Drinking and Driving Lawyer Michigan

November 18, 2015

Drinking and Driving Lawyer Michigan

Facing drinking and driving charges is embarrassing, frustrating, and scary. You may feel like you can’t go to anyone for help out of fear that they will judge you. You may feel angry with yourself for not handling the situation a different way. You may be in fear of what will happen with your job and what will happen in court.

Michigan drinking and driving lawyer, Aaron J. Boria defends those accused of drunk driving all over the state of Michigan. We realize that people make mistakes and we are hear to listen to you, guide you through the court process, and to obtain the best possible outcome for you.

Even if you believe you are guilty, an experienced drinking and driving lawyer may be able to save your driver license, significantly reduce your fines, reduce or eliminate probation requirements, or even get you a dismissal of the charges.

If you have been charged with drinking and driving call (734) 453-7806 or email borialaw@gmail.com.

Operating While Intoxicated – OWI

If you have been charged with drunk driving then odds are your ticket reads OWI or Operating While Intoxicated.

The person representing the police and the city where you were arrested is the prosecutor. In any drunk driving case the prosecuting attorney must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, you do not have to prove a thing.

To prove Operating While intoxicated the prosecutor must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt. If even one element is not proven beyond a reasonable doubt then you are not guilty of drunk driving.

First, that you were operating a motor vehicle on a specific date. Operating means driving or having actual physical control of the vehicle.

Second, that you were operating a vehicle on a highway or other place open to the public or generally accessible to motor vehicles.

Third, that the defendant was operating the vehicle in a specific county or city.

Fourth, that you operated the vehicle with a bodily alcohol level of 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood.

Another common drinking and driving offenses is Operating With High Bodily Alcohol Content. This offenses is charged when a persons blood alcohol level is alleged to be .17 or higher. If you have been charged with this then the fourth element listed above in Operating While intoxicated would be changed to read as follows:

Fourth, that you operated the vehicle with a bodily alcohol level of 0.17 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood.

It is important to remember that every single element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that even one element is not met then you are not guilty of drunk driving.

For instance, if you are found sleeping in your car using it as shelter and the car is not in gear then you should not be guilty of drunk driving. If you were driving a vehicle on private property that isn’t generally accessible to vehicles then you are not guilty. If the police do not have a reliable blood screen then you are not guilty.

Drunk Driving Defense

There are other ways to fight a drunk driving charge then just challenging the elements.

In every criminal case the police must have a legal reason to stop your vehicle. If the police do not witness you commit a civil infraction such as speeding or running a red light then they can only pull you over if they reasonable suspicion that you are committing a crime. An example of this could be that you are swerving multiple times within your lane and driving very slowly.

If the police do not witness a civil infraction or reasonable suspicion then they have violated your Fourth Amendment right by pulling you over and as a result of violating your rights any evidence, including blood alcohol evidence, must be suppressed. This means that the drunk driving charge must be dismissed.

The police must also have a legal reason to arrest you. Once we make sure that the stop is legal we will also make sure that the arrest is legal. Police have to meet a higher standard to arrest you and that is probable cause that a crime occurred. This means the police must be able to point to facts that indicate you are drunk and over the limit. Remember, it is not illegal to drink and drive, it is only illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

If the police do not have enough probable cause to say that you were legally arrested for the crime of drunk driving then it is a Fourth Amendment violation and any evidence gathered as a result of the arrest, including blood alcohol level, must be suppressed and that drinking and driving charge dismissed.

Other common way to challenge drinking and driving charges is to look at how the blood alcohol level was obtained. Usually blood alcohol is obtained by blood by a phlebotomist, or breath by a trained police officer at the police station. There are rules and procedures that need to be followed to insure accuracy of the blood alcohol level test. If the proper methods are not used then the test is not reliable and only reliable evidence can be presented to a jury. Failure to follow the proper procedure for obtaining blood alcohol level means that the drinking and driving charge you are facing should be dismissed.

Drinking and Driving Penalties

A conviction for first offenses Operating While intoxicated can result in the following:

Up to 93 days in jail
Up to 2 years of probation
Up to $500 in fines plus costs
6 points on your driving record
Your license will be suspended for 30 days
Your license will be restricted for 5 months after the 30-day suspension
Community service
Drug and alcohol testing
Drug and alcohol education
Rehabilitation programs

The penalties for the drinking and driving offense of Operating With High Bodily Alcohol Content are even stiffer then those of OWI. The High BAC offense doubles the potential jail time to 6 months in jail, an increase in the fine to $700, and the license is revoked for an entire year. A person could be eligible for a restricted license after 45 days of a hard suspension but only if they have a breath alcohol ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle, more commonly known a blow and go.