Ann Arbor Criminal Defense Blog

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Drunkenness on Trains or Interurban Cars law. This law makes it illegal to be on a train while “in an offensive state of intoxication.” A conductor can arrest a drunk passenger and deliver him or her to a police officer at the nearest station. Although passengers may not…

Earlier this month, several defendants were sentenced to federal prison as a result of the largest ever methamphetamine seizure in Michigan. The police seized about 20 pounds of pure meth stashed in hidden compartments in the defendants’ vehicle during a traffic stop in the town of Paw Paw. The meth was estimated to have a…

When you see the flashing red and blue lights in the rear-view mirror that means it’s time to pull over to the side of the road at the earliest opportunity. Increasing your speed, turning off your lights, or otherwise trying to escape a police or conservation officer lawfully directing you to stop is a felony…

A look at a criminal court docket in Michigan will show at least several defendants charged with the crime of uttering & publishing. But what does this odd sounding crime involve? Uttering and publishing means to falsify a document in order to cheat someone. Often times this involves the passing of bad checks. The ‘intent’…

Today the Michigan State Police released its annual report of drunk driving statistics in Michigan. Here is a list of drunk driving arrests by county in 2012: Statewide Average 448 Source: Michigan State Police Annual Drunk Driving Audit Contact ArborYpsi Law at 734-883-9584 or at bernstein@arborypsilaw.com to speak with attorney Sam Bernstein Legal Disclaimer

Michigan Fireworks Law July 4th is almost here and that means it’s time for fireworks. Last year the Michigan legislature legalized the sale of fireworks in the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act. The law originally did not allow cities to ban the use of fireworks the day before, the day of, and the day after a…

The Supreme Court in Maryland v. King ruled that taking DNA samples from individuals arrested for serious crimes does not violate the Fourth Amendment, reasoning that the procedure was no different than photographing and fingerprinting. Justice Scalia authored a scathing dissent, writing that, “Today’s judgment will, to be sure, have the beneficial effect of solving…

The Michigan Supreme Court in People v. Koon ruled that medical marijuana patients cannot be convicted of a zero-tolerance law that prohibits drivers from having any amount of marijuana in their blood stream. For a medical marijuana patient to be convicted of an operating while impaired offense involving marijuana the prosecution must now prove that…

The U.S. Supreme Court in Moncrieffe v. Holder today ruled that a marijuana distribution crime is no longer an offense that will lead to automatic deportation for noncitizens. Before today’s ruling such crimes were considered “aggravated felonies,” a class of offenses that foreclose the opportunity for noncitizens to obtain discretionary relief from deportation. For a…

In Missouri v. McNeely, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to adopt a rule that would permit police officers to draw a drunk driving suspect’s blood without a warrant under any circumstance. McNeely was pulled over by a highway patrol officer at about two in the morning. The officer observed that McNeely had bloodshot eyes, slurred…