Ann Arbor 15th District Court Attorney

Resisting Arrest 15th District Court Ann Arbor - Judge Valvo, Hines

8/7/2017

If you've been charged with Resisting Arrest in Ann Arbor, this doesn't make you a criminal or a bad person. I see clients on a daily basis who have have never been involved with the police and have never hurt a person in their life. It's quite common that a good person will get themselves in a bad situation, which results in being charged with Michigan Resisting Arrest.

Michigan Resisting Arrest is defined as "an individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties". Resisting arrest in Michigan is a felony that carries a penalty of two years in person.

If during the incident the police officer is injured and requires immediate medical attention, the offense is a four year felony. If the police officer suffers a serious impairment of a body function, the offense is now a 15 year felony, and if the incident causes death to a police officer, it is now a 20 year felony.

It is becoming more common for prosecutors to charge resisting arrest in cases where the charge may not have been issued in the past. One could argue that most arrests in Michigan have some aspect of either resisting, obstructing or opposing, but the crime is not always charged. Some prosecutors will cut the defendant a break, and only charge attempted resisting arrest, which makes the crime a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

Another common charging strategy is to charge a bunch of misdemeanors along with felony resisting arrest, with the idea that dismissing the felony will be a bargaining chip to get the client to plead guilty to the other misdemeanors. While a dismissal of the felony is a great result, having a series of misdemeanors on your record will not allow you to expunge your record at a later date.

If you have questions about how to best handle a resisting arrest charge at the 15th District Court, give me a call at 248-924-9458.

Possession of Marijuana 15th District Court Attorney - Smoking Weed - Dorm Room

5/12/2017

Marijuana possession cases in Michigan have four outcomes. Your case could be dismissed due to suppression of evidence or unavailability of a witness, you may enter into a negotiated plea agreement to a reduced charge with a sentencing agreement, including a dismissal of charges, or you may go to trial and be found not guilty or you go to trial and you're found guilty.

So how do I get you the best outcome for your Michigan marijuana possession case?

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Open Container Ticket 15th District Court - Ann Arbor Police - University of Michigan Football Game

5/12/2017

This is by far the most common phone call that I receive in the fall, and usually during or after a football weekend. I hear from alumni who were back in town visiting, doctors, lawyers, moms, dads, fans of the opposing team, and people of every age, race and occupation. It all begins with the same phone call or email:

“This is ___________, I received a ticket for open container in Ann Arbor. I was tailgating/walking around with friends/going from one house to another, and the police stopped me, and told me I can’t walk around with a beer”. The client then sometimes tells me they are from out of town, and they need to be in court in 10-14 days, and they don’t know what to do. The first thing I tell this client is that this ticket is a misdemeanor crime, and they need to call a timeout. Some potential clients are looking to get it over with as soon as possible; I tell these clients that if they plead guilty they will have a criminal record. Many people are shocked as this offense doesn’t seem like a big deal or back home this isn’t against the law. It’s a huge wake-up call, and usually puts the client into panic mode.

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Ann Arbor Disorderly Conduct Noise Violations 15th District Court

5/12/2017

You've come to my website, because you're considering hiring me for your criminal case at the 15th District Court, and you want to know how I can help. The judges at the 15th District Court are Judge Easthope, Burke and Hines.

Criminal cases at the 15th District Court have four outcomes. Your case could be dismissed due to suppression of evidence or unavailability of a witness, you may enter into a negotiated plea agreement to a reduced charge with a sentencing agreement, which keeps you out of jail, you may go to trial and be found not guilty or you go to trial and you're found guilty.

So how do I get you the best outcome for your case?

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DUI Attorney Judge Burke - Drunk Driving Attorney 15th District Court

5/12/2017

Ann Arbor DUI Attorney

Read the Ann Arbor DUI Survival Guide

In Michigan, we're beginning to see more and more blood testing rather than use of the DataMaster. If someone is arrested and refuses the a breath test, the police officer will then seek a warrant for a blood test. This also means that a one-year license suspension will be triggered, and it's imperative to review the Implied Consent Law. These warrants are almost always granted by judges around the state.

You may also be taken for a blood draw if you've been involved in an accident or there is an allegation of a serious injury or death to another. Police departments will regularly admit that a blood test is more accurate, so these tests are done in the most serious cases. If the police begin with the blood test, the Implied Consent Law will not be applicable.

In order for the prosecutor to admit blood results into evidence at a DUI trial in Michigan, the prosecutor must produce the person who drew the blood, and this witness must confirm the following:

- the blood sample was taken in a timely manner;
- the sample was from a particular person;
- the sample was taken by an authorized licensed physician, a medical technologist, or a registered nurse designated by a licensed physician;
- sterilized instruments were used;
- the sample was properly preserved and labeled;
- proper methods of transportation were used;
- procedures used in the test sample withdrawal were proper; and
- the identity of the supervising person, under whose care the sample was withdrawn, was established.

In Michigan, a proper DUI blood test test procedure requires use of a control sample, a test sample, and two analyses of the test sample. A test sample is a sample of the substance at a known concentration, such as a known ethyl alcohol concentration in blood. A control sample contains all of the substances normally found in the matter to be tested, except for the substance of interest, ethyl alcohol. The purpose of the control sample is to demonstrate that the test instrument will not show a result based on substances common in the matter tested, thus giving a false result. For blood, the control sample is blood without alcohol.

Blood testing can be conducted with three different methods: Dichromate procedure, enzymatic procedure or gas chromatography. Gas chromatography is the method currently used in Michigan for testing samples of blood for cases involving operating while intoxicated and operating with the presence of a controlled substance.

Whenever blood is drawn in a DUI case, your attorney should demand the sample of the withdrawn blood along with all the associated paperwork, which provides valuable information, which could be fruitful on cross-examination. The request for a sample must be demanded from the state police lab within 30 days of the date the state completed its test. The state police lab may discard biological specimens 180 days after reporting its results. This second blood sample can be tested by an independent laboratory, but this should be done with caution; a second test can only strengthen the results of the first test, but could also cast doubt on the initial results.

Fake ID Ticket - Ann Arbor Attorney - Scorekeepers, Ricks

5/12/2017

Fake ID Ticket 15th District Court

Here is a brief excerpt from my book: Fraudulent or Fake ID Fake ID charges are usually associated with other charges such as an MIP, and like an MIP, this charge is a misdemeanor. The additional problem a client runs into with a Fake ID charge is the definition, which classifies it as a crime of dishonesty and fraud. The charge reads as if you possessed fraudulent documents, and you were looking to falsify and defraud someone; it’s not clear that you had a friend’s ID in your wallet, and you were going to a bar in Ann Arbor. Do you want a prospective employer or grad school to see that charge on your record?

The main difference between an MIP charge, and a Fake ID charge comes down to the ability to keep it off of your record. In Michigan, there is a built in way to have an MIP off your record or dismissed at a later date, but this does NOT exist for the Fake ID charge. This is also a crime that is very easy to prove by the prosecutor, as it is in your wallet or you offer it to a bouncer or police officer as your identification. There is not much of a defense to it being in your wallet, or you handing it over.

Many of my clients are drunk or not thinking correctly, and when the police ask to see some ID, they actually pull out the fake ID by mistake or open their wallet to show the police the contents of the wallet, and the cop sees multiple ID's.

This causes major issues in terms of having a defense to having the ID. It also doesn't matter if it’s an ID that would be otherwise valid (it's actually someone's real ID, but not yours) or it's a totally manufactured "fake" ID that has your real picture, but the ID itself is not valid. I have a strong track record of keeping this Fake ID charge off my client's record along with the original MIP.

It certainly takes a very proactive plan in order to put ourselves in a position to achieve that result, but it is very possible. Like MIP charges, my clients begin volunteer work immediately. My clients need to overcome the perception that they are going to simply get another fake ID, and try the same thing again. Why should my client get a second chance? If we can highlight who you’ve been in the past, what you’re doing in the present (being proactive), and where you’re going in the future (a great career where you can’t have a misdemeanor), you will earn a second chance.

Minor in Possession Ann Arbor - MIP - University of Michigan

5/12/2017

Ann Arbor MIP Attorney

If you've been charged with a Michigan Minor in Possession for the very first time, this doesn't make you a criminal or a bad person. I see clients on a daily basis who have have never been been in trouble, but find themselves being arrested or investigated for a crime.

It's quite common that a young person will get themselves in a bad situation, which results in being charged with a Michigan MIP. Being charged with this offense is not the end of the world; there are plenty of options to keep a clean criminal record.

Michigan law states that a minor may not purchase, consume, possess, or attempt to do any of those things or have any bodily alcohol content. Any bodily alcohol content is defined as either (1) an alcohol content of .02 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine or (2) any presence of alcohol within a person’s body from the consumption of alcoholic liquor.

Possible penalties for a Michigan MIP include the following:

- fines ($100 for first offense; $200 for second offense; $500 for subsequent offenses)
- court costs ($150–$700)
- probation (four months to two years for subsequent offenses)
- community service (10–100 hours)
- probation oversight fees ($30–$50 per month)
- alcohol education
- victim’s panel (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
- substance abuse treatment/counseling
- drug/alcohol testing
- preliminary breath tests (PBTs) (may be ordered on a regular basis—daily, weekends, holidays ($5–$12 per test))
- random drug urine screens (may be ordered ($12–$70)

Domestic Violence Ann Arbor Judge Hines - DV Charges - Penalties

5/12/2017

Ann Arbor Domestic Violence Lawyer

In Michigan there are two types of misdemeanor domestic violence with different penalties. The most common is domestic assault/violence, which is to assault or batter any person in a domestic relationship with you.

The victim need not be injured for the prosecutors to bring a domestic assault charge.

A first offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 93 days in jail, up to a $500 fine, or both. A second offense is also a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail, up to a $1,000 fine, or both.

Along with the misdemeanors, you could be charged with a felony if this is your third offense. A third offense is punishable by up to 2 years in prison, up to a $2,500 fine, or both.

The next domestic violence misdemeanor is aggravated domestic assault would result from an assault on someone in a domestic relationship without the use of a weapon. Such an assault would cause a serious or aggravated injury requiring medical attention for the victim. If a weapon was used to cause the injury, that would elevate the crime to felonious assault, a felony regardless of whether it was a first or subsequent offense.

An aggravated assault first offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. A second offense is a felony, punishable by 2 years in prison, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

Jail and prison are worst case scenarios and not common for first offenses, what is more common is probation from 12 to 24 months with community service, counseling, anger management, a special domestic violence program, fines, costs, alcohol and drug testing etc.

The good news is that my clients avoid many of these sentencing parts because they are proactive from day one, which helps eliminate requirements of probation, including the length, and usually allows my client more flexibility while on probation for travel requests etc.

Read the Ann Arbor DV Survival Guide

Resisting Arrest 15th District Court Ann Arbor - Judge Valvo, Hines

Possession of Marijuana 15th District Court Attorney - Smoking Weed - Dorm Room

Open Container Ticket 15th District Court - Ann Arbor Police - University of Michigan Football Game

Ann Arbor Disorderly Conduct Noise Violations 15th District Court

DUI Attorney Judge Burke - Drunk Driving Attorney 15th District Court

Ann Arbor DUI Attorney

Fake ID Ticket - Ann Arbor Attorney - Scorekeepers, Ricks

Fake ID Ticket 15th District Court

Minor in Possession Ann Arbor - MIP - University of Michigan

Ann Arbor MIP Attorney

Domestic Violence Ann Arbor Judge Hines - DV Charges - Penalties

Ann Arbor Domestic Violence Lawyer

Evening & Weekend Service Available Call Me: 248-924-9458

Michigan Defense Attorney Jonathan Paul - Former New York & Michigan Prosecutor