What’s the Difference Between a Question of Law and a Question of Fact?

Published on: November 5, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

What Is the Difference Between a Question of Law and a Question of Fact?

Question of Law vs Question of Fact: Why the Distinction Matters in Michigan DUI Cases

Short answer: The distinction between a question of law vs question of fact is fundamental to understanding how a Michigan DUI case is decided. A question of fact asks what happened. A question of law asks what rules apply and what those rules mean. In a jury trial, the judge explains the law and the jury generally decides disputed facts bearing on guilt. But that is only the starting point: judges also decide facts when ruling on preliminary issues, and a judge decides both law and facts in a bench trial.^[1]

Michigan DUI for Financial Professionals: Reporting and License Risks

Published on: November 3, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

Short Answer

A Michigan DUI for financial professionals can affect licensing, employment, and reputation, but different credentials carry different reporting requirements. A Michigan insurance producer generally must report a criminal prosecution to DIFS within 30 days after the initial pretrial hearing date. By contrast, an ordinary alcohol-only misdemeanor DUI generally is not reportable under the criminal-disclosure questions on FINRA Form U4. CFP Board has a separate reporting rule that expressly covers a second or subsequent alcohol- or drug-related offense.

The same person may hold an insurance producer license, securities registrations, and CFP certification, each governed by different rules. The first priority after a Michigan DUI arrest is to identify the actual charge, the procedural status of the case, each relevant credential, and any applicable employer requirements before making disclosures or negotiating a plea.

Criminal Arraignment in Michigan – First Court Appearance

Published on: October 17, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

For most people facing criminal charges in Michigan, their first court appearance is an arraignment, a proceeding that places them in an unfamiliar and often intimidating world. The language and rules are foreign, and the proceedings seem governed by customs everyone understands except them.

What makes the experience particularly frightening for our clients is finding themselves there as a criminal defendant, a role is usually profoundly inconsistent with your sense of who you are. Although an arraignment may last only a few minutes, what happens can have significant consequences for the rest of your case.

A Michigan criminal arraignment serves several purposes. It provides formal notice of the criminal accusation, establishes the conditions of any applicable bond, and in the most serious felonies, also involves a decision about whether the accused will remain in custody or be released while the case proceeds. For someone charged with drunk driving, a firearm offense, a sex crime, or another Michigan criminal offense, understanding this first step can reduce uncertainty and help avoid mistakes.

Proximate Cause in a Michigan DUI Causing Death Case

Published on: August 21, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

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.

Do I need a DUI attorney for a first offense in Michigan?

Published on: May 16, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

When someone is charged with a first-offense OWI under MCL 257.625, the question of whether to hire a defense attorney is, in practical terms, not a question at all. Because the charge carries up to 93 days in jail, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches to every such prosecution.

While a defendant may theoretically waive that right, Michigan courts actively discourage waiver in OWI cases and grant it only in rare circumstances, and when a waiver is granted, the defendant is held to precisely the same standard as a licensed attorney: full knowledge of the law, the Michigan Rules of Evidence, the Michigan Court Rules, and the customs and protocols of the court.

In over thirty years of practice, the attorneys at the Barone Defense Firm have seen self-representation in a Michigan OWI case succeed almost never. The real question is not whether counsel is required, but what a skilled first offense OWI attorney can accomplish that no defendant standing alone realistically can.

Should I Refuse the Breath Test If Stopped for DUI in Michigan?

Published on: March 29, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

A Michigan breath test refusal is not a single decision. It is two separate questions with two separate answers, because Michigan law treats the roadside preliminary breath test and the evidentiary breath test at the police station as fundamentally different instruments governed by different statutes with different consequences for refusal. Understanding that distinction is the most important thing a Michigan driver can know before they are ever put in the position of having to decide.

What Is the Difference Between the PBT and the Evidentiary Breath Test in a Michigan DUI?

Michigan law recognizes two categories of breath test in a DUI investigation. The first is the preliminary breath test, or PBT, a small handheld device an officer asks you to blow into at the roadside before any arrest has been made. The second is the evidentiary breath test, administered on the Intoxilyzer 9000 at the police station after you have been placed under arrest.

I Was Arrested for Drunk Driving, Should I go to AA?

Published on: March 5, 2026 | by Patrick Barone

ChatGPT-Image-Mar-4-2026-03_08_47-PM-1-300x200

If you were recently arrested for drunk driving in Michigan, one of the first questions your attorney may raise is whether you should begin attending a recovery support program such as Alcoholics Anonymous before your case is resolved.

The short answer is yes, in most cases, voluntary enrollment in a structured recovery program is one of the most effective steps you can take to demonstrate personal responsibility to the court.

Recovery program participation strengthens both the character letters your support network can write on your behalf and the broader sentencing mitigation strategy your attorney will build to position your case favorably during plea negotiations and at sentencing.

What Is Jury Nullification in Michigan? Is It Legal?

Published on: February 7, 2023 | by Patrick Barone

Jury nullification in Michigan can and does happen, which is when a jury judges the law instead of determining if a defendant is guilty of breraking that law.
Jury nullification occurs when a Michigan jury returns a verdict that is contrary to the law given them by the Judge. In a criminal case, jury nullification occurs when the jury, while believing the accused to be guilty, nevertheless return a verdict of not guilty.

In Michigan criminal defense cases, jury nullification can be both a fascinating and controversial topic. Many people are surprised to learn that a jury can essentially reject the law as it’s written if they feel applying it would result in an unjust outcome. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it can be a powerful reminder that our justice system includes a human element. Jurors are instructed to follow the law, but they also bring their own values and perspectives into the courtroom. For people facing serious charges like OWI or other criminal offenses in Michigan, understanding how a jury might respond to the facts—and the law—is an important part of legal strategy.

Usually this happens when the jurors either don’t like the MI criminal law in question or don’t believe that the criminal law is being appropriately applied. When a jury does this they are thought to “judge” the law.

Michigan DUI Penalties: What You Need to Know

Published on: October 12, 2022 | by Patrick Barone

If you’ve been arrested for DUI in Michigan, you’re likely feeling anxious and uncertain about what comes next. The penalties for a DUI conviction can be severe, but knowing what to expect can help you prepare.

In a Michigan operating while intoxicated case, also called OWI/DUI, the penalties will be based on the severity and nature of the offense, and your prior record. Possible penalties include jail time, license suspension or revocation, fines, costs, community service and probation.

Understanding DUI Penalties in Michigan

Michael Boyle Explains How He Will Help You Decide if Trial is Your Best Option

Published on: January 29, 2022 | by Barone Defense Firm

Being charged with a crime is most certainly one of the most traumatic events you can experience, and then attempting to retain the right attorney or law firm might also feel like a daunting task. The Criminal Defense Trial Attorneys at the Barone Defense Firm understand that difficulty and that trauma, therefore we want to address some important factors in hiring the right trial attorney for your case.

Trial is an Endangered Species

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) recently published a report that 3% of all criminal cases in State and Federal Court are resolved through Trial compared to 20% of cases from 30 years ago. A related article lists that some of the reasons for this decrease include fear of what is known as a trial penalty or trial tax, meaning a worse sentence after a loss at trial. This is balanced against the fact that a lesser sentence can be arranged as part of a plea agreements. Certainly, another reason is the lack of ability or lack of experience of the trial attorney themselves. The very fact fewer cases reach trial every year is reason enough to seek an attorney that does not have significant trial experience, and who will not be afraid to go to trial.