St. Joseph Drunk Driving Lawyers
- Jancha, Paul:
Michigan is the 44th state to adopt an .08 BAC
standard for drunk driving offenses. Many
studies show that .08 BAC laws save lives. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) estimates the country would save 400-600
lives each year if all states adopted .08 laws.
The change also means Michigan avoids
significant federal penalties and the loss of
highway construction funds.
Michigan DUI Steps of Arrest First Fact to Know: The first thing that
every licensed driver out there has to know is that you can be pulled
over for any reason, in order for an officer to check to see if you are
driving under the influence of alcohol. 80% of the time, after being
pulled over and given their reason for pulling you over, such as slight
speeding, swurving, having a light out, or any other suspicious
activity in their mind, they will let you go with a warning. The reason
for that is because they pulled you over with the suspicion of a DUI.
An officer of the law can not legally pull you over with the excuse of
"I pulled you over because I suspected you were drunk." That would make
for too many lawsuits against the law agencies of the country for every
time they were wrong. Testimonial: I was driving on interstate-75 to
visit my friend after work. It was around 1:30am. Right as I got off
the exit ramp, a state highway patrol car pulled me over. He approached
my window and told me that I had been driving 76 mph down interstate.
My cruise was set at 70 all the way from work, so I knew he was
mistaken. However, the entire time he was talking to me, he was
extremely close to my window and repeatedly shining his flashlight
towards my face. As soon as I told him my cruise was set, he stated
that perhaps the tires on my car were over-sized and I should have that
looked at, wished me a good night, and walked back to his car. When
they walk up to your window, and if it's a case where you had been
drinking, the first question out of his mouth will be, "Have you had
anything to drink tonight." This is one of those questions that no
matter what, be honest with them because they smell the alcohol on your
breath, or else they wouldn't have asked you. Depending upon your
actions, the next part can go a couple different ways. The officer will
either give you a warning for the reason he stopped you and let you go
on your way, or he will ask you to step out of your vehicle. If he asks
you to step out of your vehicle, that's bad, because that means he is
convinced you are in fact over the legal limit of blood-alcohol
content, which is only .07% in Michigan, and is looking for more
evidence to use against you if arrested. Field Sobriety Tests The first
thing you should know about these tests is even sober, are difficult to
pull off. Vision Test: The first test they will perform will be to test
the reaction time and focusing of your vision. With a small pen light
or something similar, they'll have you stare at it for about a minute
straight as they move the pen from side to side, up and down. The
officer is watching your eyes to see if there is a delay from the time
the pen is moved to the time you react, as well as checking for
laziness in your eyes which is a side-effect of alcohol in the system.
Motor Functions: The next test is to see, basically, if you are
physically able to walk a straight line, pivot on one foot, and walk
back to the starting location. An important part to realize through all
of this is if you deviate from their instructions the slightest bit,
they will use that against you upon prosecution. During this test, the
officer will be watching several things. The first is if you walk with
your feet facing straight ahead, or if they are facing outward/inward.
Alcohol effects the equilibrium in your brain and makes it more
difficult to judge distance, direction, balance, etc. He'll also watch
to see how high you raise your arms for balance. Even though the
officer will never say whether you can use your arms or not, if you
raise your arms higher than 35%, they will also count that against you.
When you get to the end and pivot, they will watch to see if you
pivoted on the one foot as instructed, if you swayed while pivoting, if
you lost your balance, if the height of your arms changed, etc. He'll
watch for similar things as you walk back to the starting location.
Balance: Standing on one foot, with your arms to your side, you have to
count to 30 with a "mississippi" in between each number. A very
important and unfair fact about this test is that field sobriety tests
are always performed outside, in the elements. The officer will not
take into account or be leniant on you because of weather or elements
outside of your control. If you take longer to say one number than you
did another or if you lose your balance at all, they will be counted
against you. Testimonial: I was leaving a club in Ann Arbor, MI and was
pulled over by an Ann Arbor Police Officer. That particular night, it
had been raining for a couple hours already, it was still raining in
fact, and the wind was rather strong at about 20mph, making it a rather
miserable and cold December night. When i had to stand on one foot and
count to 30, i fell a couple times because of gusts of wind and not
being able to stand still from being so cold. I'm a rather small guy,
I'm 5'5" and only weigh a little over 100 pounds, but the officer wrote
in his report later that I was physically unable to retain balance
during the test and could barely support my own weight. It was unfair,
but unfortunately, was also too late for me to do anything about. If
only I had gotten a Lawyer. Another Important Fact to Know: 90% of DUI
arrests occur between 10PM and 3AM. More than likely, if you've just
gone through the Field Sobriety Tests, you are probably on your way to
the police station right now for the breathilizer test. Now there are
several myths out there about eating "pocket mints" or that having a
penny in your mouth will fool the breathilizer into giving you a
smaller score. Now whether either of those are true is not my place to
say, but what I will say is that if the arresting officer becomes aware
of you, in any way, trying to fool the test, you will be charged
automatically with trying to mislead a law officer. After you blow into
the breathilizer and get your results, you will more than likely
officially be charged with a DUI. Something you need to know though, is
even though the legal limit of BAC in Michigan is .07, you can be
arrested for a DUI even if you blow less than a .07. If the arresting
officer believes, regardless of your BAC limit, that you were in fact
driving impaired, than you will be charged with a DUI. Of course, if
you are under the age of 21, ANY amount of BAC will land you a DUI and
under-age consumption. At this point, you will receive the date and
time for your court date, since DUI's require a mandatory court
appearance. They will also give you the option of having a
friend/relative pick you up, or spending the night in jail. Your car
will be impounded, which can be picked up at your expense at a later
time, although know ahead of time that Impound Lots charge by the day.
Going into Court: When you get to court, you will have the option to be
represented by a lawyer or represent yourself. If you get a lawyer, you
will be schedule a 2nd court date and will have that length of time to
find a lawyer. If you represent yourself, the judge proceeds with how
you plead and sentencing and so forth. Testimonial: As soon as I found
out what the state-minimums were for punishments, I decided that I
would just plead guilty and bite the bullet so to speak because no
matter what I was going to end up with the 3 days in jail, 6 month
license suspension, etc. Part of my sentencing was to attend an
"Alcohol Counseling" program, at my expense. While talking to the
counselors there, I was informed that Lawyers SHOULD ALWAYS be used in
DUI cases. This was my very first DUI, I had a relatively harmless
driving record up until this point, and with the assistance of a
lawyer, could probably have gotten out of my jail time, and maybe even
had the DUI dropped down to a non-alcohol related offense. I was
furious when I heard this because if only someone had told me ahead of
time, I wouldn't have had to go through everything I did, PLUS, it
would have been cheaper to pay for the lawyer than all the costs and
fees I had from the court. I know that I will never get another DUI
because of how terrible they are to rebuild from, but if anyone I know
ever gets one, I'm definitely going to make sure they get a lawyer, so
they don't have to go through the torment and hardship that I did.
- John Burhans:
In recent years, the State of Michigan has taken a tougher approach to
individuals who are accused of driving in an intoxicated state.
Penalties may include community service, jail time, and or a
restriction on one's driving privileges.
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