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Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogArticles Posted in Uncategorized
Comprehensive Guide: Steps in a Michigan DUI/OWI Case and General Criminal Procedure
If you’ve been charged with a crime in Michigan, you are probably wondering what will happen to you when you go to court. Understanding the criminal process in Michigan will help lower your anxiety and this guide is designed to give you a basic reference about what to expect after your case gets started in court. Also covered are the steps that the case will go through before it ever gets to court.
Understanding is essential for anyone facing DUI/OWI charges in Michigan, or other criminal allegations. While DUI/OWI cases often involve immediate observations by law enforcement, other crimes may require extensive investigations over time, sometimes without the accused even knowing they are under investigation. Here’s a breakdown of the process, focusing on DUI/OWI cases but applicable to most criminal matters.
Crime Committed and Police Notification
License Restoration Revocation Lawyers in Michigan
Has Your Michigan Driver License Been Revoked? This article will explain the process for getting it back.
Key Points:
- Check eligibility and obtain a complete driving record.
Can You Drive After Drunk Driving Arrest Before the Court Date in Michigan?
When you’re arrested for a DUI in Michigan, the arresting officer will take your driver’s license and destroy it. This plastic license will be replaced with a temporary permit or a paper license, depending on the circumstances of your arrest. This paper license differs from your regular driver’s license as it lacks your photo but still permits unlimited driving.
The police and your attorney will refer to this paper license as a “DI-177.” The title of it is Breath Blood or Urine Report. This is a Michigan Temporary Driving Permit acts as your temporary driver’s license until you’re either convicted of the OWI or your case gets dismissed.
This paper license is only issued if you consented to a test allowing law enforcement to measure your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) during your arrest. This does not include the roadside test, only the test back at the station.
OUID: Operating under the Influence of Drugs in Michigan
Most Michiganders know the OWI meaning, which is our state’s generic acronym for operating while intoxicated. When alcohol is not the impairing substance, however, a related but different MI OWI crime sometimes called “drugged driving,” can be committed by a motorist in Michigan. This violation is called Operating under the Influence of Drugs or OUID.
Three quick informational points about drugged driving and drunk driving cases need to be made by drug charge attorney Patrick Barone. By clarifying these issues now, such information will help the reader understand more about OUID cases.
First, in the USA, DUI vs DWI represent the abbreviations used in the largest number of states, as their preferred acronym (over 40 states and the District of Columbia). The use of “DUI lawyers” or DUI attorneys” (or substitute a “W” for the “U”) will be used in these states, (e.g., Texas DWI lawyer near me, South Carolina DUI attorney).
What is the History of Jury Nullification?
In the United States, we obtained much of our initial original jurisprudence from England. This “precedence” is called the common law. Because the English common law had such an impact on the development of our law it makes perfect sense that the English common law tradition of jury nullification directly influenced early American criminal trials. In the colonies, both the right to a jury trial, and the jury’s associated nullification powers, were viewed as vital to ensuring liberty.
The Founders, all of whom had the personal experience of living under an oppressive and capricious government, also believed in the importance of the right to nullification, particularly when viewed through the lens of liberty and freedom from tyranny. As one historian observed, “The writings of Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and other founders–Federalists and Anti-federalists alike–all support the belief in a jury responsible for deciding both fact and law.” Similarly, jury trials and nullification were respected throughout the early days of U.S. history.[i]
Nevertheless, as the common law developed the question remained about if and how nullification would be incorporated into our system of governance. While the right to a jury trial is mentioned repeatedly throughout our founding documents, the word “nullification” is absent from all of them. Consequently, the United States Supreme Court had to grapple with this issue, and attempt to resolve it. However, their precedent regarding nullification has never entirely resolved the role of the jury in a criminal case or even the propriety of nullification.
Research Shows that False Memories in Sex Crimes Cases Can Lead to Wrongful Convictions
Charges for criminal sexual conduct cases, more commonly called sex crimes or sexual assault, are often based only on the memories of the complaining witness. This is especially true for sexual assault that allegedly took place when the adult victim was a child. In these sex crimes cases there is no physical evidence, and the guilt of the accused rests entirely on the veracity of the witness’s statements and testimony. The problem is that the allegations of criminal sexual conduct can be based on totally false memories.
A new article written by an international team of researchers suggests that false memories can be reversed. According to the article, false memories cause many problems, not the least of which is false criminal allegations. The existence of false memories has been shown by many prior studies, and the contribution of this new study is that with the right kind of interviewing false memories can be supplanted by true memories.
To understand how this would all play out in a Michigan sex crimes case, the investigation of a sex crime usually begins with a report made to a police department. The initial report will inevitably be based on a recollection of past events, in this case some kind of sexual trauma or abuse. The case might then be assigned to a detective, who is likely to seek a second interview of the complaining witness, a/k/a victim. Depending on the age of the complaining witness, a forensic interview may follow.
How Common is Human Sex Trafficking in Oakland County Michigan?
While no statistics are readily available to answer this question, anecdotal evidence suggests that human trafficking is more common in Oakland County Michigan than most people realize or want to admit. This contention is informed by a recent press announcement by Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald.
Ms. McDonald addressed the media when announcing a significant human trafficking bust in Madison Heights, a suburb of Detroit Michigan. During this press conference, Ms. McDonald indicated that her new administration had formed Oakland County’s first ever human trafficking unit. Furthermore, that under her administration, rather than assemble a special drug unit, her administration will focus on the identification, investigation, interdiction, and prosecution of those involved in human trafficking.
This public announcement comes days after Michigan’s Attorney General announced Michigan’s Human Trafficking Commission’s 2020 Annual Report. This 20-page report, available online, explains the framework under which Michigan’s Human Trafficking Commission operates, and a summary of the Commission’s work in 2020.
Michigan Prosecutor’s DUI Arrest Places Job at Risk
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.
Former RICO Prosecutor Offers Insider Tips for Avoiding Opioid and Prescription Fraud Investigations
The Barone Defense Firm is pleased to announce that Patrick Barone and Keith Corbett will be co-presenting to the Oakland County Bar Association’s Medical Legal Committee on April 4, 2019. Their presentation will offer attendees an insider view of the federal government’s tactics, objectives and methods of conducting an opioid fraud investigation. They will also offer tips for avoiding governmental scrutiny as well as what to do when contacted by the government.
Mr. Corbett will take the lead role in this presentation. He is an entertaining and informative speaker and will draw upon the wealth of knowledge and experience gained over the three decades he spent under the employ of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the institution charged with the investigating and prosecuting Medicare fraud. As Chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force for the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Corbett gained invaluable insight into what happens “behind the curtain” of the government’s opioid investigations. He will use this knowledge to provide seminar attendees with insider tips for avoiding the scrutiny of the Federal Government and offer advice for how to handle the threat of prosecution when such scrutiny becomes unavoidable.
This topic is currently of great concern to all health care professionals and the attorneys representing them due to the increasing federal pressure to investigate and hold responsible all health care professionals who engage in prescription fraud, with a special emphasis on cases involving opioids. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services announced late last year that they would spearhead a much more aggressive stance on prescription fraud, with a focus on stemming the opioid crisis in America. These increased efforts included the dispatch of 300 new prosecutors whose efforts will be supervised by an Opioid Coordinator in each Department office. The number of prosecutions and excluded providers is expected to increase in 2019.