New FOIA Rules Make Defending a Michigan DUI Easier

If you have been arrested for DUI in Michigan, and have found and retained a top DUI defense attorney to represent you, then he or she will be using a variety of tools to investigate your case.  The purpose of this investigation is to help your DUI defense lawyer uncover defenses applicable to your case.

One under-utilized method of discovery is the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA.  In a criminal case, the FOIA can be used to obtain documents from the police agencies involved in your DUI arrest, as well as agencies involved in the oversight of the specific police agency that arrested you for drunk driving.

Of particular interest in a Michigan DUI case is the State Police agency involved in oversight of the state’s breath testing program.  In the case of a drunk driving / DUI blood test case, the agency of interest is the laboratory where the blood was tested for alcohol.

In either case, the Michigan DUI defense expert will be looking for documents and things that the government must keep in order to prove that the breath or blood test in your case is what it claims to be – namely a reliable way to determine a breath or blood alcohol level.  After all, if the government claims you were driving over the legal limit, then they’d better be able to use reliable evidence to prove it!

Because the government must keep these records about breath and blood testing, they must also disclose them to any member of the public who properly requests them under the Act.  This is where the Michigan FOIA request comes in.

The Barone Defense Firm has been using the FOIA to obtain records on behalf of their clients for nearly two decades.  In most instances the law as previously drafted worked well.  What is particularly good about the new law is that it places a cost-limit on the request, and also, allows for the electronic production of the requested documents.

The electronic production is great for the Barone Defense Firm because the Firm is totally digital and electronic production will help the DUI defense experts at the Barone Defense Firm more easily and quickly obtain and use the requested documents to help formulate the defenses of our clients.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Michigan, and would like one of the DUI defense experts at the Barone Defense Firm to review your case FREE of charge, then please call us to schedule your Michigan DUI case review.  We will explain to you how we intend to use the new FOIA law to your advantage and if possible, use the documents obtained to help win your case.