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Key Takeaways The main difference between a felony and misdemeanor in Michigan is the maximum period of incarceration that can be imposed. A felony conviction can result in being sentenced to serve time in the state prison, under the...

While only my own observation, and based solely upon my experience as a Criminal Defense Lawyer, the majority of leaving-the-scene cases involve property damage, rather than personal injury. Unless a Driver strikes a pedestrian, even colliding with someone on a bicycle is likely to cause property damage. Thus, most personal injury accidents...

The alleged Victim, however, is usually just sent a Notice to Appear, or, in some cases, may have been mailed a Subpoena. Because merely mailing a Subpoena to someone does not guarantee it’s delivery, only the act of having a person personally served with a Subpoena actually brings them...

When I spoke with my Client, he told me what had actually happened that day. Next, we began discussing his conversation with the Detective, who he indicated had been very polite and professional. My Client was just freaked out about that “warrant” comment. I explained to my Client that...

After getting out of Jail the morning after his Arrest, the Defendant is instructed to appear in the District Court for the City where the arrest occurred in a couple of weeks for his Arraignment. At his Arraignment, the Defendant enters a Plea of “Not Guilty,” and is sent home with his...

A person is “subject to” a Court Order when that Court has Jurisdiction over them. The subject of Jurisdiction could fill a small Law Library in and of itself, but for our purposes, we’re talking about a person having some relationship to a case pending in a particular Court. That...

However, the fact that a person was fingerprinted and booked does not go away, and the Court does not destroy or seal its’ file. Thus, there is a Public Record of this transaction, but the person winds up without a conviction. This can be a little problematic where someone has their record...

The actual name of the law, Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, may conjure up some image of “trainees” in boot-camp regalia, but in truth, there’s nothing like that. A person who has been granted HYTA (also called YTA) by a Court must, at a minimum, be placed on Probation. A Judge cannot order...

The Judge, at Sentencing, then tells the person how long they will serve on Probation, and further advise them that if they complete that period of Probation without any problems, the whole case will be dismissed and there will be no Public Record of it. The exact terms and length of any...

Unfortunately, not all callers have such a clean record and a predictably easy case. In many cases, the caller is worried about getting more points on their driving record because they already have a few (or, in some cases, a lot!). Remember the two questions I’m going to ask, and I’ll explain...

Charges are brought by the Prosecutor, not any individual person. Accordingly, only the Prosecutor can “drop” the charges. Usually, the person who called the Police (in most cases the (alleged) victim, or, in some cases, an independent witness, who can sometimes be the investigating Police Officer) is designated as the “Complaining Witness.”

Possession of Controlled Substances like cocaine and heroin is prohibited by a law that makes it a crime to possess any amount. Thus, the lowest possession charge a person can face is “Possession of Less Than 25 Grams.” The next level up covers Possession of 25 up to less than 50 grams. A person...