date is set, and the person is either personally informed of that upcoming date, or Notice is sent by mail.

In still other cases, a person may have shown up to a subsequent Court date. Perhaps they went to Court for their Pre-Trial, and they might even have worked out a Plea deal. At some point along the line however (often prior to their Sentencing date) the person just drops out of the picture.

Just as with Probation Violation Warrants, the outstanding Warrants in these cases are taken care of in 1 of 2 ways:

1. A person voluntarily turns him or herself in to clear things up, or

2. They get picked up by the Police.

Continue reading "Criminal Charges in Michigan - I Have a Warrant for not Showing Up" »

In the previous article on this Blog, we examined the difference between Misdemeanor and Civil Infraction Traffic Offenses, and learned that Misdemeanor Traffic Offenses can NEVER be removed from a person's Criminal Record. In this article, we'll look at the consequences of that permanence, and see how it applies in the real world.

As a practicing Criminal Defense Lawyer, I spend a lot of time in the Metro-Detroit area Courts. A recent experience in a city outside the Suburban-Metro area (hereafter referred to as the "other place") serves as the inspiration for this installment. To be fair, I cannot say where this case was handled, other than to point out that it was not in Macomb, Oakland, or Wayne County. In fact, an experience like this tends to reinforce my general policy to limit my Practice to the Tri-County area, with certain, limited exceptions. And I got into this case as one of those exceptions.

My Client was charged with Driving While License Suspended, Revoked or Denied (DWLS/DWLR), 2nd Offense. His last DWLS/DWLR conviction occurred more than 10 years before this most recent charge. He has 4 total prior DWLS/DWLR convictions. His License was Revoked due to several DUI convictions, the last also occurring nearly 10 years before this arrest. To be clear, his last DUI did, in fact, occur after his last DWLS/DWLR case.

Somehow or other, my Client was able to get a License from another State right after his last DUI conviction (definitely an error on that State's part), and returned to Michigan for a visit a little over 5 years ago, when he held the then-valid, out of State License. He got pulled over in a local city, and because his Michigan License was revoked, was still cited for DWLS/DWLR. He returned to the other State without taking care of this Michigan matter, and all but forgot about it.

Until he got arrested for DWLS/DWLR in the "other place." When his LEIN record was run, it came up that he had an outstanding Bench Warrant for his failure to show up to Court for the local DWLS/DWLR case. The end result to all this was that he had to post a Bond for the Old, local case, as well as the new, "other place" case.

Continue reading "Driving While License Suspended or Revoked - a Return to Forever" »

This article is the companion piece to the last Blog installment about Misdemeanor Cases - From Start to Finish. To begin with, its scope is limited by my experience in the types of Felony cases that I handle (what I call "light-to-medium severity"), as well as the fact that I limit my practice to Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties (with the occasional exception of a trip to Lapeer, Livingston or St. Clair Counties). In other words, this article will describe the typical chain of events in a Metro-Detroit area Felony charge for crimes less severe than murder, armed-robbery, and the like.

Just as with Misdemeanors, most, but certainly not all Felony Cases begin with an Arrest. An example of a Felony that often begins without an arrest is the charge of Embezzlement. Usually, these crimes occur in an employer-employee relationship, or something similar, and the Victim goes to the Police. Often during the investigative phase, the Police will call the person suspected of Embezzling, and want to speak with them. Whatever does or doesn't happen, once the case gets to the point of Charging the Defendant (which means obtaining a Warrant, signed by the Prosecutor), the Police will often again contact the person named in the Warrant and try to make arrangements for them to voluntarily turn themselves in.

Whether by Arrest or voluntary turn-in, the person to be charged is "booked" (mug shots and fingerprints) at the Police Station and then brought before a Judge or Magistrate in the District Court of the Municipality where the Offense is alleged to have occurred, to be Arraigned. The Arraignment is the first step in a case, and serves several purposes. It allows the person being charged to be told exactly what they are being charged with, what the maximum possible penalty is that can be imposed (as well as any mandatory minimum penalty) and to be informed of the Constitutional Rights. In addition, there is the setting of Bond, and the imposition of any Bond Condition (like a GPS tether, or a provision requiring the Defendant to have "no contact" with the alleged Victim).

By Law, within 14 days from the date of Arraignment, the next step, called a Preliminary Examination, must be held. This is unique to Felony Cases; there is no Preliminary Exam in Misdemeanor Cases. The Preliminary exam phase requires that the Prosecutor be able to come forward on that date and present enough evidence to the District Court Judge to prove 2 things:

1. That there is "Probable Cause" to believe a Crime has been committed, and
2. That there is "Probable Cause" to believe the Defendant (the person charged) committed it.

In practical terms, the Courts have interpreted this as meaning that the Prosecutor must be able to show the Judge that there is "Probable Cause" to believe a Crime has been committed, and that there is an honest, debatable "question of fact" that the Defendant committed it. This means that unless the Judge is satisfied that the case is so weak that Justice demands it's dismissal, the matter will be "Bound Over," or transferred to the County's Circuit Court.

Continue reading "How a Michigan Felony Case Works" »

As a Lawyer who spends a substantial part of his practice handling Criminal Cases, primarily in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties, one of the typical calls that comes into my office is from a family member or friend of someone who has recently been arrested and is in Jail. Often, the caller is distressed about the situation, and wants advice, first and foremost, about how to get their family-member or friend out of Jail.

The first thing to learn when trying to determine a jailed person's situation is whether or not they have been "Arraigned." An Arraignment is the first Court Proceeding in a Criminal Case. It follows a person's Arrest and "Booking" (mug shots and fingerprints).

While an Arraignment serves several purposes, the one that matters most to anyone going through it is the setting of Bond, which is done at or near the end of the proceeding. Bond is the amount of money that will be necessary to "Bail" the arrested person (also known as the Defendant) out of Jail. When a Judge or Magistrate is ready to set Bond, there are several things he or she looks at in making their determination.

First, there is the nature of the Crime. Is the offense a Felony or Misdemeanor? Even though, at the outset of a case, a Defendant is presumed "innocent until proven guilty," a person charged with a First-Offense Drunk Driving will be considered considerably less risky to put back on the street than a person charged with being a serial killer. Thus, the severity of the offense being charged is one of the things considered when setting bond. This is spoken of in terms of "Protection of the Public."

Of similar importance is the prior record of the person being charged. Someone with no, or a rather minor prior record, is considered a safer bet for release than someone who has a lengthy prior record, if for no other reason than a Defendant with the lengthy prior record seems to not be able to stop getting in trouble. Also, the worse a Defendant's prior record, the more likely that the "next" offense, at some point, will net them a Jail (or Prison) sentence. Thus, there is, with such people, an increasing risk that, with each new case, they may become scared and simply not show up to Court out of fear of getting locked up.

Continue reading "Michigan Criminal Cases and Bond - The Basics of Getting out of Jail" »

As a Criminal Defense Lawyer who appears in Detroit and Suburban Courts almost every day of the week, I hear and see Judges issue a "Bench Warrant" often. Most people have a general understanding of what a warrant is, but many are not clear on the meaning of the term "Bench Warrant" and how it relates to Warrants in general.

A Bench Warrant is, as you can imagine, a Warrant that is issued "from the Bench," meaning by the Judge sitting at his or her "desk" in Court. A Bench Warrant can only be issued in certain, limited situations. While a Bench Warrant is a kind of "Arrest Warrant," not all Arrest Warrants are Bench Warrants, in the same way that a baseball is a kind of ball, but not all balls are baseballs. The focus of this article is upon Bench Warrants, when they're issued, for whom, and how they're dealt with.

A Bench Warrant is issued when a person who is subject to an order of a particular Court does not comply with it. One of the most common situations in which Bench Warrants are issued is as good a place as any to look for an example.

Assume a person has been arrested for an offense (it can be any offense: Drunk Driving, Possession of Marijuana, Domestic Violence, etc.) and is sent a notice by the Court to appear on a certain day. If that person does not appear on the date required by the notice, when the Judge calls their case and they don't respond, he or she will issue a Bench Warrant. This means that a warrant is put out through the LEIN (Law Enforcement Information Network) and if and when the person comes into contact with a Police Officer, they will be arrested.

Actually, the Bench Warrant itself is an order of Court commanding a Police Officer to arrest someone and bring them before the Court. The Officer cannot ignore an active Warrant. This is one reason why, upon pretty much any contact with the Police, an Officer will want ID from a person so that he or she can run their name and see if they have any outstanding Warrants.

Continue reading "Michigan Arrest Warrants - What is a Bench Warrant?" »