Currently, Wriggelsworth says only the large animals are removed, allowing the smaller ones to simply be “smashed into oblivion.” He says his new program, modeled after a similar one in Saginaw County, will save taxpayers money and make the roads safer.

“That’s the whole point,” Sheriff Wriggelsworth said. “The benefit will be cleaner streets clearly, but also the fact that we’ve got people that could have been sentenced to jail working for the community. It’s a win-win.”

So far, two Ingham District judges have voiced their support for the program.

The Sheriff’s Department has purchased a trailer and shovels and there would be no additional cost to the taxpayers. A volunteer deputy would be assigned to supervise the DART participants while working.

For each person assigned to the cleanup crew, the county will save $40 per day, estimates Wriggelsworth.

According to MLive.com, the program will be used in place of probation or jail time, not as a probation condition.

While Wriggelsworth sees this as a win-win for the community, it seems he is not considering the effects on the offenders. Is participation in DART really serving any purpose beyond humiliation?

If the small animals on Ingham County roads are such a risk, the County would have been removing them long ago. As is, they are unattractive, but little more than a speedbump. Also, $40 per day in a County budget is unremarkable savings. Instead, this seems like a modern day gallows, with no other legitimate purpose but embarrassment.

Some might argue that the DART program would deter future criminals. But such penalties have been shown to have little deterrent effect. Among people who break the law multiple times, there are usually deep-seated issues that keep them returning to the courts, issues that a little embarrassment and sense of disgust surely won’t fix.

Used properly, probation has a lasting effect on someone’s propensity to reoffend. When the proper supports are in place to provide a positive term of probation, an offender is given the tools to succeed in addition to any assistance like mental health counseling and drug treatment. When you sentence a low level drug offender to pick up dead animals instead, they are missing out on any rehabilitative benefits of more traditional sentences.

If you are accused of a crime, whether you are in Ingham County or not, we may be able to help you minimize the impact of these charges on your life. Contact our offices today to discuss the options available to you.

Since the law took effect, an average of six people every day have been convicted under it in the state, about 3,000 in all.

The law doles out harsher penalties to those people whose blood alcohol content is more than twice the legal limit. But frequently, prosecutors find that those who are more than twice over the legal limit, are three and even four times over it.

The legal blood alcohol limit is .08. If you are caught driving with that much alcohol in your system, you will be arrested for OWI. But, if you are caught with more than .16, you will face tougher penalties.

Many people being prosecuted under the “Super Drunk” law have been found behind the wheel with blood alcohol levels well into the .20s and .30s, making them at risk of blacking out or requiring hospitalization.

According to The Detroit News, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deems these cases so serious and so potentially dangerous, that they require a hospital emergency room clearance when anyone is arrested with a blood alcohol level of .30 or greater.

First time offenders prosecuted under the “Super Drunk” law will face one year driver’s license suspension, 93 to 180 days in jail, fines of up to $700 and a one year mandatory ignition interlock device. This is in contrast to a “regular” OWI conviction, which carries up to 93 days in jail, 180 day suspended license and up to $500 in fines.

However, because those penalties in particular are targeted at first-time offenders, the defendant can often walk away with more lenient penalties.

While the law intended to penalize those known as “Super Drunks” goes further than the standard OWI laws, MADD doesn’t believe it goes far enough. “Drunk driving is .08 and this still leaves a gap between that and .17. But the law is a step in the right direction,” said executive director Sherry McGee.

McGee apparently doesn’t believe the existing OWI laws are strict enough, though it’s questionable whether any drunk driving law would be strict enough for MADD.

When you are arrested for drunk driving, you can expect to face harsh penalties. This is especially true if your blood alcohol content is elevated more than twice the legal limit or if you have prior convictions.

Contact our offices today to discuss your case and how we might be able to help you avoid the worst penalties.

Just three years ago, heroin addiction accounted for about 9 or 10% of all treatment admissions in Macomb County. Now, it’s more like half, replacing alcohol as the top addiction in that county. Agencies in Oakland and Wayne counties also say they’ve noticed a dramatic uptick in heroin addiction admissions, and that these addictions often begin with opiates like Vicodin and OxyContin.

Nine people have overdosed on heroin in Warren since the fall, and 54 arrests have been made in three months for heroin-related charges. The town has added 2 undercover officers to deal solely on heroin cases.

Heroin is now the “primary drug of choice” in areas like this, according to Oakland County chief of substance abuse services Christina Nicholas, who also points to prescription opiates as the root of the problem.

Prescription opiates are highly addictive and are often prescribed following a major injury. But there comes a point when these drugs can get harder and harder to find. On the street, you have to pay as much as $80 per pill. Heroin, on the other hand, is dirt cheap and easy to find, leading one recovering addict to say, “heroin is more accessible than marijuana.”

According to the Free Press, heroin abuse is difficult to track, so there’s no telling just how prevalent it is. While overdoses seem like a logical method of tracking high usage, hospitals rarely say what drug caused an overdose and data from private hospitals and treatment programs are unavailable.

Heroin addiction often isn’t handled until the addict is arrested of overdoses, and sometimes even that isn’t enough of a wake-up call. Heroin is so incredibly addictive, that many lose their friends, families, jobs, and homes before vowing to change things.

An arrest for heroin possession provides people with an opportunity to get clean, if they are ready. Whether through drug court participation or probation with a treatment requirement, the courts often make treatment available to people who wouldn’t be able to afford a free drug treatment program.

If you are accused of a heroin crime, from possession to distribution, we may be able to help. Contact our offices today to discuss the details of your case.

His “Smart Justice” plan would focus on Flint, Detroit, Saginaw and Pontiac. It wouldn’t provide funding for additional officers, as some Chiefs were hoping, but will do a variety of other things to keep the cities safe, including:

• Providing Flint with the money to reopen the city jail
• Invest money in existing mental health courts and open a new one in Saginaw
• Forbid people who owe taxes from buying additional property at auction
• Allow the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Board of Pharmacy to temporarily ban “designer drugs”
• Begin development of a system that would allow citizens to send photos, videos, and text messages to dispatch from the scene of accidents and fires
• And more…

The Governor would also like to see 180 new state troopers and 20 new forensic scientists. He plans for the first new group of troopers to begin school early this coming summer and he hopes the new forensic scientists will cut down case turnaround to a 30 day time period.

Snyder seems very focused on juvenile crime prevention as well, beginning to focus on truancy as early as kindergarten and adopting a “data-driven approach to rehabilitating juvenile offenders,” according to the Detroit News.

He is also setting aside $5 million for summer jobs in high crime areas, jobs specifically for teenagers. The hope is that with jobs, teens won’t be so likely to turn to crime in the hot summer months.

Flint would also like to see the Governor focus on what he refers to as “party stores” or stores where you can purchase everything from liquor to crack pipes. A Flint City Councilwoman broke down while telling the governor about a murder that occurred in one such store. After hearing this, Snyder vowed to have the Liquor Control Commission look into Flint’s “party store” problems.

The price sticker on all of these changes is quite large, but it seems like lawmakers are most willing to spend on public safety issues or fear loss of popularity among their constituents.

Overall, the state of Michigan keeps a pretty focused watch on criminal law violators, punishing those who are convicted of crimes like drug possession, assault and OWI with serious penalties.

If you are accused of a criminal offense in the state of Michigan, contact our offices today to discuss how we might be able to help.

Currently, realistic looking toy firearms are sold with an orange tip, making them immediately recognizable as a toy by both law enforcement and anyone else who sees them. But, lawmakers say that criminals are removing the orange tips and putting everyone at risk.

Toy guns are cheaper and much easier to get than the real thing. And if a criminal’s purpose is to merely frighten someone into handing over their money, for instance, a toy would do the job efficiently. But, when encountered by police in this criminal situation, the cops with the real guns have no way of knowing they are dealing with a toy, sometimes until it is too late.

The proposed legislation would make it a crime to own an altered toy gun or to own a real gun that was altered to make it appear to be a toy. They are also proposing new criminal laws for people who have used toy guns in the commission of a crime.

Some are laughing at these new proposed laws, believing that they just might push someone to use a real weapon rather than a fake one. After all, if the laws pass, you could face more time for using a toy weapon rather than a real one in an armed robbery, for example, because you would face the additional charge.

According to Fox News, the problem of toy weapons seems to be growing particularly rapidly in Southeast Michigan and is becoming more popular among gang members. It doesn’t seem to be a problem, however, in the city of Detroit and its centralized problem-area could make it a hard sell to legislators.

Gun laws are already fairly strict in the state of Michigan, and this would only add to the lineup of potential weapons charges you can face.

Carrying a concealed weapon is one of the most commonly seen gun offenses in the state. It is considered a felony charge and can carry up to 5 years in prison. Other weapons charges are misdemeanors, which carry up to one year in jail.

If these proposed toy-gun laws pass as written, it would make using a toy gun in the commission of a crime a misdemeanor charge. But, if it’s used in the commission of a felony, the additional charge would be a felony.

“Vigilante justice is rising in one of America’s most violent cities,” the article starts out, pointing out that there were 34 self-defense killings in the city.

73-year old Detroit resident Julia Brown says she carries her own handgun after she called the police last year and it took them an entire day to respond.

“We got to have a little Old West up here in Detroit,” said Brown. “That’s what it’s gonna take. I don’t intend to be one of their victims; I’m planning on taking one out.”

Another man who was the victim of crime, as held at gunpoint outside of his home in a fairly desirable part of town. There, the cops took more than 25 minutes to respond and neighbors came outside brandishing shotguns as the suspects ran away.

The picture painted in this article, though it has some of the same facts and statistics, is a bit more colorful than what we would see in the local papers. Is that because local media downplay the situation or because the British media want to make a sensational story?

The truth is, the number of justifiable homicides are over 2,200% higher than the national average here in Detroit; it takes the police about 24 minutes to respond to the highest priority calls, and things aren’t getting any better.

In January, the city began closing down precinct stations at 4pm to save money, to the outcry of the public. A decade ago there were 4,000 officers on the city’s force; now there are 2,700. Of course the population of Detroit has fallen dramatically, from 1.8 million in 1950 to 700,000 today, but this has left a huge shell of a city for officers to patrol.

Some wealthier communities are solving at least some of the problems by hiring private security firms to patrol their neighborhoods, knowing the police simply can’t. But those who live in poorer neighborhoods are left to fend for themselves.

This high crime and low police presence would make it more difficult to be caught in the commission of a crime. Perhaps that is part of the reason other crimes are also common– people see their risk of being caught as low.

When you do get caught, however, the criminal justice system of Detroit will have no qualms in prosecuting you to the fullest extent of the law.

If you are accused of a crime, and are unsure of what to do, contact our offices today for a free consultation.

“It’s important to note those who are constantly causing havoc in the community…have been placed on probation,” says Inspector Dwane Blackmon of the Department’s homicide unit.

It isn’t clear if Blackmon is implying these people should have been off the streets to begin with or if he is making a general observation. While no one can predict who will commit a murder and who will be a successful probationer, many people see probation as a walk in the park or a free ride for a convicted criminal.

While it’s true that probation is definitely easier than jail time, it’s far from a walk in the park and the courts are cautious about who is granted this suspended sentence and who is required to serve time.

Judges take many things into consideration when determining who will receive a suspended sentence. Often, the prosecutor plays a major role in this determination as well, through the use of plea bargains. A defendant may agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a more lenient sentence (probation). But it’s rare that the prosecution and then the judge would agree to such a bargain if there was any indication that the defendant would become violent if allowed back on the streets.

The city’s homicides aren’t telling the whole story, though. Violent crimes dropped overall in the third quarter, about 11% overall for the year so far. Burglaries saw a 10.78% drop and rapes are down 6.2%.

The city is concerned that the increased homicide rate is due to lack of community involvement, because people are reluctant to work with police. “The community has to wake up and see the importance of protecting their community. The community has to get involved,” said one concerned resident.

Last summer the police began “Operation Inside Out: Night Angels” to assist in quelling the violence. This program deployed officers who would normally work a desk job to an 8 hour patrol shift once per week. This program put 40 to 50 additional officers on patrol on each shift.

Visible members of the community and the police alike see a need for cooperation to reduce crime overall but acknowledging it and making it work are two different things.

“We think there’s major loads (of drugs) coming through here from all over, every day. And this is one of the tools we use—narcotics checkpoints.”

Motorists have seen a pickup, like the one shown here on the Detroit Free Press website, towing a sign that warns of the narcotics check point “1 mile ahead”. They’ve seen it in use on I-69 and U.S. 23, two of several major roadways that pass through and around Flint.

The problem with these checkpoints is they likely wouldn’t survive a challenge in court. In 1990, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that DUI checkpoints were illegal. Also, the United States Supreme Court made a ruling in 2000 that blanket narcotics checkpoints in Indiana violated the Constitutional protection of the 4^th Amendment and where therefore also illegal.

Sheriff Pickell, however, says he welcomes a conversation with the ACLU and refuses to say whether or not the checkpoints have resulted in any big drug busts or any arrests at all.

Though the checkpoints originally stopped everyone, Pickell has made some adjustments due to the backlash. Now, he waits for a driver to spot the warning signs and make a U-turn or try to otherwise avoid the stop before pulling them over and searching the vehicle. University of Michigan professor Moran says even this tactic wouldn’t likely survive a court challenge, coming very close to entrapment.

Of the citizens most concerned with the Sheriff’s tactics are the state’s medical marijuana users. Though they are registered and allowed to have marijuana with them, the use of drug dogs and police search tactics can be intimidating nonetheless.

For now, there is no one in a place to put a stop to these checkpoints. They won’t likely stop until Pickell makes the decision to suspend them or until they are challenged in court after an arrest is made.

Your protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is provided by the 4^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This is why police officers must have a warrant, your consent, or some other exigent circumstances to justify the searching of you, your vehicle, or your home.

If you’ve been arrested, the legality of your arrest and those things that led up to it will be of upmost concern to your attorney. Contact us today to discuss the case against you and how we might be able to help.

The state Court of Appeals ruled that the medical marijuana legislation passed by voters did not give businesses the legal right to sell marijuana, it only gave patients the right to use  it, grow it, or receive it from a caregiver.

There are an estimated 400 to 500 dispensaries in the state, most of which have already shut down or are planning on it in coming days. This leaves about 100,000 registered medical marijuana patients wondering if they should invest in growing equipment or return to purchasing the drugs illegally on the street.

Attorney General Bill Schuette was against the medical marijuana legislation from the beginning and is unsurprisingly pleased with the court’s ruling. Despite the fact that voters approved the medical marijuana law, he states “Nobody voted to have pot shops across from schools and churches. The court of appeals unanimously cleared the air that these dispensaries, these pot shots—really drug houses—are not legal.”

Critics counter Schuette’s position stating that the dispensaries could potentially stay open if changes were made. The court failed to address whether or not patients can give pot to other patients. Because this hasn’t been clarified and hasn’t been explicitly outlawed, they claim dispensaries could charge for rolling papers, for instance, while giving away the actual marijuana.

Patients will be far more likely to return to the streets to purchase marijuana than grow it. Depending on how much you grow, your electric bill could skyrocket to $600 per month. Most will likely take the risk and purchase their pot like everyone else does, from marijuana dealers.

Could a medical marijuana patient be busted for buying pot? Legally, yes, though it’s not likely. Could a pot dealer be busted for selling to a registered medical marijuana patient? Absolutely. The medical marijuana law does not give free reign to pot dealers that cater to the registered patients, as this ruling by the Appeals Court showed.

So what does this mean to medical marijuana patients? They will have to obtain their pot on the black market and run the risk that anti-medical marijuana advocates may decide that prosecuting them for purchasing it in this way is a worthwhile cause.

Whether you are someone who thought you would help a friend in need out—selling or giving marijuana to a registered patient, or if you are a casual user of marijuana, you could face serious criminal charges for your actions. If you are accused of a marijuana offense, contact our offices today to discuss your case.

Under Michigan law, a first offense OWI conviction can carry up to 93 days in jail, 180 days suspended driver’s license, 360 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and 6 points on your driver’s license. Do all OWI cases result in the maximum sentence? Not hardly. As a matter of fact, it is incredibly rare for a judge to sentence someone to the maximum, especially for a first offense.

Instead, judges in Michigan usually sentence people to a few days (if any) jail time. Community service, probation, fines, and license suspension are used far more often with first offense drunk driving charges. But not all judges use jail time as sparingly as the majority. Some dole it out on a regular basis.

District Judge Kimberly Small in West Bloomfield is notorious for ordering jail time on first offense drunk drivers. Others see it as pointless. Small says the only difference between a first time offender who causes the death of someone and one who doesn’t is luck. She sees jail time as the wakeup call needed to prevent future drunk driving offenses.

There seems to be no evidence, however, that jail time on a first offense OWI is any more effective at reducing recidivism and 2nd offense OWI charges than probation or fines and community service. “I think jailing somebody on a first offense is really a political thing. Look how tough I am,” says one judge. “Statistics show that treatment is what works.”

This isn’t something unique to the Detroit area, nor is it unique to Michigan—it happens all around the country as sentencing guidelines are extremely rare for misdemeanor cases. Judicial discretion is a cornerstone of the criminal courts as the judge should be able to take into consideration all of the facts of a case. But sometimes, judges use this to “send messages” more than to dole out appropriate justice.

Knowing how different judges handle OWI cases differently is just one benefit of having a local criminal defense lawyer. If you’ve been charged with drunk driving and you’re unsure of the penalty you might face, contact our attorneys today to discuss the details of your case and how the jurisdiction in which you were arrested may affect the outcome.