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Defendant argued the Court should recognize the right to a jury trial for criminal contempt proceedings involving PPO violations.

The trial court conducted the show-cause hearing, which resulted in a finding of criminal contempt for violating the PPO. The trial court sentenced respondent to a 7- day jail term and a $100 fine but suspended the jail term absent further violations of the PPO and directed respondent to have her fingerprints taken.

The smell of burned marijuana does provide probable cause to search a defendant’s vehicle, in that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does not allow for the use of marijuana in a vehicle or in a place opened to the public. You don’t necessarily have to be under the influence of marijuana, but the use of marijuana suffices.

Originally posted on 10/20/2017 If you are charged with a crime, you could face severe penalties that could include financial fines, public service, or even jail time. For those in the Michigan area, hiring an attorney experienced in...

Originally posted on 01/20/2017 When potential clients ask us questions about criminal defense representation (particularly for drunk driving offenses) one of the most common is whether they will lose their job.  Naturally, this...

The sentencing guidelines are advisory, and although a trial court must determine the applicable guidelines range and take it into account when imposing a sentence, the court is not required to sentence a defendant within that range.

But it is for the trier of fact to determine the credibility of Officer testimony and the weight to give the evidence presented at trial.

Originally posted on 03/06/2017 If you have been arrested and are being held on the suspicion that you have committed a particular crime, chances are that the only thing you are thinking about is getting out of jail as soon as possible and...

Originally posted on 04/12/2017 If you have been convicted of a crime, have served your sentence, and have followed all court recommendations, you should be able to put your past behind you and move on with life. Moving forward is critical...

Defendant was arrested at a gas station for carrying a concealed weapon without a concealed pistol license (CPL). The arrest was conducted by Police Officers, they saw defendant with a partially concealed handgun in his waistband from their vehicle...

Originally posted on 10/11/2019. At one point or another, we have all made mistakes. For some people, those mistakes involved breaking the law. Convictions have a large impact on someone’s life. Beyond the sentencing ranging from...

Originally posted on 11/08/2019 There are many different levels of crime and the consequences once someone has been charged with them. One bracket of crimes is known as a misdemeanor. Let’s go over this level of crime and some common...

Rem Originally posted on 12/06/2019 There is something in most people’s life they regret - if they could redo a moment, they would have done it better. Although there is no physical way to erase the past or redo past wrongs, there is a...

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), provides very limited circumstances in which persons involved with the use of marijuana, may avoid criminal liability. Accomplices to crimes may be prosecuted under an aiding and abetting theory.

The fact that the officers subjected defendant to a Terry stop does not automatically lead to the conclusion that the stop violated the Fourth Amendment.

Michigan forbids the presence of open alcoholic beverage containers in the passenger area of vehicles.

UNDERLYING FACTS In the early afternoon of November 4, 2016, defendant was pulled over after an officer was dispatched for a possible drunk driver. The officer had defendant exit his vehicle and perform several field sobriety tests. Those tests...

Original Post: 05/14/2017 The preceding is for informational purposes only. Being stopped by the police is not usually a pleasant experience. Even with the most benign of infractions, the encounter can be adversarial. The idea of...

FACTUAL BACKGROUND This case arises out of a call the Jackson Police Department received from a man who had gotten into a dispute with defendant. The officer on the scene ran defendant’s name through the Law Enforcement Information Network...

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On the evening of November 2, 2012, two men left work and were accosted by two unidentified men who came from behind an adjacent building who demanded money.  One of the men brandished a...

No one wants to be arrested, and if you are, especially for the first time, you can be very confused. Being arrested for Drunk Driving, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) - formerly Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)...

On the night of October 21, 2018,  a Grand Traverse County Deputy Sheriff initiated a traffic stop on the basis that defendant’s vehicle had an expired license place.  He confirmed this by means of a LEIN check and also discovered...

How much should you tell your lawyer? The fifth amendment protects U.S. citizens from incriminating themselves, but how does that work with your attorney. We get this question all the time. Many people have heard about attorney confidentiality,...

A great U.S. freedom is the ability to drive the open roads. However, every year there are more than 20,000 car accidents in Michigan. Many of these accidents come from distracted driving and could have been avoided. Distracted driving is such a...

This case arises from two incidents of domestic violence between defendant and the victim when they were alone in the victim’s home in Michigan. In September, the victim got away from defendant and ran to the home of a neighbor, who called the...

Getting into a car and going for a drive isn’t perfectly safe. Driving on the Michigan roads can be dangerous. Driving those same roads becomes financially dangerous if you drive without car insurance. Between fees, charges, and possible...

Staying safe on the roads is in everyone’s best interest. However, keeping yourself or others out of danger is everyone’s responsibility. Getting a traffic ticket ends up costing drivers big time. Traffic tickets and citations cost money...

In this case, defendant was found to be in possession of marijuana while confined at the County Jail. Another inmate told a corrections officer that defendant had offered her marijuana. The other inmate also overhead defendant’s phone call...

For a court to issue a PPO under MCL 600.2950a(1), the petitioner must allege two or more separate noncontinuous acts of stalking under MCL 750.411h, which are distinct from one another and are not connected in time and space.

A party cannot stipulate to a matter before the trial court and then argue on appeal that the resulting action was erroneous.

Major changes could be coming to smokers in Michigan in the months to come. On Wednesday, September 4, Governor Whitmer declared a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Her announcement came out based on the state health department finding youth vaping...

Understanding your legal rights often makes the difference between civil interactions with law enforcement and you facing severe consequences. A shoplifting conviction can be embarrassing and even worse can mean greater difficulty in getting a job...

MCL 257.709(1)(a) provides that a person shall not operate a motor vehicle with [a] sign, poster, nontransparent material, window application, reflective film, or nonreflective film upon or in the front windshield, the side windows immediately adjacent to the driver or front passenger

The trial court analyzed the circumstances of defendant’s specific case and concluded that defendant was not an appropriate candidate to use marijuana while on probation.

In Michigan, as in most states, the law gives people the chance to expunge, or erase, a conviction from their record.

This case presents the question of whether a warrant is required for a police officer, not investigating any wrongdoing, to open the passenger door of a parked truck to ask whether the sleeping occupant of the truck would be able to drive the occupant’s intoxicated girlfriend home.

In this case, Defendant appealed his conviction of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, third offense.

Under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, both an immunity provision (Section 4) and an affirmative defense provision (Section 8) offer protection against prosecution for the medical use of marijuana.

The Michigan Supreme Court found that defendant's private driveway was an area generally accessible to motor vehicles. Because defendant allegedly operated a motor vehicle in his driveway while intoxicated, this was probable cause for OWI.

The marijuana was found in his car’s trunk during a search that followed from a police dog alerting to the marijuana’s smell. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in finding that the search did not violate his rights under the Fourth Amendment.