1st DUI and 1st Driving with no license in Michigan: In Michigan, I was stopped a few blocks from my house and charged with 1st time Driving without a License and 1st DUI with BAC of 0.20%. I bailed myself out 2 days ago after being held for 13 hours. They said I'd receive a court date in the mail, obviously of which I'm waiting on getting this week. What are my next steps?
Jonathan’s answer: Agree with the box, talk to a few attorneys and ask them what makes them different? What's their unique value proposition for your case? You may want to talk to someone who is a former prosecutor to get a perspective of both sides of the case. If you want to make major changes in your life, does the attorney have a plan to do that for you?
What happens when I get my third oui?: Was pulled over without my headlights
Jonathan’s answer:
Here are some unique thoughts on a third offense, and what might be different about the approach below.
In Michigan, a third offense is a felony, and there is no timeline to get outside of this window. A DUI conviction at 18, 38 and 68 is still a felony. The Secretary of State still uses the 3 in 10 rule, so under this scenario, your driver's license would be impacted as a first offender, and not a third offender.
A third offense DUI in Michigan comes with a mandatory 30 jail sentence with a maximum of 5 years in prison. Most DUI third offenses will carry a jail term of 30 days to 6 months depending on the judge.
As a former prosecutor who worked on felony DUI cases there is very little room for sympathy for the defendant. Most prosecutors will not deal and will just say "set it for trial", but there are some counties in Michigan where the prosecutor might be open to resolving in a different manner. They are very selective in the cases they might reduce down to a misdemeanor, and you really need to backup that request.
For a client, avoiding a felony conviction means everything. They can get around not driving or even going to jail, but being a felon for the rest of their life - there is no going back on that, and it cannot be expunged. It's my goal for any client charged with a DUI felony to avoid that conviction.
The proactive program is even more intense for a client with no prior or a single prior DUI offense. We might be in a situation where we are entering inpatient rehab, we are certainly testing daily for alcohol, we might even install an interlock in our own car before being ordered. It's our goal to jump on the hood and just ask for help - we want real help though - if there's a mental health issue, we try to get into a mental health court - if its related to military service, we try to get into a Veteran's Court. Sobriety court is always an option, but the prosecutor needs to agree to reduce the case, because most sobriety courts do not take felony cases.
I tell my felony DUI clients that there is no wiggle room - here is exactly what you're going to do to work with me, and it's going to get more intense as we go along. We need to make a difference in the case every single day and we earn back small pieces of credibility with the prosecutor and judge.
Below you will see my detailed thoughts on drunk driving cases from both the prosecutor viewpoint and the criminal defense side of the case.
As a former prosecutor, I had very little patience for a second offender, and most prosecutors believe the same thing, but leverage still matters. Poke holes in a prosecutor's case and well the prior offense isn't going to make the second case any stronger. If anything a prosecutor may try to come up with a compromise to make sure the defendant is at least on probation and being monitored. Those holes need to be backed up with currency outside of the courtroom so a prosecutor can justify "dismissing a DUI" when the person has a prior - that's a lot to swallow as a prosecutor and risky in the political world.
As a former prosecutor in New York City and Michigan, I had very different experiences in these roles. In New York City, defendants would typically receive quick reductions down to non-misdemeanors, with a very limited if any license suspension and rarely did a first offender receive any probation. In Michigan, drunk driving cases were handled a lot differently.
Feel free to review my full article here - https://www.michiganlawgrad.com/michigan-dui-th...
Did I get charged with a misdemeanor for shoplifting?: Recently I stole $16 worth of merchandise from JC Penny's. I paid for some other things and walked out of the store when a loss prevention guy told me I needed to return the tights and that he didn't want to make a big deal of it. We went to the loss prevention office where he called the cops to make sure I did not have any warrants out for my arrest (which I don't-- I have no prior tickets of any kind). No cops were there. He gave them my name and told me I was clear for warrants. He told me I'd get a civil demand letter in a few months for $160 & a ticket in 2-3 weeks. He said Ann Arbor has a First Offender's Diversion program & I'd be on probation for 6-9 months. My question is: did I get a misdemeanor? Do I have to go to court? What will the ticket entail? Will this go on my record?
Jonathan’s answer: I agree with the other posters. Do not admit to anything. Yes you need to go to court, and yes you could keep a clean record, but you should investment wisely in hiring an attorney to assist you. You only get one chance at doing this right. I'm linking to an article about retail fraud in Ann Arbor. I look forward to assisting you with your case.