Ann Arbor Criminal Defense Blog

The case of People v. Mead is an important case for Fourth Amendment rights in Michigan. What Happened in the Case Mead was a passenger in a car. He had just met the driver, who had offered him a ride. The police stopped the vehicle and ordered the driver and Mead out of the car.…

The Michigan Court of Appeals in People v. Kavanaugh decided a great case for Fourth Amendment rights in Michigan. What Happened in the Case? The police pulled over Kavanaugh’s vehicle on I-96 on the west side of the state. The officer’s reason for pulling the vehicle over was a poorly fixed license plate and Kavanaugh’s…

Currently, a person cannot drive after drinking if they have a blood alcohol content of .08 or over. Right now, there is no “legal limit” for marijuana. For the last year or so, the Michigan Impaired Driving Safety Commission has researched whether the law should have a legal limit for marijuana. The Commission declined to…

Effective March 27th new cyberbullying laws have been implemented in the state of Michigan. A rise in the use of social media has moved traditional bullying to the world of computers. The new law seeks to deter that behavior. What is Cyberbullying? Cyberbullying includes one or more of the following: Communicating through social media the…

Lawmakers in Michigan have introduced proposed legislation that would lower the legal limit from .08 to .05. Utah recently became the first state to lower its legal limite to .05. It is currently against the law to drive after drinking when a person has a .08 blood alcohol content. Many safety groups are unsatisfied with…

Technology is always changing our lives, for better or worse. Congress recently held a hearing to discuss whether every car should be equipped with a device to measure if a driver has been drinking. Safety advocates strongly encourage such a move, but the reality of this seems very far away. What Would This Mean? These…

Felony-firearm is the offense of carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony. The penalties are steep. Penalties for a Felon-Firearm Conviction A felony-firearm conviction results in a mandatory minimum incarceration of two years in prison. A second felony-firearm conviction results in a mandatory minimum of 5 years imprisonment. A third or subsequent conviction…

The governor of California has suspended the death penalty, at least for the time he is in office. Currently, there are 737 inmates on death row in California. This is the largest amount of prisoners on death row for any state in the country. The prisoners will not be executed on death row during the…

Police are expanding the use of a roadside saliva test statewide for drivers suspected to be under the influence of drugs. This expanded use of the test coincides with the legalization of recreational marijuana. The roadside saliva test began as part of a one-year pilot program in five Michigan counties. Roadside Saliva Tests These saliva…

Michigan is moving closer to reforming civil asset forfeiture following arrests. In Michigan, the police may keep seized property during an arrest. This has become a tool for funding police departments. Currently, police can keep seized property even when the person is not charged with a crime or is later found not guilty. The new…