OWI - Michigan, residence: Indiana

[ryank771]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OWI - Michigan, residence: Indiana.

Hello,

This weekend I recieved an OWI in Lapeer county Michigan. This is my third, as I have 2 in Indiana. One was in 2001, and one was in 2003. I'm wondering what I should expect if anyone has any advise? I will be contacting a OWI attorney from Michigan tomorrow to see what they have to say. Obviously I'm going to show up for my case, as I don't need any warrants out for my arrest. I'm very scared to have to go to jail, but I think I won't have much of a choice?

--ryank771

[quincy]

You will definitely need an attorney, so it is wise that you are planning on contacting one. While an attorney may be able to get your OWI reduced to a OWVI and an attorney can work to get you the best sentencing possible, I doubt if any attorney will be able to save you from serving some jail time here in Michigan.

Michigan's Secretary of State not only shares Michigan conviction records with drivers' home state SOSs, out-of-state drivers' convictions may be used in the sentencing on a Michigan violation.

Should the prosecutor use your two prior convictions, you are facing a felony conviction with your latest OWI, as not only are both of your priors within 10 years of your latest OWI, Michigan has removed the 10 year window within which prior convictions can be considered. Any prior conviction, no matter how long ago it occurred, can be considered in sentencing.

Under MCL 257.625, a third offense OWI is punishable by one to five years in prison, a fine between $500 and $5000, license revocation for between one and five years and additional punishments as determined by the court.

Under MCL 257.625 (25), a prior conviction means "a conviction. . .under a law of this state, a local ordinance substantially corresponding with a law of this state, or a law of another state substantially corresponding to a law of this state."

To establish prior convictions, the prosecutor can use an abstract of your convictions, a copy of your Indiana driver's record, or your own admission to the two prior convictions.

I suggest, as your attorney will, that you start attending alcohol education classes and a treatment program NOW. This can help a little in sentencing, if it can be shown that you are now taking your drinking problem seriously.

[ryank771]

Thanks quincy -- I appreciate the genuine information. I will be getting help, I've needed it for a while. I was once on the right track, but lost control and am now at risk of losing everything I have ever worked hard for. Hopefully it's not too late for me, and hopefully others will learn.

Do you know how long it would take to get to Indiana? I'd like to go and get a state ID and was hoping to get another license before they find out. I won't be using it to drive, but I do a lot of stuff that requires me to have 2 forms of picture ID.

Also -- do you recommend a GOOD lawyer for Lapeer county? I've read a lot on bench warrants and how people don't think another state will pay to have you come back to face your charges. That's dumb, I was told by the officers as I was leaving that if I was thinking about it, they would hunt me down in a heartbeat and force me back into jail.

[quincy]

I doubt if you will be able to get an Indiana driver's license at this point, as your Michigan arrest on the OWI has probably already been communicated to the Indiana SOS and the Indiana police, and your prior convictions in Indiana have probably already been pulled by Michigan.

If Indiana has a picture identification card that they issue to non-drivers, that you should be able to get without a problem. And a passport, if you already have one, is a second picture ID you can use.

I don't know what you mean by "how long would it take to get to Indiana?" It is not a long drive, if that is what you are asking. Michigan City is just across Michigan's border, and Lapeer County is not terribly far north from there. The distance is short enough, at any rate, so that regardless of what part of Indiana you are in, Michigan will make sure you are back here for your court appearance.

As for attorney recommendations, we do not make them here. I suggest, however, that you look for an attorney who has a LOT of experience in handling Michigan drunk driving defense cases - don't be shy about quizzing the attorneys you contact about their experience - make sure this is an area of specialization for them - and you will probably want one who is aggressive and, preferably, one who has appeared before the judge you will be facing.

Good luck.

[ObeyLaws]

It's all up to the Judge. Nowadays they take this VERY seriously. You will probably face jailtime. It seriously all depends on your Judge. I'd get an attorney in that area who knows the Judge. With a 1% change you might be able to pay uber bucks(10k) and get an attorney who could get it knocked down from a felony and server maybe a few weeks in jail otherwise you're looking at a minimum of 30 days in jail with a felony.

I know that alcohol is not the problem here it's the user. BUT,... if it were up to me I'd ban alcohol. I mean do we really want to end drunk driving or not? Because as long as you have humans, cars and alcohol in the mix there will always be drunk driving. Always. I will bet everything on that.

So I ask, do the positives of alcohol outweigh the negatives?

[quincy]

I am correcting some information I posted here earlier, which argued some of what ObeyLaws wrote above.

While upon conviction on a third offense OWI there is a mandatory jail sentence, the statute says a minimum of one year in prison OR, at the discretion of the judge, an offender could be sentenced to probation which includes a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail and 60-180 hours of community service.

So, although I misspoke when I said there was a mandatory minimum of one year in jail, it is possible to have a jail sentence of only 30 days. Lapeer County is not known for sentencing third time offenders to probation, however, but that is perhaps a best case scenario here.


p.s. - Prohibition does not work.