Becket J. Jones’s Answers

Yes. Its very similar to the way that they can make you go on probation, not drink alcohol, and potentially go to jail or prison. The Substance Abuse Evaluations are generally used as a tool to determine the length of probation and the steps you must take, or programs you need to complete, while on probation. The long and short of it is that City / County is not required to pay for the consequences of your OWI. If you are unable to pay the money, you should speak with the Court staff...

You will need an attorney to help you through this. Before that though, you should do two things today. 1) Go immediately to your local police station and request a PBT to show you have no active alcohol in your system. 2) Google a lab near you that does ETG testing and get one TODAY. The ETG is most important. It tests for metabolized alcohol and can show whether you were drinking up to 80 hours prior to the test. Assuming it comes back negative, you may give your attorney a fighting...

Realistically no attorney can tell you what your chances are based on these facts. 2 1/2 years sober is a certainly commendable. However your proofs (supportive letters, substance abuse evaluation, testimony, etc.) must also match up perfectly and support your claimed sobriety. Further, some Hearing Officers will not think as highly of sobriety during probation, as it is much easier to stay sober when the court is watching (at least that is the general opinion of many hearing officers)...

Divorce records are not criminal records / convictions. The expungement (set aside convictions) process only deals with convictions. I do not operate in the family law realm, however you may want to direct your question to a family law forum to see if it is possible to have those records sealed by filing a motion. I expect it is either not possible or very difficult though. Best of Luck.

Michigan does communicate with all other states on drunk driving issues. If you have multiple OWIs you will be looking at a revocation of your license in Michigan.

You should direct your question on this forum to the violent crime area in Kaufman, Texas. It is unlikely that a Michigan attorney will be able to provide much insight into Texas law, unless he / she is licensed to practice law in Texas as well. Best of Luck.

Ex Post Facto is a clause in the Michigan and US Constitutions. It essentially means a person cannot be punished by a retroactive criminal law. An example would be punishing someone for selling alcohol prior to prohibition the day the prohibition law was enacted. In that example the fact that the individuals' conduct was legal when committed forbids criminal punishment under the new law for his then legal conduct. Like almost all laws there are also exceptions and nuances with regard to...

OWI's and traffic offenses in general cannot be set aside (expunged) in Michigan, irrespective of how much time has elapsed, or any mitigating factors involved in the offense itself. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

As indicated previously, diversions are discretionary and have a lot to do with the Judge and Prosecutor's Office. Some Judges will actually offer a Retail Fraud 3rd diversion at the arraignment itself (some will not), assuming you are eligible. To be eligible you must not have any criminal history (and it appears that you don't). The other eligibility issue is the value of the goods taken. If you are charged with Retail Fraud 1st or 2nd degree, this process will be more difficult for...

This can be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people - but cops are allowed to use ruses (lie) under the law. Is it possible that they will not pursue charges if he cooperates? Yes. Is it likely? Not in my experience (and what the cops think is "enough information" is subjective and probably different from what he / another believes is enough). Is there a danger to what the cops are requesting? In my opinion, yes. More importantly, he has rights. The most important one currently is...