Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In part 3 of this article, we continued examining how, in all Michigan DUI cases, the courts are going to focus on a person’s drinking because, as simplistic as it may sound, the fact that a person already has a DUI makes him or her an identified, increased risk to do it again. I reiterated that multiple studies have shown that, as a group, people who previously had a DUI (or multiple DUI’s) test out with a higher incidence of alcohol problems than everyone else who hasn’t had one. We then concluded by noting that, despite everything else, sometimes, a DUI just happens.

Yet for as much as a DUI can “just happen” to just about anyone, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of people never get one. There are about 30,000 DUI arrests in Michigan each year, representing around 0.3% of the state’s nearly 10,000,000 person population. This means that more than 99.7% of people don’t get arrested for a DUI in any given year. Moreover, out of those 30,000-some cases, more than 9 out of 10 are NOT dismissed for any legal (or other) reason. While it’s understandable that everyone wants to get completely out of their DUI, the simple truth is that such results are the exception, and not the rule.

In part 2 of this article, we continued our examination of the court system’s focus on a person’s drinking in Michigan DUI cases. We noted that multiple studies have confirmed that there is a statistically increased rate of drinking problems among people who’ve had a DUI when compared to those who have never had one. For this reason, more than any other, the courts order everyone on bond and probation for a DUI to not consume alcohol, and also requires them to “test,” to ensure their compliance.

Because of the court system’s intense focus on a person’s drinking, one of the problems we encounter, as Michigan DUI lawyers, is that Judges are seriously inclined to “overdo” the whole education/counseling/treatment thing. No matter what, all courts take a “better safe than sorry” approach. It is generally accepted that it is always better to have sent someone to counseling or treatment than he or she did not need than to have NOT sent him or her for any kind help they really did need.

This is perhaps easier to understand by taking a look at a 2nd offense DUI: Under Michigan law, anyone convicted of a 2nd (or 3rd) offense DUI is categorized as a “habitual alcohol offender,” and is presumed to have a drinking problem. Consequently, the person’s driver’s license will be revoked, because he or she is seen as risky, and a danger to the public. Getting it back requires proving, to the Michigan Secretary of State, that he or she has completely quit drinking alcohol, and is a safe bet to never drink again.

In part 1 of this article, we began looking at where the courts directs their attention in all Michigan DUI cases – to the person’s drinking. I pointed out that each year in Michigan, there about 30,000 DUI arrests, and then noted that our senior assistant often (correctly) points out to people who call us that “a DUI is about your drinking, not your driving.” Although it’s normal for anyone facing an OWI charge to hope his or her case can be “knocked out” somehow, the fact is that, on average, more than 9 out of 10 (>93%) of all DUI cases brought in this state do NOT get dismissed.

The upshot of all this is that in order to produce the best results in those cases – the more than 9 out of 10 that don’t get tossed out our of court – it is imperative to know why the court system focuses on a person’s drinking, and what it’s looking at, as well as what it’s looking for. As also mentioned in part 1, it has been consistently demonstrated that DUI drivers, as a group, have a notably higher rate of drinking problems than the population at large, meaning everyone else who has not been arrested for a DUI.

The fact that people with a DUI have a higher rate of drinking problems than people without a prior DUI is very significant. Unfortunately, it is also completely ignored by most DUI legal websites. While many lawyers love to talk about getting cases dismissed, few of them want to talk about the fact that such outcomes do NOT occur in more than 9 out of 10 cases, and that’s a disservice. The reality is that, with very few exceptions, almost everyone arrested for a DUI is going to wind up on probation for it, so making that probation as easy and lenient as possible is crucial.

One of the more difficult things for anyone going through a Michigan DUI to grasp is why the court system focuses so much on his or her drinking. People often mistakenly believe that the court will be most concerned about the exercise of poor judgment that led to them driving drunk, but, as it turns out, that’s not the case. Instead, as our senior assistant puts it, “A DUI is about your drinking, not your driving.” This is key to understanding how and why OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) cases are handled as they are.

For purposes of this article, we’ll skip analyzing all the legal concerns about the admissibility of the evidence and the like, especially because those issues only come up in a small minority of cases, anyway. In Michigan, on average, more than 93% of DUI arrests DO NOT get dismissed or knocked out of court for evidentiary or other problems. Thus, our inquiry here will focus on how things work for the vast majority of people (more than 9 out of 10) here in the Metropolitan-Detroit area (meaning Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and the surrounding counties).

To be sure, the fact that a person drove while intoxicated IS the central issue of any DUI case, Accordingly, the main goals of the law is to impose enough consequences and penalties to deter him or her from ever doing it again. However, this is balanced by another (and often overlooked) goal: to make that point without ruining a person’s life. While people are often initially freaked out over the potential consequences of a DUI charge, the reality is that the court system has no interest in costing a person his or her job, destroying their future, or otherwise coming down too hard.

Although we are “Michigan” DUI attorneys, my team and I concentrate our drinking and driving practice to the local courts of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding Counties. Unlike our driver’s license restoration practice, which is state-wide (and country-wide, really), we limit the DUI cases we take to those pending in the Greater-Detroit area. This concentrates our experience in the same circle of courts, working with the same Judges and prosecutors, day-in and day-out, and enables us to really know how to best handle a DUI case in each of them.

The bottom line is that a person hires a DUI lawyer to make his or her situation better. The expectation is that a lawyer is selling relevant and specific experience that can be used to help the client, and not just accepting payment, like some kind of “tuition,” in order learn how things are done in a court where he or she doesn’t regularly appear. I think that it’s better for a lawyer to accept a DUI case when he or she can genuinely help someone, based upon having actual experience in the court where the case is pending, rather than just seizing an opportunity to take in another retainer.

Location is critically important, especially in DUI cases, because every court is different and those differences can sometimes be profound. I recently explained to someone that facing a DUI in one local court would be like going to the dentist for a regular dental cleaning, while facing a DUI in the neighboring court, one district over, would be like going in for a root canal. The likely outcome of the same garden-variety DUI case can range from “not so bad” to very tough, simply because of the court in which it arises.