Search
Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogCan Accidental or Involuntary Intoxication Be a Defense to a Michigan DUI?
Articles Tagged with Michigan DUI
Michigan DUI Duress Defense: When Can It Apply?
The defense is much narrower than simply having a compelling reason to drive. Fear, inconvenience, being stranded, or even a serious argument will not necessarily be enough. The threat must be sufficiently serious and immediate, the defendant must actually have feared death or serious bodily harm, and the decision to drive must have been made because of that threat.
Can GLP-1 Medications Affect BAC Evidence in a Michigan DUI Case?
Why Could GLP-1 Medications Matter in an Alcohol-Related DUI Case?
When Can a Victim’s Intoxication Matter in a Michigan DUI Causing Death Case?
Short Answer
Victim intoxication can be relevant in a Michigan DUI causing death case, but not simply because alcohol, marijuana, or another drug was found in the victim’s system. The important question is whether the victim’s intoxication, considered together with the victim’s conduct and the other circumstances of the collision, tends to show gross negligence that could affect proximate causation. The Michigan Supreme Court’s 2026 decision in People v Morgan makes clear that courts should not evaluate intoxication, speed, acceleration, reaction time, and other relevant conduct in separate silos.
Victim intoxication can become an important issue in a Michigan DUI causing death prosecution when alcohol or drug evidence bears on the victim’s conduct and the causation analysis. But the legal significance of that evidence is more complicated than simply asking whether the victim was intoxicated or even by learning how intoxicated they were.
Can Flock Cameras Be Used Against You in a Michigan Criminal Case?
Short Answer
Yes. Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers can become important evidence in a Michigan criminal case because they can record a vehicle at a particular place and time and make that information searchable by law enforcement. Police may use those records to develop a suspect, locate a vehicle, corroborate a timeline, establish operation, support a traffic stop, or build a circumstantial case.
But Flock evidence has an important limitation. A camera observation may establish where a particular vehicle was seen, but it does not necessarily establish who was driving. That distinction can matter in many criminal cases and can become especially important in a Michigan DUI case where the prosecution must prove that the accused actually operated the vehicle while intoxicated.
Proximate Cause in a Michigan DUI Causing Death Case
Short Answer
In a Michigan DUI causing death case, the prosecution must prove more than intoxication and a fatal collision. Michigan law formally calls the offense OWI causing death, but DUI is the term most people use to describe impaired-driving charges. The prosecution must prove that the defendant’s operation of the vehicle was both a factual and a proximate cause of the death. When another driver’s conduct, excessive speed, intoxication, road conditions, mechanical failure, or another intervening event materially contributed to the collision, proximate cause can become a central issue.
Proximate cause in a Michigan DUI causing death case is a separate legal issue from whether the accused was intoxicated. A blood or breath result may bear on the DUI allegation, but it does not by itself establish how a fatal collision occurred or whether the defendant’s operation legally caused the death.
Gas Chromatography DUI Blood Tests in Michigan: How the Raw Data Can Create a Defense
Key point: A blood alcohol number is not self-proving. It is the final product of sample handling, instrument performance, laboratory protocols, and human interpretation.
What Is a Gas Chromatography DUI Blood Test?
Michigan DUI Collateral Consequences: What a Guilty Plea Can Cost Beyond Court
The Michigan DUI guilty plea consequences can reach far beyond the sentence imposed in court. A guilty plea may affect your driver’s license, professional standing, employment, travel, insurance, family life, and future opportunities long after the criminal case is over.
That is why one of the most important parts of DUI defense is not just evaluating whether the prosecutor can prove the charge. It is identifying what the plea will trigger outside the courtroom. For some clients, those collateral consequences are more damaging than the sentence itself.
A Guilty Plea Does More Than End the Criminal Case
How a Michigan OWI or DUI Can Affect a Pilot’s Ability to Fly
A Michigan OWI or DUI can create serious consequences in a pilot DUI case even before there is a conviction, because the FAA treats some alcohol-related license suspensions, revocations, and later convictions as separate reportable events. For many pilots, the real danger is not only the criminal case, but the combination of FAA reporting duties, medical-application disclosure duties, and the risk that a recent or more serious alcohol-related event will delay or complicate medical clearance.
Why a Pilot DUI Can Threaten More Than a Driver’s License
Many pilots assume the only question is whether they will be convicted in Michigan court. That is too narrow. The FAA separates pilot certificate issues from medical certification issues, and a single incident can create problems in both systems.