Governor Gretchen Whitmer today appointed Daniel B. Bain to the 53rd District Court in Livingston County.   
  
“Daniel is a proven professional who will treat the court, and everyone who comes before it, with the highest level of integrity and fairness,” Whitmer said. “I have full confidence that the residents of Livingston County will get the type of public service that they expect and deserve.”  
  
Daniel B. Bain, of Howell, is a partner and general practice attorney with his law firm Bain & Bain, P.C., where he represents clients in civil and criminal cases, including contract disputes, landlord and tenant matters, zoning disputes, divorce and family law, and misdemeanor and felony criminal cases. Mr. Bain has been with his family’s firm for over 25 years, practicing with his brother, John, and late father, Jack. Prior to earning his law degree, he worked for the firm as a law clerk.   
  
“My goal is to treat all litigants with courtesy, dignity, and respect,” Bain said. “Stepping into a courtroom for the first time can be an intimidating experience, and I want everyone to know that they are getting a fair shot when they are in court with me.”  
  
Mr. Bain graduated from Hartland High School in 1985 and earned his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Mr. Bain has served on the 52-1 District Court Sobriety Court Advisory Board and as a member of the Michigan United Conservation Club.   
  
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve o’clock noon on January 1, 2021, after former Judge Theresa Brennan was removed from office by the Michigan Supreme Court. If Mr. Bain wishes to seek a full six-year term, he would be required to run for reelection in November 2020.  
  
This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.  

People have good intentions, but life is not easy.  There are going to be good and bad times with family, finances, jobs and overall life.  This might mean that at some point in your life you may have had some sort of traffic case, misdemeanor or felony at a court somewhere in Michigan. 

Either intentionally or in error, you simply didn't handle the case at the time.  Unfortunately the prosecutor and judge don't know why you didn't show up, even if you had a really good reason.  Somewhere in a courtroom days, weeks, months or years ago, your case was called and you weren't present.  The judge issued a warrant for your arrest, and it's been sitting in that status this entire time. 

You have even been hired for jobs, been pulled over and lived a relatively normal life with this warrant; this doesn't mean that it won't impact your life at some point.  Chances are if you're reading this right now, something has motivated you to try to clear up a warrant on a case.  Well that's just the first step.  

Hiring a lawyer to help you clear up a warrant may or may not involve you coming to court with the lawyer and explaining yourself to the judge with the help of your lawyer.  You need to convince the judge by appearing, they should cancel the warrant, and agree to let you eventually leave the courthouse, and trust you again.  

When you have a warrant, it usually means your case still needs to be handled in a pretrial stage, you missed sentencing or you violated probation or didn't pay some fines on a ticket.  Depending on the status of your case, you may be starting at square one or in the middle or end of the case.  People are not rewarded by fleeing for days, weeks, months and years, so be prepared to take it seriously and work closely with your attorney to figure out your options, and put this issue behind you.  

A lot of clients come to Michigan find themselves charged with a crime; the problem is they don't live in Michigan, and now find themselves needing to leave town and get back to their daily life.  Well, what are they going to do about the serious criminal charge in Michigan?

Sure, you can come back to Michigan, go to court a few times, spending money on travel, hotels etc, and that's if the judge even agrees to allow you to leave the State, or you can reach out to a lawyer and see what other options might be on the table.  

Most courts in Michigan will work with an attorney and client on resolving a case if a client resides outside of the State.  It does help to have an attorney that the court is familiar with, because they know the client had paid that lawyer money, and is motivated to resolve the case; why pay a lawyer money to just ignore the case? 

Depending on the case, you may be able to limit your appearances in Michigan to one or two, or may be able to avoid coming to Michigan; it's really case by case, and judge by judge, but having an experienced lawyer who is familiar with the prosecutor, judge and court staff puts you on the right path to putting this major headache behind you. 

I spend every single day of my life hearing from potential clients who find themselves on the wrong side of the law.  I rarely talk to a person who I would consider a "bad person" - 99.9 percent of the people who contact me are good people, with jobs, families and big goals in life.  

Some clients reach out and tell me they made a "mistake" - I quickly address that mindset, and help the client discover that they made a "choice" rather than a mistake.  I also tell them that it's OK if they did something they regret, and with the right approach, we are very likely able to successfully address the majority of their concerns, and help them learn from those choices. We are human, we are not always using out best judgment, and sometimes "A" happens to avoid "B" from happening, and we need to embrace what life brings us, even if life gets difficult or stressful - it's likely a short-term thing rather than long-term.  

Events in life happen for a reason - it may not seem like it in the moment, but choices and outcomes do happen for a reason.  I tend to think that a manageable situation happens before something that is not manageable happens at a later point.  The clearest example is a drunk driving case. 

Drunk driving outcomes (levels of severity) are based on "the other parties".  A person driving drunk will get away with the crime if they don't encounter a police officer; in fact more people drive drunk each day, and don't get caught then do get caught.  Everyone agrees drunk driving should be against the law, but when you're arrested, you tend to feel bad for yourself and wish you didn't get caught.  That's a very normal human reaction, and an isolated incident alone does not make you a bad person.  I want people to learn from it, and never do it again, rather than bury their heads in the sand and do it again.  

But let's add an element to the case and view the "it happened for a reason".  If you have no prior drunk driving offenses, or maybe one prior, a DUI arrest is still a misdemeanor.  Yes, there could be jail time, loss of license and a criminal conviction, but all of those can be negotiated, avoided or amended.  Your life goes on, and hopefully you never find yourself back in that situation again.  But what happens if this arrest never happened?

What if we add another vehicle or a pedestrian to the facts? What if you drive the same exact way, but now with added parts, your actions seriously injure someone else, yourself, or someone is killed? There is no going back from that, and there is nothing to negotiate or  fix - those are permanent outcomes.  

You made a bad choice, it's likely manageable if handled the right way, let's get to work.  

Whenever I work with a juvenile client, we expand the case.  A juvenile case is a lot more than the single incident and the charge; we are talking about a young man or woman who has not fully developed mentally, emotionally or physically.  Whatever the criminal charge is, it's most likely as a result of failing to distinguish between sound short vs long term decision making. 

Most young adults do understand that the actions they take in some form or another are against the law, and could end up getting them in trouble, but they actually don't quite comprehend the consequences, chances and long-term impact of these choices.  

If one of my clients is charged with possession of marijuana, it doesn't mean the young man or woman doesn't know that for them marijuana possession is illegal, but frankly "they don't care" - they'd rather focus on the short term thought of being cool, fitting in and enjoying the marijuana vs weighing the downside of "well what happens if I am caught with marijuana?" 

That may seem like an odd way to look at the problem as an adult, but that's exactly why the proper proactive plan and context must be placed on a juvenile case from day one.  The prosecutor and judge are going to be grown adults and unless they have significant experience with 1000's of juvenile cases they may just view the client the same way they might view an adult.  Failure to see the real issue will result in a marijuana case becoming just another marijuana case or a shoplifting case just being an another shoplifting case.

In reality these cases are just maturity and undeveloped decision making cases - they come in different forms and results, but the root of the issue is a common theme.  When I work with a juvenile client, we take a few steps back and focus on everyone going on in the client's world.  From school, family life, community engagement, job and future goals and plans.  

I hold my juvenile clients accountable beyond what a court may order, add extra layers of formal education, insight and experience based education to drive the message home and help push that client in the right direction.  Shifting the focus from purely short term choices to a focus on middle to long term choices.  It's always important to create a path for the prosecutor and judge to view of the client; hand them the directions to where you and the client are planning on going, and how we are going to get there.  I like to get the prosecutor and judge to see our vision and adopt our plan.  

Recently had a client get lectured by a judge for stealing when she had a good job, and the means to pay for the items; she was highly educated and successful .  The judge seemed like he wanted to send a message to this client that she has all the advantages in her favor, yet she still stole.  

Luckily for this client, she had been working on a proactive plan the entire time leading up to court and was able to spend some time reflecting on her poor choice and had a better understanding of why she did it.  Retail fraud in Michigan is rarely about lack of means, but rather an issue of mental and emotional instability that leads to good, hard working and responsible members of society making poor choices.  It's no different than someone who has an alcohol, drug or eating disorder.  Deep down you know your behavior is not "healthy" and is not a wise long-term choice to make, but in the short term and in the moment, it pushes you to put your good judgment aside and act on the urges and short-term feelings of satisfaction and want.  

Judges and prosecutors don't understand this, because I was a prosecutor in New York City and here in Michigan, and I used to view shoplifters as dishonest thieves with bad intentions - nothing can be further from the truth - it's not an excuse for their actions, but there's very good and reasonable explanations for what they do, and it's important for everyone involved in the case to understand this situation.  Words alone will not carry the day, but rather the actions you take to change the perception of your case.  

See link below for more info on the offense itself, but this is more geared toward the client who is traveling through the airport, but does not work or reside in Michigan.  Your main question is, well what are my options?

I actually handle the majority of these types of cases for clients who reside out of state, and many of these cases are resolved with the client never appearing in court.  Seems like a long shot that a prosecutor and judge would allow you to remain in your home state despite bringing a gun or other dangerous weapon to the airport, but I've done it many times in the past.  It takes a unique approach and a client who is willing to change the perception of their case.  All cases are different, but if you are charged with this offense, I encourage you to reach out to me and we can discuss how to best resolve the case, and if we can avoid the costly fees to fly into Michigan spend a night at a hotel to address your case.  Let's save the money, time and stress, and see what we can do for your case.

https://www.michiganlawgrad.com/blog/detroit-airport-gun-charges-bringing-weapons-to-dtw-airport-34th-district-court-attorney

I work with many clients who are charged with attempting to bring weapons past security at DTW Airport.  Sometimes its a loaded weapon, someones a knife or another "dangerous weapon".  This is a scary moment being charged with this time of crime, and many people believe it would be a federal charge.  

These cases are actually handled at the 34th Romulus District Court with Judge Parrot, Oakland and Green.  There is also a "special prosecutor" for all DTW Airport cases.  These matters are taken very seriously and could result in a criminal charge and significant jail time.  

The way I view these cases is unique; I've never had a client purposely bring a weapon through security at the airport; nobody had a bad intention, but this a "strict liability crime" meaning it doesn't matter if you left something in your bag or purposely put it there - it's still the same criminal charge.  In order to overcome that failure to distinguish, we put a number of proactive steps into place on day one.  Your word alone will not mean much to the prosecutor since intent does not matter, so we put actions into place.  

You've heard it before - actions speak louder than words, and it applies at the 34th District Court on dangerous weapon charges at Detroit Metro Airport.  My unique proactive program allows the client to change the perception of their case on day one, and helps improves their standing as we prepare to go to court.  We need to show the prosecutor and judge that you had a lapse in responsibility for not checking your belongings; it doesn't make you a bad person or a criminal, but we need to show the REAL YOU. 

The first and only impression you've provided is you were trying to board an airplane with a gun or dangerous weapon - you do NOT want that on your record.  It's the goal of any case like this to change the perception of your case, and find a happy medium which creates a path to avoid jail, and the possibly of avoiding a criminal record. 

When I work with a client charged with domestic violence in Michigan, the first thing the client says is they want the case dismissed - the first thing I tell them is to be realistic and we control what we can control.  It's easy to say you want the case dismissed - that would be a great result, but it's not happening day one.  

Even if the alleged victim wants the same thing, the case is charged by a city, township or county, it's not a Victim vs the Defendant case - the victim has no power of the charge itself.  So how do you get a DV case dismissed in Michigan? You need to know your prosecutor and judge.

Different counties, courts, prosecutors and judges have different "best practices" and you need to know your audience.  Some courts and prosecutors will dismiss the case if after the victim attends a pretrial, they dont wish to proceed, the case can be dropped; some prosecutors will make you set it for bench trial and have the victim "no show" if that is there wish.  Some prosecutors will not only refuse to dismiss and follow the wishes of the victim, but they will issue a material witness warrant and arrest the victim to force them to testify.  Some prosecutors will agree to dismiss the charges if the defendant stays out of trouble.  

The key is to find a lawyer who knows the best approach.  As a former prosecutor both in New York City and in Michigan, I've worked both sides of 100's of DV cases.  I share this inside knowledge and experience with my clients charged with domestic violence in Michigan

If charged with domestic violence in Michigan, there are a number of reactions to this situation.  If you feel that you are falsely accused, that my be the case, but it may be a false understanding of the law.  

Many people believe domestic violence means punching, kicking, or causing some sort of injury, but in fact any unwanted contact could qualify; something as small as pushing someone who doesn't wish to be pushed.  The other person "the victim" may in fact have done the same or more against you, and you feel unfairly charged.  There is some merit to that belief, but the police and prosecutor were not present during the incident and cannot assume anything - it's usually the bigger, stronger and male who gets arrested even if the other person had equal or more contact.  

Some people react and say "I want the other person charged" - sure in an ideal world everyone gets the same for their similar actions, but we need to deal with reality - if you are the one charged and the other person is deemed the "victim", that is how things are going to be for the case - unless there is an objective video or a unbiased third party to clear the air, the defendant remains the defendant and the victim remains the victim.

That being said, there are many ways to resolve a domestic violence case, some outcomes with a dismissal.  It's important to stay focused on the main issue, which is the criminal charge against you - no matter how unfairly you believe it is, there are options.  It may mean a trial or a dismissal outcome with the prosecutor and judge agreeing, but to spend time focused on wanting to CHARGE the other person or being upset with the police only gets in the way of the most important issue - the CRIMINAL CHARGE AGAINST YOU!

Anytime I have a client charged with an open container in a vehicle, we have the perception issue that the client was drinking while driving, or was planning to do so if not stopped by the police.  Assuming the client was not also charged with a DUI, this open container misdemeanor still presents a serious long-term consequence.  If convicted of this offense, you would have a criminal record.

The perception issue causes a lot of prosecutors to be hesitant to dismiss the open container, because they are holding onto the charge thinking the client got away without being charged with a DUI - it's just a prosecutor thing and really jams up many clients.  When I was a prosecutor I had marching orders not to dismiss these type of charges, because a message could not be sent that people can drive around with open drinks in their vehicle, and simply have the charge dismissed.

As I do with all cases, I rely on this experience as a prosecutor to help my clients who face these same allegations.  If I am working with a client charged with this offense, we need to acknowledge how the prosecutor and judge view the case - the "almost DUI".  

I have my clients begin a series of proactive steps such as an alcohol insight class, attend a MAAD panel, do some community service, and if "bad driving" is involved as the basis of the traffic stop then we are probably also takin taking a driver improvement class.  

Without the currency of these steps, a prosecutor will simply say "well set it for trial" - that's NOT going to help my client because they are guilty of the offense, and some judges will treat the client like a DUI client on probation due to the "almost DUI" - the goal should be to have this charge dismissed at the pretrial phase to avoid the criminal record and potentially brutal probation.  

There are other ways for a client to learn from this experience, but until an alternative approach (my proactive approach) is presented to the prosecutor and judge, they simply want to "almost DUI" because that feels most natural and its the safest approach. 

I work with a lot of clients charged with reckless driving in Michigan.  Most of these clients are charged with reckless driving due to high rate of speed, changing of lanes and it usually involves other vehicles.  This is really a subjective decision by a police officer to write the client up for reckless driving.  It could very well be a civil infraction speeding ticket and failure to signal type ticket.

By making it a reckless driving ticket, the client is now faced with a criminal misdemeanor, jail time, suspension of license, probation and 6 points on your license.  In some sense, a reckless driving charge could be worse than a DUI in Michigan.  

In my opinion this subjective decision by the police officer mostly comes down to your interaction with the police officer once pulled over.  Someone who is cooperative, humble and accepting of their poor choices on the road is more likely to get a civil infraction; the "asshole" to the cop is going to get the reckless driving.  

My client is not an asshole in life, but in that moment did something to be placed in that category by the police officer and received the much more serious charge.  Framed a certain way, the client's actions could fit into either category, but now they go to court on a much more serious offense.  So how do we get the best outcome?

The first is changing the perception of the case and who the client is; the prosecutor, judge and police only know one thing about the client - THIS OFFENSE.  It's not fair to be judged, labeled a criminal, go to jail or lose your ability to drive over a 10-15 minute interaction with a police officer.  The problem is "words mean nothing" - a lawyer going in there telling the cop and prosecutor you're a great guy or girl does very little.  Of course your lawyer is going to do that; I was a prosecutor in NYC and Michigan and I heard it all the time.  

What I do for my client's is very different.  We are proactive on day one - we actually go out and do things to improve the case.  Most clients in this situation are going to be doing a DIP (drive improvement program) on top of some community service and maybe even some counseling if the facts lean toward potential road rage.  We want to put our best foot forward and show the cop and prosecutor that you're willing to learn from this incident, you're humbled by the case, and going forward this incident will be viewed as a blessing that keeps both you and other drivers safer on the road.  

If your charged with reckless driving, it's time to get to work and change the perception of your case. 

I work with many clients each year that have weapons confiscated at the airport while trying to pass through security.  Most would hear this type of story and think of terrorism or federal offenses.  Many are surprised to hear that these type of cases are actually handled locally at a district court right near the airport.  If you possess a dangerous weapon (firearm, knife, brass knuckles etc) in your luggage or on your person at security, you will be pulled aside and further investigated.  There is always times when these cases could be prosecuted at the federal level, but many are in the category of innocent, but technical violations of the law. 

If security believes that the "dangerous weapon" was left in your luggage because you forgot about or another innocent reason, it's very likely you will be ticketed, the weapon will be confiscated and you will be on your way.  You will leave with a ticket to appear at the district court to face criminal charges, but it could have been a lot worse and a lot more serious.  

A criminal misdemeanor in Michigan for a dangerous weapon is still a criminal offense and must be taken seriously.  Depending on your past history, your present place in life and your future goals, you case could be a candidate for resolution with the prosecutor at the 34th District Court.  Wayne County has a specific prosecutor who only handles DTW Airport cases, and he is a reasonable person to work with.  

Once we are able to tell your side of the story, and do a number of proactive steps to display your willingness to learn from this lapse in judgment and irresponsible behavior on your past, a path to resolution becomes likely.  Common goals for this type of case may be: avoiding jail, opportunity for dismissal of charges, freedom to reside or travel outside of Michigan if you're not a resident of Michigan or even if you are, but travel for work or pleasure.  

This type of case is a difficult situation and the facts and circumstances are stacked against you, but there is a reasonable outcome to work towards, and potential outcomes are a lot more favorable than you believe - it all comes down to your willingness to change the perception of your case from day one. 

I've had a lot of inquiries from clients who are currently on probation in Michigan for possession of marijuana type offenses.  The potential client wants to know if we can terminate their probation since possession of marijuana is now legal in many situations in Michigan.

The first thing I tell the client is there is "no right" to this termination, because the law was different when they were convicted of the offense.  Just because the law has changed does not mean there is anything wrong or illegal about being on probation for the offense.  Possession of marijuana is still against the law in many situations in Michigan, and just like alcohol, it is not allowed while on probation in Michigan.  Things that may be legal to do in some situations are still against the law in other situations.  

That being said, YES, many judges around the State of Michigan are willing to consider termination of probation due to this law change, many some are not.  It really comes down to the judge in your case along with your criminal history, your progress on probation and your reason for requesting termination.  

If the marijuana offense is your first and only legal trouble, you've been otherwise complying on probation and you have the "right judge" in Michigan then you have a great chance of getting off probation.  

Early termination of probation could have many benefits.  If you worked out a dismissal deal, you get this deal sooner if probation ends successfully.  You could save money on probation fees, save money on future drug and alcohol tests, and save time and stress of probation, which requires regular meetings, monitoring and many points of seeking permission to do things like travel.  Getting off probation has many benefits and if you're currently on probation for possession of marijuana, you should consider working with a lawyer to have this probation terminated early.  

I receive a lot of calls from family members who have a loved one arrested over the weekend for domestic violence.  Depending on the city and county, the person may spend the weekend in jail and see a judge on Monday, or could be arraigned over the weekend. 

It is difficult to get information over the weekend as the courts are closed and the jails have limited staffing, but eventually some information can be gathered.  When someone is arrested for domestic violence they cannot be released without bond conditions in place; for a Michigan DV case, these conditions will begin with a no-contact order with the alleged victim.  This can be difficult if the person arrested lives with the alleged victim, and even more challenging if there are children in common in the home. 

If you have a loved one currently in custody, you need to consider what medical needs they may have and/or medications they need - the jail staff should be aware of these needs.  Next we need to find out when they may see a judge so they are in the best position to be released and to understand the conditions in place.  If they live with the alleged victim, there will be need to be an alternative living arrangement for at least the short-term.  

Once the person is arraigned and understand their bond conditions, we can then focus on their options for resolving the case; this may mean a trial or a negotiated outcome such as a dismissal.  

I'm contacted by a lot of clients who are charged with Reckless Driving in Michigan.  This charge has some major penalties, the main four being a criminal record, jail, 6 points on your license and suspension of your ability to drive.   Reckless driving has many of the same penalties as a DUI in Michigan, and some sanctions are even more severe.  The main goal for a client charged with Reckless Driving is a dismissal or reduction of this charge.  

Prosecutors do NOT take this charge lightly.  This charge is what I call the "asshole charge".  Prosecutors put on their prosecutor glasses and imagine you weaving in and out of the lanes at a high rate of speed and putting innocent people at risk.  While some cases involve less than ideal driving, may Reckless Driving cases are indeed overcharges.  A cop tickets my client for Reckless Driving when the actual charge should probably be speeding, careless or another civil infraction.  

If I were able to advise my client at the scene of the incident, I would strongly advise them to be civil with the officer, show the proper respect for their authority and keep their opinions to themselves.  Many of these cases would likely be less serious charges if my client simply took the ticket, smiled and drove away.  Cops are overworked, underpaid and not going to react well to a driver giving them a hard time or arguing with them.  

Fortunately time heals (usually).  When I take on a Reckless Driving case in Michigan, we need to explore the basis of the offense.  Are there listed witnesses other than the police officer? What does my client's record look like? Was my client cooperative with the police or a jerk? 

I can't rely on a prosecutor throwing us a deal or a cop coming to court ready to approve this reduction, because Reckless Driving tickets are usually written with subjective purpose.  My client either did something pretty egregious to earn this serious charge or did something less than egregious but their interaction was less than ideal with the police officer.  Under either scenario, the waters to cut a deal will not be ideal. 

This is why all of my clients go on a proactive plan from day one.  It's our job to show the other side of the client - the story not told on the ticket and more importantly during the interaction with the police officer.  We always need to acknowledge that we can be better drivers, more aware of our surroundings and to show we are a positive person in the community, not a dangerous jerk on the road.  My clients made take a driver improvement course, do some community service, attending counseling. 

Many other lawyers would look at this approach as "unnecessary" - well those lawyers are going to have pissed off clients when the prosecutor says "no deal" - a cop and prosecutor are not going to cut a deal on a Reckless Driving case if the only thing they know about the client stems from this one incident.  This type of approach has opened up many doors for my clients, because it shows they "give a shit" and they are humbled by the experience. 

We turn a negative situation into a positive learning experience and show who the client actually is - sure, that day on the road, maybe my client acted like a jerk, and in the end we are glad we were pulled over because something worse may have happened.  Having time to reflect on the incident, we are prepared to go forward with many lessons learned.  There is too much at risk when driving a vehicle on the roads of Michigan - too much can go wrong, especially if you're not driving in a safe manner.  

Should you lose your ability to drive? Be labeled a criminal the rest of your life, go to jail? Maybe, or maybe not.  The client controls the outcome of the case, but mere words mean nothing, it's all about actions and making a TRUE impression vs an isolated moment in time listed on the ticket. 

If after sorting over the pretrial options, a client decides they want to go to trial, we discuss possible defenses.  The problem with most domestic violence cases in Michigan is that my client is probably technically guilty of having "unwanted contact with the victim".  

Most clients believe that domestic violence involves punching, kicking and most commonly "hurting someone" - known of these common believes are required to be charged and found guilty of domestic violence in Michigan.  I typically demonstrate what domestic violence is on my own clients - simply giving them a shove in the shoulder or pushing them out of the way is "unwanted contact" 

The bar is quite low and if my client was present and we don't have a mistaken identity (not happening when there is a domestic relationship) it seems like it would be impossible to win a domestic violence trial.  

The most common ways to win a DV trial are the following:

1. The victim does not want to testify (prosecutor then dismisses) or they don't want to testify (prosecutor doesn't dismiss) but the jury or judge have a difficult time convicting when the victim is denying anything happened.  

2. Self-defense or reasonable response

Going to focus more on the reasonable response; the Michigan Jury Instructions for domestic violence, specifically M Crim JI 17.24a states 

(1) The defendant has raised the defense that [his / her] conduct was a reasonable response to an act of domestic violence. The defendant has the burden of proving this defense. To satisfy this burden, the evidence must persuade you that it is more likely than not that [his / her] conduct was a reasonable response to an act of domestic violence, given all of the facts and circumstances known to[him / her] at the time.

(4) If the defendant has proved that [his / her] conduct was a reasonable response to an act of domestic violence in light of the facts and circumstances known to [him / her] at the time, you must find [him / her]not guilty of _________. If [he / she] has failed to prove this defense, [his / her] defense that [his / her] conduct was a reasonable response to an act of domestic violence fails.

What all this legal language means is if someone is charged with domestic violence, a judge or jury gets to hear what they did from all witnesses and decide if that was reasonable.  That reasonableness is not defined, but up to the jury or judge to decide.  Here are two clear examples, which aren't always the case - it's usually more grey area.

Scenario #1 

1. Defendant claims the victim yelled at him about not paying the bills, and at one point pushed him and told him he was a no good husband.  Victim admits to doing this on the stand, but then says the defendant punched her in the face multiple times and kicked her on the ground.  Defendant claims he was pushed and victim was trying to push him a second time so he reacted.  

Scenario #2

1. Victim and defendant both admit to a verbal fight over bills not being paid.  Victim claims she was shoved by the defendant and pushed out of the way, and she was afraid of the defendant.  Defendant admits he shoved the victim, but claims the victim was cornering him and removed himself out the situation by pushing victim out of the way.  

In scenario #1 it is probably not reasonable to punch and kick someone as a response to pushing and yelling.  In scenario #2, if there is a lot of mutual contact and the defendant simply wants to get away, admitting to pushing someone out of the way may technically be "unwanted touching" but is COULD BE reasonable within that moment.

In Michigan, scenario #2 may offer the defendant a good defense to the domestic violence charges.  The caveat being trial is always risky and alternative options  should always be discussed prior to rolling the dice on your future.  

When contacted by a client charged with domestic violence in Michigan, we have a number of options. 

One option may be a trial where we contest the charges, another may be working out an agreement with the prosecutor and judge to fit the clients goals.  Common goals in a Michigan domestic violence case are avoiding jail, dismissal of charges and learning from the matter in a way which puts the bad parts in the past, and allows the client to focus on a more positive future.  

I would say 99.9 percent of my domestic violence clients found themselves in a situation which got out of control, and in reality both sides are to blame.  When things cool down, and everyone is removed from the situation, usually everyone agrees that it should be an opportunity to learn and grow from it rather than long-time harm to the client, and potentially a disruption of another wise happy relationship. 

Sometimes alcohol or drugs are involved that turns lab-abiding responsible people into someone who breaks the law.  In this case, we may need to focus our efforts on the alcoholism to get to the root of the issue.  

If the alleged victim in a case is "supportive" of the client, there's a good chance a reasonable deal can be worked out that the victim agrees, along with the prosecutor, and the outcome matches many of our goals. 

It's important to keep long-term goals in mind when it comes to resolving these cases.  If my client already has a criminal record, we need to keep eligibility for expungement in mind.  In Michigan, you can only have up to 2 misdemeanors to remain eligible.  If my client has one prior misdemeanor, he can only receive one more before the expungement door closes on him.  

If a client comes to court with multiple criminal charges, a key goal might be dwindling it down to one charge in order to keep expungement an option.  The majority of clients do not understand the distinction and without a lawyer may be closing the door on the opportunity to have no criminal record down the road. 

It's very common for a client to contact me about a new retail fraud case, but also mention a past history of stealing.  Unfortunately most attorneys do not help their clients both inside and outside the courtroom. 

With no prior history, a defense attorney stands a good chance of working out a deal with the prosecutor, but the client takes the slap on the wrist and moves on without addressing the real issue.  Most theft cases in Michigan have nothing to do with a person who was born to steal, enjoys stealing or needed to steal.  Most retail fraud cases in Michigan are actually cases about depression, anxiety, or another mental or emotional issue that has gone unaddressed.  

Judges and probation officers don't treat theft cases like I do; I recognize that in order to really help the client, we need to work on the root of the problem, not the result of the problem.  This is why people still often, usually until they are caught, then go back and do it again, sometimes while on probation for the original theft case.  This seems crazy, but the client simply has not received the treatment and assistance.  

When I take on a new retail fraud case in Michigan, I am taking on a client suffering from something emotional or mental in their life, career, family etc.  It's likely they stole due to issues with confidence, depression or anxiety; sometimes they don't realize they want attention, someone to notice them.  

I work with people with great careers, amazing families and bright futures; an outsider would not believe that the client would risk it all for a few hundred dollars of merchandise that they could surely afford.  It just doesn't make sense to the outside world, and usually doesn't make sense to a prosecutor or judge.  This is why I developed my proactive program geared toward this theft cases.  

As a former prosecutor, I was in the middle of 1000's of negotiations with defense attorneys both in New York City and in Michigan.   The majority of defense lawyers would just throw out requests without justification; many times if their client had no criminal record, their request would happen by default and procedure.  No record? Sure, let's make a deal on most charges. 

The challenging cases were the cases where the defendant has a prior criminal record and were not good fits for "dismissal programs".  No defense lawyer wants to sheepishly walk over to their client and say "no deal, you need to plead guilty".  Sure, a lot of benefit can come from having a lawyer for sentencing (but majority of defense lawyers have no idea how to properly leverage sentencing), but the main reason why someone is hired by a client is to "work something out".  When you can't, a client says WHY DID I HIRE YOUR SORRY ASS! 

Now, that client in that position has the right to go to a trial, but most of the time, more harm can be done by going to trial in this situation.   If you're guilty and the evidence is strong, you're just going to piss off the judge (judge will never and cannot admit this) by setting a trial where you probably should just step-up and take responsibility for your actions.  I would never tell a client they have to plead guilty in this situation, but should a client just go to trial on a case where the evidence is strong and they don't have a defense, or is there another way to handle a case like this? 

When my client has a criminal history and the prosecutor won't budge or can't budge due to lack of eligibility, it's time to get creative and rely on our proactive approach. 

I've written articles and books on being proactive, so I won't touch on it much here, but every one of my clients is working on 4-5 different things during the case to take responsibility from day one, and get themselves heading in the right direction; classes, counseling, community service, proactive testing etc.  

Here are three ways this type of case can play out:

1. No deal - client pleads as charged with no deal in place and moves to sentencing.
2. No deal - client goes to trial on a strong case, is found guilty, is sentenced after jamming the court up.
3. No deal - call a timeout, maybe set for a bench trial, have client keep up proactive work for another month

Now deal #3 works because it's a compromise with the prosecutor.  You're not setting for a jury trial, hauling in people from the community, forcing a prosecutor to prepare for trial and making the court invest an entire day for a trial that is not going to go in your favor. 

By setting it for bench trial, you're asking a prosecutor and judge to sprint down the road vs running a marathon.  Maybe you tell the prosecutor that if all the witnesses show, your client will plead guilty, but ask the prosecutor to keep an open mind with your request and there is more good work to be done by the client.   

By not kicking down the prosecutor's door on a jury trial that is just silly to set, but still exercising your client's right to a trial, this is a happy medium of sorts.  My client continues their proactive work for another month then when you return with the prosecutor, you were that reasonable person who is trying to work with everyone, and there's no running for what happened. 

I tell prosecutors on a regular basis, YES my client is super guilty - the client is comfortable with that, because why run from something? There's an opportunity to work on yourself and use this as a learning experience.  Once we get over that hurdle of "fighting" guilt vs innocence, we can rely on solid relationships, common sense and merit.  And in this scenario, we rely on time and continued progress.  Once a guilty client gets over the hump of feeling the need to "defend themselves" we can get to work on great outcomes.  Some cases have real defenses and constitutional issues to explore, but the majority of cases do not.   

Using this strategy, I have turned "no deal" into "well, your client has done X, Y and Z, and well it seems reasonable, OK, I will agree" 

In no part of this scenario did I have to pull my sword - I knew had nothing to fight over in the evidence, but I had common sense, merit and time on my side.  I believe all prosecutors have a reasonable side to them, and I rely on my experience as a prosecutor to bring that out of them.  My client needs to back up my requests with an impressive track record of proactive accomplishments, but if they do, I have the tools needed to be creative.