Articles Posted in DUI Penalties

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Defending Drinking Drivers, written by DUI defense attorney Patrick Barone

2024 Edition – Defending Drinking Drivers

The Barone Defense Firm is pleased to announce that the 2024 Edition of Patrick Barone’s Defending Drinking Drivers is now available from the publisher, Amazon, and wherever fine books are sold. Known as “revision 40,” the current Edition contains many new sections and model defense motions.

Regarding the defense of a DUI with a blood test, the 2024 update contains sample cross-examination of the doctor, nurse, technician, or phlebotomist. This model cross-examination includes sample questions relative to contamination and suggestions for how to approach and perhaps discredit the credibility of this important but often overlooked pr0secution witness. In Chapter Six, Trial, Mr. Barone sets forth a new way of approaching voir dire, and the 2024 update also contains a sample motion requesting attorney-conducted voir dire. Additionally, in his revision of Chapter 6, Mr. Barone provides a unique and compelling explanation for why seating arrangements are an important element of trial and why the court should consider allowing the defendant to sit next to the jury rather than always cede this seat to the prosecutor by default. A sample motion for requesting that the defendant be provided with the “best” seat is also included in this 2024 update.

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A research letter recently published in the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal examined the correlation between the legalization of recreational marijuana and traffic fatalities. The letter’s authors Kamer & Warshafsky begin with the proposition that marijuana use impairs driving ability. The authors go on to suggests that because there is a correlation between an increase in traffic deaths and the legalization of recreational marijuana, impaired driving must be the cause. The authors of the letter reviewed data collected from four states: Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The authors did not look at traffic deaths in Michigan because there isn’t enough data from Michigan yet.

The authors found that traffic deaths increased by 75 per year in Colorado. The authors did not find an increase in traffic deaths in Washington. Overall, the letter predicts that if every state fully legalizes marijuana, traffic deaths would increase by 6,800 every year in the United States. Time will tell whether Michigan will be like Colorado, and see a large increase in traffic deaths, or like Washington where there was no such increase.  And time will also tell if any observed increase in Michigan is actually caused by marijuana impaired drivers. The impaired driving lawyers at the Barone Defense Firm note that correlation is not causation, and that the only thing this letter has established is correlation.  The authors admit that much more research is needed on this topic, and that their findings were “mixed.”

What’s the difference between impaired by marijuana and under the influence of marijuana?

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If you are convicted of DUI in Michigan, then your driver’s license will either be restricted, suspended, or revoked. The exact driver license sanction will depend on the nature of your DUI conviction and your prior record. Driver license sanctions for DUI range anywhere from a 90-day restricted license to a 5-year hard revocation. These sanctions are not imposed until after you are convicted. A conviction occurs when you either plead guilty to an intoxicated or impaired driving or are found guilty by a judge or jury.

The specific driver license sanction depends on the nature of your conviction, the number of prior offenses you have, and when those prior offenses occurred.  The following is a brief explanation of these driver license sanctions:

First Offense Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI)

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Michigan law recently changed regarding the penalty imposed for a DUI with a high BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) where serious injury has occurred.  This change enhances the causing serious injury DUI charge such that it is almost on par with a DUI causing death case.

Now, if you operate a car in Michigan while intoxicated and cause serious injury to another person, you may be sent to prison for up to ten years. The typical penalty for a first offense DUI causing serious injury is five years in prison. A BAC of .17 or above raises this maximum penalty to 10 years where there is a prior conviction in the past 7 years. See Michigan Compiled Laws Sec. 257.625(5)(b).

If a violation of Michigan’s law against intoxicated driving law results in the death of another person, the driver may be found guilty of a felony punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years and/or a fine of at least $2,500 but not more than $10,000. A high BAC where a death occurs increases, combined with a prior offense in the prior 7 years, raises the maximum term of imprisonment from 15 years to 20 years.  See Michigan Compiled Laws Sec. 257.625(4)(b).

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Yes, Michigan law requires all licensed health care workers to self-report all criminal convictions to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). This reporting requirement includes all intoxicated driving offenses.  Additionally, Michigan law provides that clerks of the court must also report a licensed health care worker’s drunk driving conviction to LARA. Thus, one way or the other, LARA will learn of the conviction, and will take whatever action they deem appropriate.

Specifically, Michigan Compiled Laws Sec. 333.16222(3) indicates as follows:

(3) A licensee or registrant shall notify the department of any criminal conviction within 30 days after the date of the conviction.

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Michigan drivers suspected of intoxicated driving based on the consumption of alcohol, marijuana, or other intoxicating substances, must submit a breath, blood or urine sample upon the reasonable request of a peace officer.  A failure to provide such a sample will result in the police obtaining a warrant for your blood.  You will also be charged with an OWI along with a separate charge for an alleged violation of Michigan’s implied consent law.  This will result in the police destroying your Michigan driver’s license.  The officer will then issue you a 625g paper permit, also called a DI-93, and this will allow you to drive temporarily.

You have a right to appeal the police officer’s determination that you violated the implied consent law, and such appeals go before the Administrative Hearings Section of the Michigan Secretary of State. You or your attorney must mail the request for this appeal hearing within 14 days of the date of arrest. A failure to do so will result in your driving privileges being automatically suspended for at least one year.

According to the Michigan Implied Consent Law, there are only four issues to be resolved at the appeal hearing:

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Many courts throughout Michigan employ an alternative form of sentencing for drunk drivers that emphasize treatment over punishment. Collectively, this approach to sentencing is called sobriety court.  Such courts utilize a 2011 Michigan statute codified in Michigan Compiled Laws § 257.304.  This law established new procedures and sobriety court participation provides advantages not available with traditional sentencing.  Eligibility to participate in a sobriety court program varies depending on the location of your arrest and the court where your case is presiding. Sobriety courts are only available to repeat offenders arrested after 2011.  Some courts also impose residency requirements, meaning the offender must live within the jurisdiction of the court.

Sobriety courts are not available in all jurisdictions. The admission into sobriety court is at the discretion of the Judge presiding over the sobriety court. You will only be admitted into sobriety court if you are able to demonstrate a strong commitment to sobriety. If you are considering sobriety court it is best to discuss the specific requirements of your court with your lawyer.

In the sobriety court environment, the judge unofficially acts as a recovery group facilitator.  In addition to the judge, who presides over the official sobriety court sessions, you will also be involved with someone from the prosecutor’s office, a defense advisor, one or more probation officers, including the probation supervisor, and a variety of treatment providers.  All of this takes place in a non-adversarial context and is far less formal than typical court proceedings.  Most of the courts that use this model require a minimum of 18 months of supervision.  The intensity of the probation, including the amount of alcohol and drug testing, support meetings, etc., is greatest at the beginning of the probation period and is gradually reduced as you demonstrate your ability to stay in compliance with the terms of your probation and have demonstrated the ability to maintain your ongoing sobriety.

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After you’ve been arrested for DUI/OWI in Michigan the next step will be for the arresting officer(s) to prepare a narrative written police report, including any supplemental discovery materials. Depending on the nature of the office, this report and investigation will include a description of the basis for the initial police contact, usually a traffic stop, a description of the entire roadside investigation, including your performance on any field sobriety tasks, the results of any chemical tests, copies of any search warrants, one or more video recordings, and copies of any witness statements.  If there was an accident, and injury or death occurred, then the police reports may include an accident reconstruction, medical records, and the coroner’s report relative to cause of death.

Once these reports and materials have been signed off on by the senior officer in charge, they will be forwarded to the prosecuting attorney.  At this time the prosecutor will review your prior record, and the facts of the case, to determine what charges should be issued.  If you were issued an appearance ticket, these final charges may or may not be the same.  The prosecutor will then prepare an arrest warrant which will be issued by the court, and this, or the appearance ticket, will start the court-related steps.

The first court-related step will be the arraignment. The purpose of the arraignment is for you to appear before the court and learn of the charges you are facing.  The court will also set your bond, including any conditions to your bond. Provided you can make bond, you will leave the courthouse with a new date to appear.  At this point the steps will depend on if you are charged with a misdemeanor or felony.

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If you have been charged with a second offense drunk driving case in Michigan, then you are probably wondering about how severely you will be punished.  The type of punishment will be based on both criminal enhancement and driver license enhancement.  Before discussing these differences, the first thing to know is about the two is that the judge will decide your punishment whereas the Michigan Secretary of State will decide your driver license sanction.

With that in mind, let’s first look at criminal enhancement.  The Michigan look-back period for second offense drunk driving is 7-years.  This means that a new DUI arrest occurring within 7- years after a prior DUI will be considered a second offense drunk driving.  The look-back period for criminal enhancement runs from date of conviction to date of arrest.

In this context enhanced means, the statute provides for the possibility of more jail time.  For example, for a first offense DUI the maximum jail time is 93 days with no minimum period of incarceration.  However, in the case of a second offense drunk driving, Michigan Compiled Laws § 257.625 provides as follows:

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If you are charged with drunk driving in Michigan, then at some point after your arraignment you will need to decide if you wish to plead guilty or stand trial. This is because all Michigan drunk driving crimes are classified as either misdemeanors or felonies.  This means that all people accused of drunk driving in Michigan have an absolute right to trial.  The trial can be either by a jury or by a judge.  Misdemeanor cases in Michigan are tried before juries of 6 people whereas felony cases are tried by juries of 12.  Verdicts in all criminal cases require that juries be unanimous, either in favor of conviction or in favor of acquittal.

The trial/no trial decision is a complex one and requires the assistance of an attorney familiar with the trial process, particularly, one familiar with drunk driving trials. However, relative to the trial option there are many things to consider in making this decision.  The first is the likelihood of conviction but this likelihood is best viewed within the context of the plea offer being made on the part of the prosecutor. Has the prosecutor offered to reduce the charge in exchange for your plea of guilty?  If so, then how “valuable” is that plea offer?  You are the only person who can assess this value.

When there is a plea offer, or in those cases where no plea offer is made at all, and your only choice is to plead guilty as charged, it may be useful to weigh this fact against the right(s) you are giving up by foregoing trial and pleading guilty.  Everyone accused of a crime has many trial rights, including the presumption of innocence, the right to call witnesses and the right to remain silent.  These are valuable rights and ones that should not be lightly waived or given up.

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