Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Why is Hiring an Attorney Early in the Process of a Sex Crimes Case Important?

Published on: May 8, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Hiring an attorney early in the process is important for several reasons.

1. First, if you haven’t been formally charged with a sex crime or, as Michigan calls it, criminal sexual conduct, a good attorney can intervene and try to prevent charges from ever being filed. We call this part of the situation in the pre-charge phase. In this phase, someone has been informed by somebody, possibly the alleged victim, that the alleged victim or the family intends on filing a police report. In some cases, we’ve helped people in the pre-charge phase avoid the stress and embarrassment of long and public proceedings in court because we could show detectives and prosecutors that there is not enough evidence to even charge our client with criminal sexual conduct.
2. Hiring an attorney early in a Criminal Sexual Conduct case is important because in most sex crimes cases, police will try to interview the accused person. In this interview, the investigator will ask questions that can be designed to elicit incriminating responses. Even though the person may be innocent of a sex crime, that person may give an answer that can incriminate him or her. One should NEVER speak to the police about a criminal situation, ESPECIALLY a criminal sexual conduct crime, without an attorney because an attorney can spot these issues in the interview and advise innocent clients not to respond.

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

In Michigan DUI Causing Death Case Victim’s Intoxication Probably Not Relevant

Published on: May 5, 2020 | by Michael Boyle

With marijuana use on the rise in Michigan more and more drivers are found to have marijuana in their system or to even be intoxicated from using marijuana containing products. This is exactly what happened in a causing death case recently decided by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The name of the case is People v. Baase. In this case, the driver was not intoxicated but was he was driving on a suspended license. The victim on the other hand had THC in her system. The defense attorney argued that the accident would not have happened but-for the victim’s diminished capacity to “react to the world around her.”

The Michigan Court of Appeals did not agree with the defense attorney’s arguments and found that the victim’s THC was not relevant. It is not clear from the opinion if the victim had used recreational or medical marijuana. And while this case did not involve an intoxicated driver, the ruling would likely have been the same whether a DUI driver who caused death or serious injury was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or both.

What were the Facts of this Suspended License Causing Death Case?

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.

NFL Linebacker Charged with Sexual Assault Involving a Minor

Published on: May 4, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

A former NFL linebacker, Telvin Smith, was recently arrested under suspicion of sexual assault of a minor. Mr. Smith is being prosecuted in Florida where the sex crime is alleged to have occurred. The charge is considered a felony of the second degree, which is punishable by up to 15-years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Under Florida law, this charge means that a person over the age of 24 has engaged in sexual activity with a person who is either 16 or 17 years of age. Further, ‘sexual activity’ is defined to include oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by the sexual organ or by any other object. Smith was arrested, processed, and released after posting a $50,000 bond.

If Mr. Smith had been charged in Michigan, he’d be charged under a law that refers to sexual assault crimes more broadly as Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC). In Michigan, CSC 1^st and 3^rd degree are the two statutes that involve or require penetration as an element of the offense. A CSC 1^st is the most serious. Every crime is made up of elements, and in a Michigan sex assault crime, the age of the victim is an element of the crime. Pursuant to Michigan law it is illegal to engage in sexual penetration with another person who is at least 13 but less than 16. The age 16 is significant because it is the Michigan age of consent.

In Michigan, a minor may not legally consent to sexual intercourse, penetration, or contact until the age of 16. Even if considered consensual between the two people it is not legal consent and therefore subject criminal charges that could or would most likely include CSC 3^rd. That decision could cause severe short term and long term consequences that include up to 15 years in prison, and 25 years of registering on the Sexual Offenders Registry.

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.

Michigan Criminal Defense Law Blog

Hiring an attorney early in the process is important for several reasons.

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

What were the Facts of this Suspended License Causing Death Case?