| Michigan Glossary of OWI/DUI Terms Note: The definitions that follow are adopted from Mr. Barone’s Book: The DUI Book - A Citizen’s Handbook on Fighting a Drunk Driving Charge. For the complete glossary, order the book today!
BAIL - To set free a person arrested or imprisoned (pending trial or resolution of an appeal) in exchange for security such as cash, credit card deposit or real estate. Bail is forfeited if the person fails to appear in court as directed.
BOND - In criminal law, a surety bond puts up money or property that assures the appearance of the defendant or the payment of the defendant’s bail if the defendant fails to appear. The person who agrees to be the “surety” is financially obligated to pay the bond if the person fails to appear. The failure to appear will typically cause the judge of the court requiring attendance to issue a “bond forfeiture” order, as well as a warrant for the defendant’s arrest.
BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT/LEVEL (BAC) OR (BAL) - The amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream. The adult (age 21 and over) legal limit in drunken driving cases is .08% in all states. For someone under 21, the legal limit is 0.00%, 0.01% or 0.02%, depending on the state the offense is committed in. For persons of any age driving a commercial vehicle, the legal limit is 0.04%.
BLOOD TEST - A test to measure a person’s BAC by drawing the blood, usually done in a hospital. Blood tests are often requested where substances other than alcohol are suspected to be impairing the driver in a DUI-DWI case, or where an accident may require that the person suspected of drunk driving is already going to a hospital. In some states, refusal is possible for a person who is capable of refusing. In other states, forcible blood draws are authorized.
BREATH TEST - A test to measure your breath alcohol content, usually done at a police station or a jail. One does not have to agree to blow into a breath machine, and in most cases, one should not agree to do so. Some police jurisdictions also use roadside breath tests, but these are not admissible as evidence in court.
BRIEF - A written document presented to the court by a lawyer that sets forth both the facts of the case and the law which supports the lawyer’s case.
BURDEN OF PROOF - This refers to the evidentiary obligation of a party to legal proceedings having to “carry” the burden to prove his or her allegations during a trial. Different levels of proof are required depending on the type of case. This phrase is employed to signify the duty of proving the facts in dispute on an issue raised between the parties in a cause. In criminal cases, as every person is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, the burden of proof rests on the prosecutor to prove each and every element of the charges. After the prosecutor has presented such evidence, the defendant may need to rebut (challenge) the prosecutor’s evidence, as a practical matter, even though the burden of proof in criminal cases never shifts to the defendant.
CHARGES - A formal accusation, indictment, or other criminal complaint form used to inform an accused person of the existence of a criminal offense against him or her. These are also sometimes merely called “criminal charges.”
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE - A type of indirect evidence that implies something occurred but does not directly prove it. For example, circumstantial evidence that it rained recently can be obtained by a witness testifying that he went into his house at 6:00 p.m. and it was not raining. Later, at 7:30 p.m., he comes outside and the ground, roadways and trees are wet. He did not SEE it rain, but circumstantial evidence says it did.
CITATION - Similar to a unique web site address [URL], this is a legal shorthand method of referring to a particular criminal or civil case that has been decided by a court. Each reported (and some unreported) decisions by appellate and even trial level decisions in some states is given a unique set of alphanumeric identifiers that help attorneys refer to the case so others can look it up and review the ruling by that court. In this book, you will frequently see such cases used as references for legal points that are made either in the text itself or in the footnotes. By copying the case names (State v. Jones) and the numbers and words following (233 N.C. App. 456) as a whole and entering this information into either a legal search engine or into Google, you can find the entire case itself.
CODE - A collection of written laws arranged into chapters, table of contents, and index, and published by legislative authority. For example, the Iowa Code is a collection of laws approved by the Iowa legislature. Abbreviations for statutory provisions in this book may be a byproduct of the “code” citation. Example: Official Code of Georgia Annotated is abbreviated O.C.G.A.
COMMON LAW - Law based upon previous decisions of courts or referring to the body of laws passed down from England to America.
CONCURRENT SENTENCE - Upon conviction for multiple crimes, a criminal sentence can be ordered by the judge to be served at the same time as another criminal sentence, rather than one after the other.
CONSECUTIVE SENTENCE - Upon conviction for multiple crimes, criminal sentences that must be served one after the other, rather than at the same time, are called “consecutive” sentences. Consecutive sentences may only be imposed if there is specific statutory authority to do so. In some circumstances, consecutive sentences may be imposed within the judge's discretion (e.g., when a person is convicted of a new offense committed while on parole status). In other circumstances, consecutive sentences are mandatory under state law.
CONTEMPT OF COURT - This phrase refers to any act or conduct that shows disrespect for the court’s authority. Contempt usually means a person has failed to obey a court order. Contempt can be punished by a fine or imprisonment. Generally, contempt that can result in jail time must occur within the courtroom or in the presence of the judge. Other forms of contempt are typically punished by fines.
CONTINUANCE - This term refers to postponing or rescheduling a case or court session until another date or time. In some jurisdictions, this is called an “adjournment.” Each state’s laws control when and under what circumstances an adjournment or continuance is available to either party, and typical rules include being able to prove several criteria exist that justify the Court resetting the case to a future date.
CONVICTION - Finding by a judge or jury that a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a crime.
COPPING A PLEA - See “Plea Bargain” below.
COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY - Refers to legal counsel assigned by the court to represent an indigent criminal defendant. A court-appointed attorney is not necessarily a "free" attorney; the court can order that some or all of the attorney's time utilized on behalf of the client be reimbursed. If there is no chance jail time will be imposed on a defendant on a misdemeanor, the judge need not appoint an attorney.
CROSS EXAMINATION - The process of challenging the evidence presented by a witness who is testifying for the opposite side in a trial. The person cross-examining the witness may utilize a series of questions, plus documents and other exhibits (such as videotape) to case doubt on the testimony of the witness. Questions on cross-examination (as opposed to direct examination) can be “leading” (questions that suggest the answer to the witness). Leading questions are not permitted to be asked by the party who offers the witness for providing evidence on their behalf.
DEFENDANT - The person accused of a crime.
DEPOSITION - The testimony of a witness not taken in open court, but given under oath before a court reporter pursuant to authority given by statute or court rule, to take testimony in preparation for trial. Deposition testimony may be introduced as evidence in a court proceeding. Only a few states allow deposition testimony in criminal cases, although depositions are very common in civil cases.
DIRECTED VERDICT - In criminal cases, upon motion made by the defense attorney, a trial judge's directive (order) to a jury to return a specified verdict of “not guilty,” usually because the prosecutor failed to prove its case. This type of ruling or order is sometimes called an “instructed verdict of acquittal.”
DISTRICT ATTORNEY - A lawyer elected or appointed to serve as a prosecutor for the state in criminal cases. In some jurisdictions, this prosecutor’s title is “state” attorney or solicitor. The common abbreviation for the elected District Attorney in a jurisdiction is “DA,” while the assistants who work for him/her are “assistant district attorneys” (ADA).
DIVERSION - Also known as adjournment in contemplation of dismissal or conditional
dismissal. A program in which a defendant is put on probation for a set period of time and his or her case does not go to trial during that time. If the defendant meets the conditions set by the court, the charge will be dismissed. Diversion is generally only allowed for first offenders, as that term is defined by state law. Some jurisdictions have no statutes authorizing diversion in DUI-DWI cases.
DOCKET - A list or index of cases and case events maintained by the clerk of court. This term can also mean a list of cases on a court calendar for a specific day or term of court.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY - In criminal law, a plea of “double jeopardy” is a procedural defense based upon state and/or federal constitutional rights (and possibly statutory rights in some states) that forbids the government from trying an accused citizen a second time for a crime, after having already been tried for the same crime. In ancient common law, a defendant would plead “autrefois acquit” or “autrefois convict” which merely meant that the defendant had been acquitted or convicted of the same offense before.
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