The Grand Traverse Bay area is a notorious hot spot for DUI offenses. In general, police throughout the State of Michigan have cracked down on drunk driving. Whether locally based or vacationing in the beautiful State of Michigan, if you have found yourself charged with a DUI, the best thing you can do for yourself is hire competent legal counsel to navigate through the criminal court system on your behalf. Often times people don’t even realize that they’re over the legal limit – they think that they are fine to drive and will make it home safely. Unfortunately, most prosecutors are not so understanding and take drunk driving very seriously. If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence, you need to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

First, let’s run through a basic overview of drunk driving offenses in Michigan and the potential penalties.

Can I get a DUI charge dismissed in Michigan?

The simple answer is yes, it is possible to get a DUI charge dismissed in Michigan. But, in most cases, it’s not simple at all.

Over the past few decades, society has collectively decided that drunk driving is no longer tolerable. Poll 100 people on whether they think drunk driving should be legal and you’re unlikely to get many positive responses. Next, bear in mind that prosecutors are elected. You probably see where this is headed. Going easy on drunk drivers is generally not a great reelection strategy for prosecutors. Instead, they pursue drunk driving charges vigorously. Simply put, they have nothing to gain by being lenient with you. So don’t expect to have the prosecutor dismiss the charge because you’ve never been in trouble before or because you give money to charity or because you’re going to lose your job. They don’t care.

So how can you get a DUI charge dismissed? In most cases, there’s only one answer: litigate. In other words, you need to bring a legal challenge to the charge in court. Ordinarily, this means either challenging the “stop” (i.e. did police have cause to pull you over in the first place) or challenging the “test” (i.e. is the breath or blood test the police administered invalid or inadmissible for some reason). Such challenges will not be available in every DUI case, but they do come up with surprising frequency. While you might think your case is hopeless, there may well be a winning legal challenge that can get the case dismissed.

Will I have to do jail time for a DUI in Michigan?

For a run-of-the-mill, first-time DUI in Michigan, the general answer is no, you will not have to serve jail time. Although there are exceptions, most judges in Michigan will not impose jail time under these circumstances.

The answer gets more muddled when you start adding in aggravating factors. Say, for instance, that you caused a minor accident, possibly injuring another driver, albeit not severely. Most (but not all) judges would likely order some jail time in this scenario. How much? It depends on the predilections of the judge the case is in front of. A safe estimate, though, would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 21 days.

What if you were previously convicted of a DUI offense? In that case, if you’re convicted of another DUI offense, you’re very likely looking at jail time, usually somewhere between a week and a month. If you’re convicted of a third or higher DUI offense, under Michigan law, the judge must sentence you to at least 30 days in jail, and, in practice, many judges will give you more time than that. And with a third or higher DUI offense, because it is a felony, the possibility of prison time also comes into play.

These are just rough estimates based on our experience. With a good DUI attorney, though, there’s no such thing as a foregone conclusion when it comes to jail time in a DUI case.

Operating While Impaired

Everyone knows the magic number, the “legal limit” in Michigan—0.08. But did you know that you can be prosecuted for drunk driving even if you’re under that limit? This often comes as a shock to our clients. Under Michigan law, even if you’re blood alcohol content is less than 0.08, you can be still prosecuted for “operating while impaired.” All that means is that you drove with “less ability than would an ordinary careful driver.” The law also says that your ability to drive “must have been lessened to the point that it would have been noticed by another person.”

Here are the consequences of an operating while impaired conviction:

• It’s a misdemeanor conviction on your record
• Up to 93 days in jail
• Fines up to $300
• Several hundred dollars in court costs
• Up to 360 hours of community service
• A restricted driving license for 90 days (meaning you can drive from home to work, probation programs, school, and the doctor’s office if you have a serious medical condition)
• 4 points on your driver’s license

Operating While Intoxicated

This is the one we see most commonly. The prosecutor has to establish that you were at or above the legal limit of 0.08 or that because of drinking alcohol, your mental or physical condition was significantly affected and you were no longer able to operate your car in a normal manner.

Here are the consequences for operating while intoxicated:

• It’s a misdemeanor conviction on your record
• Up to 93 days in jail
• Up to 360 hours of community service
• Fines up to $500
• Several hundred dollars in court costs
• A 30-day “hard” suspension on your driver’s license (no driving at all) followed by a 180-day restricted license
• 6 points on your driver’s license

Operating with a High Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

Also known as “superdrunk,” the prosecutor needs to establish that your blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.17, which is more than twice the “legal limit” of 0.08. This provision was added in 2010, and it comes with harsher punishment.

Here are the consequences for operating with a high BAC:

• It’s a misdemeanor conviction on your record
• Up to 180 days in jail
• Up to 360 hours of community service
• Fines up to $700
• Several hundred dollars in court costs
• A 45-day hard suspension, followed by a restricted license for 1 year, during which time you must have an ignition interlock device installed on your car
• 6 points on your driver’s license.

Operating While intoxicated – 2nd Offense

If you’ve previously been convicted of operating while impaired or operating while intoxicated and you’re arrested for another drunk driving offense within 7 years, you’ll likely be charged with operating while intoxicated, second offense. As you can probably imagine, the potential punishments get a lot worse. The effect on your driver’s license is especially severe.

Here are the consequences for operating while intoxicated, 2nd offense:

• It’s a misdemeanor conviction on your record
• Up to 1 year in jail, with a mandatory minimum of 5 days in jail
• Up to 90 days of community service
• Fines up to $1,000
• Several hundred dollars in court costs

A 1-year revocation of your driver’s license, after which you’ll need to petition the Secretary of State to get your license back

Operating While Intoxicated – 3rd Offense

If you’ve previously been convicted of two drunk driving offenses and you’re arrested for a third one at any point in your lifetime, you’re looking at operating while intoxicated, third offense. Generally speaking, this is the highest-level operating while intoxicated offense in Michigan. The penalties are also the most severe.

Here are the consequences for operating while intoxicated, 3rd offense:

• It’s a felony conviction on your record
• 1-5 years in prison, or up to 5 years’ probation with 30 days to 1 year in jail and up to 180 days of community service
• Fines up to $5,000
• Several hundred dollars in court costs
• A 1–5-year revocation of your driver’s license, after which you’ll need to petition the Secretary of State to get your license back
• Vehicle forfeiture, or mandatory vehicle immobilization for 1-3 years if your vehicle is not forfeited

Operating Under the Influence of Drugs – Drugged Driving

What if you hadn’t been drinking but you’re being accused of driving while under the influence of drugs? The standards for operating while impaired and operating while intoxicated are the same. For operating while impaired, the prosecutor needs to show that the drugs caused you to drive with “less ability than would an ordinary careful driver,” which means your ability to drive “must have been lessened to the point that it would have been noticed by another person.” For operating while intoxicated, the prosecutor needs to show that because of any drugs in your system, your mental or physical condition was significantly affected and you were no longer able to operate your car in a normal manner. The penalties for operating while impaired by drugs and operating while intoxicated by drugs are the same as if you had been under the influence of alcohol rather than drugs. With one notable exception. For an operating while impaired by drugs conviction, your license will be restricted for 180 days rather than only 90 days.

DUI Cases Present Many Opportunities for Schmeltzer Law’s Skilled Defense Attorney

Although you may not realize it, drunk driving cases are some of the most complicated criminal cases out there. Often, that’s to your benefit. The burden is on the prosecutor to establish that you were properly arrested and that you were either impaired or intoxicated. Without giving away too much of our strategy in these cases, here are some of the questions we’ll be exploring in your case:

• Did the police have grounds to pull you over in the first place?
• Did the police have grounds to believe that you were intoxicated?
• Did the police correctly administer the field sobriety tests?
• Was the officer who administered the field sobriety tests properly trained?
• Did the police correctly administer the “preliminary breath test” (the roadside breathalyzer)?
• Was the preliminary breath test correctly calibrated?
• Did the police have probable cause to arrest you at all?
• Did the police read you your Miranda rights?
• Did the police correctly administer the evidentiary breath test (the breathalyzer you probably took back at the police station, what’s referred to in Michigan as the Datamaster)?
• Was the evidentiary breath test correctly calibrated?
• Was the officer who administered the evidentiary breath test properly trained?
• If your case involved a blood draw, did the police have a valid warrant or was your consent to the blood draw valid?
• Was the blood draw conducted properly?
• Was the person who performed the blood draw properly qualified?
• Was the blood sample stored properly?
• Did the laboratory properly test your blood?

Answering “no” to any of these questions can potentially have a dramatic effect on your case. Contact us as soon as possible to find out how.

We will challenge rights violations and faulty testing procedures, including:

• Blood Tests
• Breath Tests
• DUI/OUI Arrest
• Field Sobriety Tests

Schmeltzer Law PLLC Knows Drunk Driving Cases

Our experience criminal law attorney at Schmeltzer Law has handled drunk driving cases throughout the state of Michigan. We’ve successfully obtained dismissals, not guilty verdicts, and pleas to reduced offenses. In some cases, we’ve been able to get charges reduced to traffic tickets. Do not try to go into court alone thinking that the prosecutor will go easy on you. They won’t. You need an experienced, skilled criminal defense attorney in your corner.

Contact our office today to see what we can do for your case.

Schmeltzer Law PLLC defends any of the following Michigan DUI charges:

• Child Endangerment
• Drunk/Impaired Driving-related Offenses
• Misdemeanors
• Traffic offenses;
• Reckless Driving
• Ignition Interlock
• DUI Sentencing
• DUI Treatment
• DUI and OWI offenses (1st offense, 2nd offense, 3rd offense)
• Public intoxication
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident
• Zero Tolerance Underage
• Probation
• Sobriety Courts
• Juvenile Driving Offenses
• + More! Call our office today to schedule a consultation!