DUI Lawyer Plymouth
The Super Bowl just ended and now Saint Patrick’s Day is approaching. With all these parties comes drinking and with that, unfortunately, comes some mistakes including drinking and driving charges.
Downtown Plymouth has been as busy as always for the past few weeks with the bars packed and its only going to get busier. I myself was at the Pizza Place and at the Post this past weekend.
Some people drove home that maybe shouldn’t have and were arrested for drinking and driving. Other people were accused of drinking and driving and arrested for it that shouldn’t have been.
If you have been charged with drinking and driving contact Plymouth DUI Lawyer Aaron J. Boria (734) 453-7806.
Drinking and Driving in Plymouth
If you are charged with drinking and driving in Plymouth, Michigan then your case will be heard at the 35th District Court on Plymouth Road a few miles outside of the downtown area.
The 35th District Court has three judges that are elected. Currently the judges are Gerou, Plakas, and Lowe.
Every drinking and driving case starts out the same way procedurally. You are arraigned, then you have a pretrial, then you might have a motion or evidentry hearing, or a trial or a sentencing.
What happens at an Arraignment for DUI?
At the Arraignment the judge will tell you formally what you have been charged with. The most common misdemeanor drinking and driving offenses are Operating While intoxicated or OWI, Operating High BAC greater than .17 or Super Drunk, and Child Endangerment. In addition to being told what offense you are charged with you will likely be given a bond, which is a promise to return to court. That promise to return may also come with bond conditions such as an order to not drink alcohol, not to hang out at bars, not to leave the state without permission, and to stay out of any other trouble.
In most cases, rather than going to see the judge, I will advise my clients of the maximum penalty and inform them of their official change. From there I will waive my clients arraignment by filing special pleadings. By doing this it saves them a trip to court, which saves them from missing work, school, or having to get a babysitter, and I think we can all agree that one less trip in front of a judge hone you are facing DUI criminal charges is a good thing.
What happens at a pretrial for DUI?
You can think of the pretrial as a formal appointment for your lawyer to sit down face to face with the prosecuting attorney. The prosecutor is the lawyer that is against you looking for a conviction. The prosecutor is on the side of the police.
During the pre trial appointment your lawyer will discuss any defenses to the charge you are being accused of or any possible dismissal or reduction to the charge.
After the pre trial the case will either go to a judge for a plea, a special hearing, trial, or it will be dismissed.
DUI Lawyer Plymouth
There are many ways to challenge a drinking and driving offense. There are three basic ways that I am going to mention in this blog article.
First, your attorney needs to look at the stop. The police must have a legal reason to stop you and if they did not then your case must be dismissed.
Second, your attorney will look at the arrest. Even if the stop was good the police must have enough evidence to make an arrest. If there was not enough probable cause to make an arrest then your case will be dismissed.
Third, the chemical testing must be preformed properly. If the chemical testing was not preformed properly then your case may be dismissed.
In all three ways mentioned above we are looking to see if the police broke the law by violating one of your constitutional rights. When the police break the law the remedy is suppression, so anything that happens after the police violate the law that evidence becomes inadmissible.
In every drunk driving case I make sure to look at tall police report and all police video with a fine tooth comb so nothing falls through the cracks. If I can find away to get a dismissal or a better deal I am going to.
Call Boria Law today at (734) 453-7806 today for a free consultation.
