OWI Category Archives — Page 8 of 15 — Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog Published by Michigan Criminal Defense Attorney

Will Sales of Carry-Out Cocktails Increase Instances of Michigan Drunk Driving?

Published on: June 11, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Allowing the sale of pre-made cocktails and other types of alcoholic beverages to be sold carry-out may increase the numbers of drunk drivers on Michigan’s roads. However, because the answer to how carry out liquor sales will impact instances of DUI is not clear-cut, only time will tell if this potential for increased DUI becomes reality.

A good argument can be made that the new carry-out laws will have zero impact on DUI in Michigan. But these arguments assume that the bars and restaurants will be keeping a close eye on their patrons after the carry-out sale is made. If the persons consuming the alcohol are under less scrutiny from the persons selling it, and therefore less likely to get “cut off” before becoming intoxicated, then the new law may create a greater likelihood of drunk drivers.

The covid-19 restrictions imposed by Governor Whitmer have hurt the bottom line for all of Michigan’s bars and restaurants, and these new bills are intended in part to create a new stream of revenue and help these small businesses survive. For example, as quoted in the Detroit Free Press, Ben Giovanelli, who is the president of the Rochester Downtown Development Authority, believes that outdoor sales will be the key to survival for many bars and restaurants, who are still only allowed to operate at half-capacity. Social districts can help make up the difference.

Top Michigan DUI Lawyer Predicts that Drunk Driving Arrests Will Skyrocket Starting in June

Published on: June 9, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

How Much is Legal Limit to Drive in Michigan?

What is Legal limit in Michigan For most drivers the legal limit to drive in Michigan is .08. For people under the age of 21, Michigan has zero tolerance, which is legally defined as .02 or above. Commercial drivers, such as truckers and limousine drivers, can’t have a BAC of more than .04 to drive legally.

Is it Legal to Drink and Drive in Michigan?

Government Claims Mandatory Use of Interlocks Will End Drunk Driving by 2024

Published on: May 16, 2020 | by Ryan Ramsayer

Almost since the uniform adoption of the automobile in the early 20th Century, drunk driving has been a vexing problem. After World War II, as the population began to move to the suburbs and the two-car garage become standard, instances of drunk driving increased. A couple decades later, Mothers Against Drunk Driving become one of the strongest, most influential, and most successful political action committees in all the land. Most recently, MADD has begun to champion Breath Alcohol Interlock Devices, or BAIIDs, as the panacea needed to end drunk driving.

History of HR 3011 Proposing to End DUI by 2024

There have been multiple attempts by both parties in the federal government to pass legislation that would require the mandatory use of BAIIDs. The most recent incarnation of these efforts manifests in a bill that would require BAIIDs in motor vehicles by 2024. Prefaced with the desire to “[T]o improve the safety of individuals by taking measures to end drunk driving”, H.R. 3011 is sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat from NY and supported by Senators Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) and Rick Scott (R-Florida) and Representative Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan). The Bill, originally submitted in 2019, seeks to force automotive manufacturers to install systems that would prevent a vehicle from being started if the driver was above a .08. These bills represent the latest attempts to force untested and unreliable equipment into our motor vehicles, with little regard for the severe consequences that could potentially follow.

How Do I Find a Top Michigan DUI Lawyer?

Published on: May 6, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

How Do I Find a Top Rated Drunk Driving Lawyer in Michigan?

Michigan DUI lawyer Patrick Barone knows Michigan DUI law and how to beat a DUI. If you’ve been arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, also called DUI/OWI in Michigan, then you’re looking at potentially severe penalties. Your driving privileges can be suspended or revoked causing you to lose your drivers license and your ability to drive.

For many kinds of drunk driving cases, you’re also looking at the real possibility of jail time. Even if this is your first DUI arrest, you’ll want to find a top rated drunk driving lawyer in Michigan.

What are the Michigan Laws for Drunk Driving Causing Death?

Published on: May 6, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

In Michigan, Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) cases that lead to death usually fall into three categories:

Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Causing Death
Manslaughter with a Motor Vehicle

Michigan Roadside Saliva Testing for Marijuana Use Now in Use Statewide

Published on: May 5, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

A localized pilot program to allow Michigan police officers to test a driver’s saliva for the presence of marijuana has been expanded statewide. If you have used marijuana or cannabis containing products and then drive a motor vehicle in Michigan, you should be aware that roadside testing for marijuana use is now available to all law enforcement officers throughout the state.

An example of the kinds of units used in Michigan include the Alere™ DDS®2 Mobile Test System. According to the manufacturer’s website, the handheld unit is easy to use and produces accurate results. It can also analyze for up to six different drugs, including Marijuana.

In evaluating a driver, a police officer would correlate the results of a saliva test with all of the other observable signs of impairment, such as any observations made at the roadside, the driver’s performance on field sobriety testing, and any admissions made. If the officer believes, based on a combination of all of the evidence acquired at the roadside that probable cause exists to make an arrest, then the driver will be taken into custody and charged with DUI. While many people refer to these charges as DUI, in Michigan the crime is called OWI or operating while intoxicated.

DUI Causing Serious Injury with High BAC Increases Max Penalty to Ten Years in Prison

Published on: May 5, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

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).

Driving Under Influence of Marijuana at Least Twice as Dangerous as Alcohol

Published on: May 4, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

A study prepared by researchers from Columbia University concludes that drivers under the influence of marijuana are more than twice as likely to cause motor vehicle accidents. The report, entitled Marijuana Use and Motor Vehicle Crashes which was a metanalysis of prior studies, found:

Specifically, drivers who test positive for marijuana or self-report using marijuana are more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in motor vehicle crashes.

Marijuana is now legal for those persons in Michigan over the age of 21, and it is expected that more people than ever will be driving after consuming products containing marijuana. However, debate still exists as to whether and how much marijuana use actually impacts a driver’s ability. Much more rigorous study must be done.

A Single DUI Conviction May Result in Job Loss

Published on: May 1, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Depending on how you are employed, even a single drunk driving conviction can result in termination. If you keep your job, then a DUI conviction might result in being passed over for a promotion. A drunk driving conviction might also result in future employers selecting other candidates for open positions, and again depending on the circumstances, might make you entirely ineligible for certain types of employment.

Employees with current or possible future access to company cars are particularly at risk, which is quite common in Michigan with all the auto-related jobs. Other jobs highly at risk are those occupations that place someone in a position of public trust, including, for example, health care professionals, accountants, financial advisors, and lawyers. Other jobs particularly susceptible to loss include those where, through the normal course of business, you have access to alcohol or drugs, such as jobs in the hospitality industry or industries like pharmaceutical sales. At the Barone Defense Firm, we examine any employment contracts you may have signed or any employee handbooks that may apply to your current situation.

However, it should be noted that an individual whose employment is terminated subsequent to a DUI conviction may want to consider legal action. For example, in the case of A.D.P. v. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co., 428 N.J. Super. 518, 54 A.3d 813 (N.J. Super.A.D., 2012), the plaintiff’s employment was terminated after she failed a breath test. More specifically, the defendant ExxonMobil required the plaintiff, who had been an employee for 29 years, to sign an alcohol abstinence agreement and submit to random breathalyzer tests as a condition of her continued employment. The court indicated that her termination was unlawful. Specifically, the court found that the evidence supported a conclusion that the plaintiff was subject to these requirements and fired when a breathalyzer test revealed alcohol use because she voluntarily disclosed she was an alcoholic and enrolled in an inpatient rehabilitation program. This admission triggered ExxonMobil’s Alcohol and Drug Use Policy (the Policy), which, although facially discriminatory, ExxonMobil defended as reasonable.

Will I Get a DUI if I Drive High?

Published on: April 29, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Colorado was one of the first States to legalize the use of marijuana. Michigan has now followed suit and has legalized both the use of medical as well as recreational marijuana. However, in Michigan and all other states, driving under the influence of marijuana remains illegal. If you are caught driving high in Michigan, you can be charged with operating while intoxicated (OWI), Michigan’s version of driving under the influence (DUI).

The types of PSA, public service announcements long since popular in Colorado, have not yet made it to Michigan. According to the ad campaign in Colorado, here’s what you can do in Colorado while high: grill a steak; play ball; install a TV. Here’s what you can’t do while high in Colorado: drive to get the propane you forgot; drive to see the pros play ball; drive to the store to buy a new TV.

The problem in Michigan is that there is no set standard for knowing when a person is driving high. Because of this, Michigan has considered, but so far rejected, legislation that would create standards for determining when a driver is impaired by their use of pot, such as the creation of a legal limit. This is no easy task, partly because, unlike alcohol, many drivers who are under the influence of pot are still safe on the road.