Friday, September 10, 2010

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Drunk Driving Causing Death

Michigan Now More Tolerant to Operating Under Influence of Marijuana

June 11, 2010

There are four ways for a prosecutor in Michigan to prove that you were drunk driving or “OWI” (operating while intoxicated).  Two of them involve alcohol (OUIL/UBAL) and two of them involve drugs (OUID/OWPD). To show that a person was OWI due to OWPD (operating with presence of drugs), a prosecutor must only show that [...]

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Hospital Bans DUI Blood Tests

November 18, 2009

In Michigan nearly all blood testing is done by one central lab run by the Michigan State Police.  This “whole blood” testing is performed at the State Lab using a process called headspace gas chromatography (GC). Rarely in Michigan do DUI lawyers see non-whole blood or “serum” testing.  If serum testing is performed in Michigan, [...]

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DUI Blood Testing by Gas Chromatography

November 12, 2009

Chapter Two of Defending Drinking Drivers (Barone/James Publishing) covers chemical testing. This chapter has been nearly completely re-written for the 2010 update.  A portion of the newly updated section on gas chromatography follows: The process of gas chromatography involves the use of an instrument called a gas chromatograph (GC) to separate and analyze compounds that [...]

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Meaning of “INTERFERENCE DETECTED” in DUI Breath Testing

October 9, 2009

Michigan exclusively uses the DataMaster to measure the breath alcohol of all persons arrested for drunk driving.  The DataMaster operates on the scientifically accepted principle of absorption of infrared energy. Michigan is about to put into service a new DataMaster called the DataMaster DMT. The analytical portion of the DMT is essentially identical to the [...]

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When Blood is Involved One DUI Lawyer is Better Than Two

September 14, 2009

Around the Country, blood testing is becoming more and more common as a tool in the prosecution of drunk drivers.  In Michigan alone more than ten thousand blood samples are tested for alcohol each year. In nearly every case where a death is involved, the alleged drunk driver is forced to give a blood sample.  [...]

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Preliminary Exams in OWI Causing Death Cases

July 31, 2009

The following question was recently asked on a criminal defense listserve: Q:  Has anyone waived a preliminary examination on an OWI Causing Death case to avoid Enhancement to Second Degree Murder? Since many non-lawyers follow this blog, let’s first define the term “preliminary exam” as that term is used in Michigan.  This definition is from [...]

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