Michigan drivers arrested under suspicion of intoxicated driving will have their bodily drug and alcohol levels tested by the police. When drugs including marijuana are suspected, a police officer will see if that distinct marijuana smell is present. Many OWI lawyers near me wrongly believe that DUI cases involving blood…
Articles Posted in OWI
Can a MI DUI Be Expunged? New Law for First OWI Convictions
Yes, a DUI Michigan can be expunged (set aside). If your DUI case is not expunged, it will stay on your criminal record for life. This is true of all DUI convictions, and this means your prior criminal history can be seen by potential employers. For many people, this is…
What Happens at a Michigan Implied Consent Hearing?
A Michigan implied consent hearing is an informal hearing where the officer that arrested you for drunk driving provides testimony to prove that you unreasonably refused a breath blood or urine test. Before we move on with a further discussion of the hearing, let’s review the concept of implied consent,…
How Sober Cannabis Users are Wrongfully Convicted of Intoxicated Driving
Police in Michigan continue to use unreliable chemical and field sobriety tests when investigating drivers suspected of using cannabis. This can lead to sober cannabis users being wrongfully convicted of intoxicated driving. This is because the tools used for decades to investigate drunk driving cases simply do not translate well…
Community Caretaker Search Warrant Exception Not Applicable to the Home
The United States Supreme Court has recently ruled that the community caretaker exception to the search warrant requirement does not apply to a person’s home. The name of the case is Caniglia v. Strom, and in a unanimous opinion the Court found that guns seized by the police after entering…
Court Ruling Could Lead to Dismissal of Drunk Driving Causing Serious Injury Charge
The Michigan Court of Appeals has indicated, in the unpublished opinion of People v. Adam Robe, (COA# 355005); that a failure to wait 15 minutes before administering a roadside preliminary breath test (PBT) meant that the trial court could not consider the PBT in determining if the arrest is valid.…
Michigan DUI Case Based on Anonymous 911 Call Dismissed
In the case of People v. Pagano, the Michigan Supreme Court has indicated that a traffic stop based only on an anonymous 911 call is invalid. This ruling affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of both the child endangerment drunk driving and open intoxicants in a motor vehicle charges. As the…
Marijuana Use Not Relevant to Sentencing in Michigan Intoxicated Driving Causing Death Case
In this Michigan Intoxicated driving causing death, the defendant Willett entered a no contest plea thereby admitting that he was operating a motor vehicle with the presence of any amount of marijuana in his body, and that the operation of his vehicle caused the death of another, under Michigan Compiled…
Incarceration for Second Offense DUI Now Less Likely in Michigan
A new law in Michigan makes it somewhat less likely that persons charged with misdemeanor drunk driving, including first and second DUI offenses, will go to jail. This is because Public Act No. 395 of 2020, which was signed into law by Governor Whitmer on January 4, 2021, creates a…
Repeat Drunk Drivers Can Avoid Mandatory Minimum Jail Sentences Under New Michigan Law
A package of new laws allows some of Michigan’s repeat drunk drivers to possibly avoid mandatory minimum jail sentences. As a result of these changes, mandatory minimum sentences have been modified or removed from Michigan’s drunk driving statute, and this means that Judges may now sentence a drunk driver to…