Published on: | by

Driving under the influence (DUI), or in Michigan Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), is usually charged using a breath test result. However, due to the recently discovered breath testing fraud, more often Michigan DUI cases are charged using a blood test result.  Breath test results are available immediately after the test is administered at the police station or jail. Blood sample results, however, can take weeks or months to be returned from the Michigan State Police (MSP) forensics lab. The prosecutor in a DUI case generally, but not always, waits for blood results to submit formal charges because if the result is over .08 then the case can be charged under Michigan’s Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level law.  And if the test result is above a .17, then it is considered a super-drunk driving.

What is the Process That My Blood Sample Goes Through?

If you have gone through a Michigan DUI arrest that involved a blood sample, you may have noticed that the police officer provided special vials to be used for the sample. These blood collection vials come from a kit that is specifically made for police agencies in Michigan to collect blood samples for criminal investigations. There should be two vials with grey caps. Sodium fluoride should be in the vials to properly preserve the blood. The vials are sent to the Michigan State Police forensics lab in Lansing for testing. Once tested, the results are sent back to the arresting agency, and the prosecutor for that agency.  The prosecutor will review the matter, and if appropriate, will file DUI charges against you in court. If the blood is being tested for alcohol only, the process usually takes three to six weeks. If it’s also being tested for drugs, it could take months. During the coronavirus pandemic, the results could take even longer to be returned.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

Fear of the Covid 19 virus means more people are spending time at home, often alone, in front of their phones or computers. Unfortunately, some of those people are sexual predators looking for their next sex crimes victim. According to news sources, this means that the risk of sexual predators finding victims is also increased.

How are Sexual Predators Finding their Victims?

Sexual predators use various tactics to gain access to and communicate with their targets online. One of the biggest threats comes from communicating with potential victims through apps and sites that children and young adults use most frequently- YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook. Once a predator is connected to a potential victim, some purport to be someone else by using a profile picture that looks like someone the same age as the victim. Once a predator is connected to a victim, the predator usually aims to elicit sexual photos from the victim and, potentially, meet the victim in person.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

It is a sign of the times, a driver gets cut off, or suffers some other grievous offense, and before you know it, firearms are displayed and waived, and violence is threatened. In many instances, simply displaying your pistol to another driver can result in a brandishing charge.

What is Brandishing?

According to the Michigan Penal Code, “brandishing” occurs when a person points, waves about, or displays a firearm in a threatening manner with the intent to induce fear in another person. The laws and penalties regarding brandishing have some subtle factors, and recent news reports regarding arrests for brandishing arising out of a road rage incident, such as one regarding a person in Ottawa County provoke the question:  “what do I do if I am in a road rage incident and I have a firearm?”

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

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.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

The Sex Offenders Registration Act is known as SORA.  SORA was enacted pursuant to the legislature’s exercise of police power of the state.  Its intent is to monitor persons that are believed to pose a potential danger to the people of the state. Sora is a database that contains the names and addresses of individuals convicted of certain sex crimes. In Michigan, the Michigan State Police (MSP) is the agency established by the Act to be the keeper of the registry and repository.  The Michigan State Police local posts, and other local county and city/township law enforcement agencies, serve as the locations for the offender to register.  The frequency of reporting, the number of years of reporting, and whether the information is public or private, is dependent upon the type of conviction for the offender and is categorized by Tiers.

What are Tiers?

In Michigan, sex crime offenses are categorized into three Tiers.  Tier 1 is the least serious, and Tier 3 is the most serious.  The more serious the offense, the more frequent and longer the individual is required to report/register.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

On May 11, 2020, a Southwest Michigan prosecutor arrested for DUI after crashing his car. He was later observed pouring  liquid out of a container in an apparent attempt to conceal evidence.  The container was later determined to have contained alcohol, and so the prosecutor was charged with open intoxicants as well as drunk driving.

If Convicted of DUI in Michigan He May End Up in Jail

The potential penalties for a first offense DUI, called OWI or Operating While Intoxicated in Michigan, include a maximum penalty of up to 93 days in jail. Additional sanctions include a fine of up to $500 fine, court costs and cost recovery, in addition to a crime victim rights fee and a judgement fee.  On top of this, if convicted of DUI this prosecutor is likely to serve a term of probation, be ordered to complete up to 45 days of community service, be ordered to complete some form of counseling and could even lose his car through vehicle forfeiture.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

The short answer is – immediately.  When it comes to sex crimes in Michigan, you should never take a “wait and see” approach. Sex crimes are taken very seriously in Michigan and carry with them severe penalties including long periods of incarceration.

Plus, sex crimes investigations are often extensive and could take weeks or months before any official charges are authorized. Authorized means an official charge against you, which usually begins when the investigating officer submitting their findings or report to the county prosecutor to review and approve, or authorize.  If the prosecutor approves, the officer will then appear in court before a Judge or Magistrate and “swears to” a warrant for your arrest.  Once the Judge or Magistrate sign it, there will now be a Felony Arrest Warrant for you.

If you have done something that might make you susceptible to a Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) charge, or other sex crime or assault, if you are suspicious that someone may be making a complaint against you, and certainly if you have been contacted by police or law enforcement, you must consult and retain an experienced assault and sex crime attorney immediately.

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

MI sex crimes lawyer Patrick Barone explains sodomy laws.Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct, commonly referred to as CSC, is the unlawful sexual assault or touching or penetration of another. In Michigan, there are four separate offenses each defined by the acts of behaviors of the alleged offender.

Each level of offense is called a “degree.” In order to support an allegation, the state must demonstrate a range of factors or legal ideas that are present in each degree of the charge. Such variables may include the age of the victim, the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, and whether force or coercion was used in the commission of the alleged crime.

Punishment for Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct

Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

With the advent of the novel covid 19 virus many officers who arrest suspected Michigan DUI drivers are now worried about the contamination risks associated with a breath test. Obtaining a breath sample places an officer directly at risk for exposure because the officer must do all of the following:

  • Be very near to a DUI suspect as they exhale into the breathalyzer.
  • Look directly into and inspect a DUI suspect’s mouth prior to the blow.
Continue Reading ›

Published on: | by

When a person is arrested for criminal sexual conduct, they are taken to jail to be fingerprinted, booked, and in most jurisdictions, held until arraignment. The person may, depending on whether the jail officers feel like it, be given a phone call. Next, that person will be taken in front of a judge to be arraigned. At the arraignment, that person will have an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty and the judge will order bond conditions.

Bond conditions typically include an amount of money the person must pay to be released, no contact with the accuser, and no travel outside the state. The amount of cash bond someone must pay is a significant issue. The bond amount for the most serious sex crimes can be in the tens and thousands of dollars. It can be the difference between never spending more than a few hours in jail versus spending months in jail waiting for a trial because their client or client’s family could not pay the bond.

If a good sex crimes lawyer is at the arraignment the lawyer will try to convince the judge that a minimal bond amount is appropriate and therefore give their client a better chance of being released.

Continue Reading ›
Contact Information
280 N Old Woodward Ave #200
Birmingham, MI 48009
Phone: 248-306-9158
2155 Butterfield Dr #305A
Troy, MI 48084
Phone: 248-306-9158
39 S Main St #20
Clarkston, MI 48346
Phone: 248-306-9158
The Federal Eastern District Court for Michigan has courthouses located in Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron, and Bay City, whereas the Western District Court also has courthouses located in Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. View More

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Barone Defense Firm
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design