Michigan Aggravated DUI Lawyer

Michigan Aggravated DUI Attorney

If a car accident involves alcohol and ends up with injuries, the criminal system can be complex and pretty harsh. An aggravated DUI charge for drunk driving can result in substantial, serious consequences. If you or a loved one needs help with a DUI charge, the experienced Michigan Enhanced Offense DUI lawyers at Jeffrey Randa and Associates can provide reliable and skilled legal assistance.

What’s an Enhanced Offense DUI Charge?

The punishment for operating a vehicle while intoxicated is already serious. However, the penalties if convicted of a DUI with aggravating factors are significantly increased. The factors that can lead to enhanced DUI or additional charges include:

• Driving under the influence and transporting a minor child
• Having prior DUI offenses
• A significantly high alcohol test result
• An accident that results in serious injury or death
• The vehicle was operated by someone with a revoked or suspended driver’s license
• Drugs or firearms were in the vehicle
• Driving without automobile insurance

There are many factors that can lead to enhanced DUI or additional charges in the Greater Detroit area of Michigan. If you need help with these serious charges, a knowledgeable Michigan criminal defense DUI attorney can help. It is important that your DUI lawyer clearly explain the basics of impaired driving laws in the Detroit area.

What Are the Basics of Impaired Driving Laws in Metro Detroit, MI?

Michigan has a zero-tolerance law, meaning it’s a crime for any driver under the age of 21 to have any amount of alcohol in their system (“any” alcohol is defined as having a BAC of .02 or above). For a driver over age 21, operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (or “BAC)” of 0.08 or higher in Detroit is a crime.

What Does “Super Drunk Driving” or “High BAC” Mean in Detroit, MI?

In Michigan, the term super drunk (or “High BAC”) means having a BAC of 0.17 or more. It only applies to first offense cases, and only if a person has had no prior DUI convictions within 7 years or has not had 2 prior convictions in his or her lifetime.

If you are pulled over and tested at this higher level of intoxicated driving, the criminal penalties are significantly harsher than for a regular Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) charge and can include:

• More jail time
• Higher fines
• A longer driver’s license suspension, and
• A requirement to use an ignition interlock device when driving

In Detroit, other potential penalties for a third offense felony DUI conviction can include up to $5,000 in fines, 30 days in jail as a mandatory minimum sentence (unless a person is admitted into a specialty court program, or the third offense felony OWI charge is reduced to a second offense misdemeanor), and/or between 60 and 180 days of community service.

If you need help or to discuss the possible penalties you might face following an DUI, the experienced staff at Jeffrey Randa and Associates can review the details of your specific case. We can also explain the financial costs associated with a drunk driving case, which can be substantial.

What Are Some of the Financial Costs of Impaired Driving?

The costs of a DUI can add up fast. Some potential financial costs if you are convicted of an impaired driving charge can include the following:

• Fines and court costs
• Legal fees
• An increase in your future auto insurance rates
• Car towing and storage fees and costs
• Counseling services
• The cost of a bail bond
• Installation and maintenance costs for an interlock device
• Probation oversight fees
• Wage loss if you lose your job/your professional license or just miss time at work
• Restitution costs from driving while impaired

An attorney can help you get out of the drunk driving situation with as little financial impact as possible.

What Is Restitution?

If you’re involved in an accident and face charges for an impaired driving incident, you can be required to pay restitution to the victim hurt or property damaged in the accident. This means you are ordered by a court to provide payments to attempt to make the injured party “whole” from their losses.

Also, insurance companies often require that you reimburse them for what they’ve had to pay by way of a victim’s expenses.

Impaired driving costs can be substantial, and an experienced attorney can help work through the restitution process as painlessly as possible.

Michigan’s impaired driving laws are designed to keep our roads safe. If you’ve been drinking, it’s important to use a safe, designated driver or to contact a rideshare service. The financial consequences of an impaired driving charge in the Detroit area can have a huge negative impact your life.

What Defenses Exist for An Enhanced Offense DUI Charge?

In Michigan, there are several defenses that might help with a DUI charge, like:

• Improper or unlawful stop. If you were improperly or unlawfully stopped by the police, the resulting DUI charge you face might possibly be dismissed.
• Improper sobriety test performed in the field. If an offer decides someone has failed a sobriety test, those results can be challenged. Field sobriety tests are notoriously inaccurate and often subjective.
• Testing was inaccurate. If the equipment used to perform your BAC testing was inaccurate or not properly calibrated, an attorney can argue the testing wasn’t performed accurately.
• Insufficient evidence exists that you were actually driving. Sometimes, there isn’t enough evidence to show you were operating a vehicle. There might not be enough evidence to show intoxicated driving because you weren’t “operating” the vehicle and didn’t put anyone in danger.
• A violation of your constitutional rights can invalidate your arrest. For example, the officer may have been potentially biased against you and arrested you despite a lack of probable cause.
• Unreliable chemical test results. Sometimes, common items like asthma spray, hairspray, cough drops, or paints can interfere with test results.

Other defenses might be available to help defend against the DUI charges you’re facing. An experienced DUI attorney can explore all of the possible ways to defend your actions and to beat the charges you’re facing.

Since the consequences are more serious than for a simple, first offense DUI, contact an experienced Michigan Enhanced Offense attorney to discuss how they can help you beat these serious enhanced charges.

Legal Help Is Available Right Away

At Jeffrey Randa and Associates, we have literally helped thousands of clients facing aggravated DUI and enhanced DUI charges. We are never satisfied just letting a client plead guilty when we can gather evidence or find a way to help him or her build a strong defense. We work hard to either beat the case entirely, or negotiate with the prosecutor to reduce your charge and/or possible sentence.

We are ready to fight for your rights and to get started on building a solid defense. Contact Jeffrey Randa and Associates for a free, no-risk initial consultation today.

FAQs

Contact Jeffrey Randa and Associates – An Experienced Michigan Enhanced Offense DUI Lawyer

Even though we’ve helped thousands of clients with DUI cases like yours, we work hard to adjust our approach to every case based on your own unique case facts. After all, every case is unique, and your defense should be, too.

We have a friendly, professional staff, and we pour our hearts into every DUI case we handle. We are proud to be honest, and you can trust that we only take clients where we know our legal experience can actually help.

If you need help with any DUI charge, our initial consultations are free. You don’t have anything to lose! We handle our DUI cases on a flat-fee basis, and we’re ready to discuss your charges.

We can start investigating the basis for your DUI charges and help you move on from a DUI and avoid as many of the legal penalties and negative consequences as possible.

Contact Jeffrey Randa at Jeffrey Randa and Associates right away for a free, confidential consultation about your Michigan Enhanced Offense DUI matter.