Jennifer - 35 Years - Drunk Driving Third Offense
Our client Jennifer was pulled over for speeding in downtown Ann Arbor by the Ann Arbor Police Department, and upon further investigation, was suspected of drunk driving.
Jennifer refused to take all field sobriety tests, refused the preliminary breath test, and when driven to the station refused to take the DataMaster test. We will get into greater detail on drunk driving cases later in this book, but for purposes of this example, Jennifer was then brought to the hospital where her blood was drawn, and then was released from custody once she no longer had alcohol in her system.
In Michigan, blood results, even in felony cases could take weeks or months to determine, so the police department simply keeps the client in custody until their blood alcohol level reaches 0.00. The client is told that charges will be issued pending the results of the blood test.
During this time, Jennifer is strongly advised to contact attorney because of Implied Consent Issues (more on this later), and she should begin a proactive program during this waiting period. It is quite rare that the blood results come back below the legal limit, and even if they do, most prosecutors will still charge the case under the theory of retrograde extrapolation (more on this later).
This example is different than Michael’s example above, because Michael was kept in custody to see a judge the next morning, because the police had enough evidence to issue the charges immediately. Things happened quickly for Michael and he had to act immediately. His case was processed immediately, and he may had three to four court appearances within a month.
In Jennifer’s example, she is likely to wait at least a month before anything happens. In her case, the police are waiting on results, and once they get them back, the case will be submitted to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review and warrant. Let’s assume the blood results come back at 0.11, and the prosecutor identifies two prior drunk driving offenses (more on this later). Jennifer will be charged with Operating While Intoxicated - Third Offense, which is a felony in Michigan.
In our case, Jennifer was smart to hire an attorney immediately who protected her Implied Consent rights (more on this later) and kept her driver’s license appeal rights alive, and her attorney has been tracking her case everyday to see if a warrant has been issued. If Jennifer had not engaged an attorney immediately, her license would likely be gone for at least the next year with six points on her driving record without even being charged with a ctime. Even more, she would likely have been arrested at her home, at work or while driving around for having an active warrant out for her arrest.
Because Jennifer hired an attorney, that attorney was able to track the case and determine that a warrant was issued. Jennifer and her attorney would schedule what is called a walk-in arraignment at the 14A-1 District Court, and was able to avoid the embarrassment of an unsuspected arrest.
At this point Jennifer has been following her attorney’s proactive program for weeks, has alcohol testing in place, and is already in counseling and attending AA meetings. When Jennifer appears before the judge to voluntarily cancel the bench warrant with a proactive plan in place, she is likely to receive a personal bond, and continue what she is already doing in terms of testing and counseling during the case.
Jennifer, like Michael will now proceed down the same path of various court dates, with the same options on the table. Jennifer’s example ended up being similar to Michael, because she was aware of the warrant immediately and went to court with her lawyer. Without taking this approach, Jennifer was likely to be surprised by the warrant, and arrested during a minor traffic stop. Jennifer would be brought in front of the judge as a fugitive, who was running for the law (whether true or not). She is likely to have to post a significant monetary bond for her freedom, and will likely spend weeks in the Washtenaw County Jail with a pending case. She will not be afforded the luxury of calling a timeout on her case, because she is not free to work, take care of her kids and family, and she simply wants to sprint to some kind of result in her case, because she is desperate to get out of jail.
We explored all of the options beyond the Arraignment for Michael; those same options will apply to Jennifer. Let’s assume in this example, the Preliminary Examination is held in Jennifer’s case, because the prosecutor is not willing to make any plea offense, and Jennifer and her attorney were not willing to waive the Examination. After hearing the evidence, the judge decides to bind the case over the Washtenaw Circuit Court. In Washtenaw County, the judge will tell you when your first court date will be at the Circuit Court and confirm the judge handling the case.
Our client Jennifer was pulled over for speeding in downtown Ann Arbor by the Ann Arbor Police Department, and upon further investigation, was suspected of drunk driving.
Jennifer refused to take all field sobriety tests, refused the preliminary breath test, and when driven to the station refused to take the DataMaster test. We will get into greater detail on drunk driving cases later in this book, but for purposes of this example, Jennifer was then brought to the hospital where her blood was drawn, and then was released from custody once she no longer had alcohol in her system.
In Michigan, blood results, even in felony cases could take weeks or months to determine, so the police department simply keeps the client in custody until their blood alcohol level reaches 0.00. The client is told that charges will be issued pending the results of the blood test.
During this time, Jennifer is strongly advised to contact attorney because of Implied Consent Issues (more on this later), and she should begin a proactive program during this waiting period. It is quite rare that the blood results come back below the legal limit, and even if they do, most prosecutors will still charge the case under the theory of retrograde extrapolation (more on this later).
This example is different than Michael’s example above, because Michael was kept in custody to see a judge the next morning, because the police had enough evidence to issue the charges immediately. Things happened quickly for Michael and he had to act immediately. His case was processed immediately, and he may had three to four court appearances within a month.
In Jennifer’s example, she is likely to wait at least a month before anything happens. In her case, the police are waiting on results, and once they get them back, the case will be submitted to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review and warrant. Let’s assume the blood results come back at 0.11, and the prosecutor identifies two prior drunk driving offenses (more on this later). Jennifer will be charged with Operating While Intoxicated - Third Offense, which is a felony in Michigan.
In our case, Jennifer was smart to hire an attorney immediately who protected her Implied Consent rights (more on this later) and kept her driver’s license appeal rights alive, and her attorney has been tracking her case everyday to see if a warrant has been issued. If Jennifer had not engaged an attorney immediately, her license would likely be gone for at least the next year with six points on her driving record without even being charged with a ctime. Even more, she would likely have been arrested at her home, at work or while driving around for having an active warrant out for her arrest.
Because Jennifer hired an attorney, that attorney was able to track the case and determine that a warrant was issued. Jennifer and her attorney would schedule what is called a walk-in arraignment at the 14A-1 District Court, and was able to avoid the embarrassment of an unsuspected arrest.
At this point Jennifer has been following her attorney’s proactive program for weeks, has alcohol testing in place, and is already in counseling and attending AA meetings. When Jennifer appears before the judge to voluntarily cancel the bench warrant with a proactive plan in place, she is likely to receive a personal bond, and continue what she is already doing in terms of testing and counseling during the case.
Jennifer, like Michael will now proceed down the same path of various court dates, with the same options on the table. Jennifer’s example ended up being similar to Michael, because she was aware of the warrant immediately and went to court with her lawyer. Without taking this approach, Jennifer was likely to be surprised by the warrant, and arrested during a minor traffic stop. Jennifer would be brought in front of the judge as a fugitive, who was running for the law (whether true or not). She is likely to have to post a significant monetary bond for her freedom, and will likely spend weeks in the Washtenaw County Jail with a pending case. She will not be afforded the luxury of calling a timeout on her case, because she is not free to work, take care of her kids and family, and she simply wants to sprint to some kind of result in her case, because she is desperate to get out of jail.
We explored all of the options beyond the Arraignment for Michael; those same options will apply to Jennifer. Let’s assume in this example, the Preliminary Examination is held in Jennifer’s case, because the prosecutor is not willing to make any plea offense, and Jennifer and her attorney were not willing to waive the Examination. After hearing the evidence, the judge decides to bind the case over the Washtenaw Circuit Court. In Washtenaw County, the judge will tell you when your first court date will be at the Circuit Court and confirm the judge handling the case.
