Articles Posted in Criminal Law and Procedure

A DUI conviction will result in a suspension of your concealed pistol license. A DUI conviction will also prevent you from eligibility for a CPL if you don’t have a CPL already. How Long is the CPL Suspension for a DUI? Not all DUI convictions are treated the same for purposes of a CPL suspension.…

Watch your driving out there this week. During the next week, the Michigan State Police will focus on writing tickets for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. This is a misdemeanor in Michigan. What is Failure to Yield? The failure to yield law requires drivers to take required actions when seeing certain vehicles with…

In the Michigan Supreme Court case of People v. Arnold, the Court upheld an alternative sentencing scheme for defendants convicted as a sexual delinquents. The Court held that a sexually delinquent person may be sentenced to either imprisonment between 1 day and life or by the current felony sentencing guidelines. What Happened in the Case…

In the next November election, Michigan voters will decide whether marijuana will be legal for recreational personal use. It is a real possibility that marijuana use and possession will soon be legal. This leads to the question – what about all those people who have convictions on their record for possession or use of marijuana?…

Open-carry is the ability of people to openly carry a firearm in Michigan. Where Can I Find the Authority for This? There is no specific law allowing open-carry of guns. There just simply is not a law against it. Open carry is the opposite of concealed. The firearm must be seen – such as in…

Do you have an old conviction that’s holding you back from getting your concealed pistol license? Many criminal convictions will prevent you from getting a CPL, described more below. If you do then it’s time for an expungement. An expungement is the legal process to make it as if the conviction did not happen. Why…

The Michigan State Senate voted yesterday to prevent cities from banning dog breed-specific ordinances. There are 30 Michigan cities with dog breed-specific ordinances. The ordinances mainly regulate pit-bulls. Twenty other states prohibit dog breed-specific regulation. Michigan Cities With Breed-Specific Regulation There about 30 Michigan cities with specific dog laws on the books. For example, Grosse…

Today Michigan signed a new law making the anti-depressant tianeptine sodium into a schedule 2 controlled substance. Tianeptine sodium was previously unlisted as a controlled substance in any state or on the federal level. What is Tianeptine Sodium? Tianeptine sodium is used as an anti-depressant drug. It is considered an atypical anti-depressant, which means it…

Assault with a self-defense spray or foam is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison, a $2,000 fine, or both. The law instructs judges to consider enhancing a person’s sentence where there is an assault or threat of use of self-defense spray. A person may use self-defense spray in self-defense, which is…

Yes, the smell of marijuana gives a police officer probable cause to search a vehicle. The Law The Fourth Amendment provides that police officers need a warrant to conduct a search. There is an exception for the searches of cars, however. Under this warrant exception, a police officer can search a vehicle if there is…