Since the State of Michigan turned an MIP into a civil infraction, I have had far too many calls from out of state clients who plead responsible to this new civil infraction here in Michigan, only to suffer major consequences back in their home State.
Judges, magistrates, prosecutors and police are telling families here in Michigan "oh no big deal, this isn't a crime, pay the ticket and be done with it" - sure that might be true if the person charged lives in Michigan, but other states don't quite view Michigan's change in law as anything that changes the way they view the offense.
I've had multiple clients contact me that their driver's license has been suspended for a full year due to a civil infraction here in Michigan. That frankly was not the intent here in Michigan when the decision was made to decriminalize the offense, but this change has been a worse result for these out-of-state clients.
In the old days, the client would plead guilty to the original misdemeanor, but go on a non-public probation where the offense is not sent to the Secretary of State, but now that the civil infraction is public; it is being sent to the Secretary of State and those other states are just suspending licenses left and right.
Clients and their families reach out to me for help. Is this something we can fix? The answer is probably.
I like to believe that judges, magistrates, prosecutors and police like to apply common sense and want the law to work for people. I have been able to reach out to these parties and explain this "extra consequence" and these parties have been open to working with us to reverse the result.
Step one is withdrawing the original outcome. Resetting the case back to square one. We then work with the prosecutor to resolve the case with something that is not an MIP in name. We still pay the fine, we may even do some extra community service or an alcohol class on our own as "currency" to make a deal, but the end result is then sent back to the home state and the license suspension is cleared.
If you or someone in your life is struggling with this exact outcome, call me at 248-924-9458 or email me at jonathan@michiganlawgrad.com
Judges, magistrates, prosecutors and police are telling families here in Michigan "oh no big deal, this isn't a crime, pay the ticket and be done with it" - sure that might be true if the person charged lives in Michigan, but other states don't quite view Michigan's change in law as anything that changes the way they view the offense.
I've had multiple clients contact me that their driver's license has been suspended for a full year due to a civil infraction here in Michigan. That frankly was not the intent here in Michigan when the decision was made to decriminalize the offense, but this change has been a worse result for these out-of-state clients.
In the old days, the client would plead guilty to the original misdemeanor, but go on a non-public probation where the offense is not sent to the Secretary of State, but now that the civil infraction is public; it is being sent to the Secretary of State and those other states are just suspending licenses left and right.
Clients and their families reach out to me for help. Is this something we can fix? The answer is probably.
I like to believe that judges, magistrates, prosecutors and police like to apply common sense and want the law to work for people. I have been able to reach out to these parties and explain this "extra consequence" and these parties have been open to working with us to reverse the result.
Step one is withdrawing the original outcome. Resetting the case back to square one. We then work with the prosecutor to resolve the case with something that is not an MIP in name. We still pay the fine, we may even do some extra community service or an alcohol class on our own as "currency" to make a deal, but the end result is then sent back to the home state and the license suspension is cleared.
If you or someone in your life is struggling with this exact outcome, call me at 248-924-9458 or email me at jonathan@michiganlawgrad.com
