Fighting a Michigan DUI
You are the only one who can answer this question, but here are some guidelines to help you decide. What do you have to lose if you are convicted? At the Barone Defense Firm our client’s typically have two major concerns, their job and the possibility of jail time. A comprehensive defense can help with both of these concerns.
A conviction for even a first offense drunk driving can have a significant impact on your employment. At the Barone Defense Firm we will help you understand whether or not your conviction will cause problems at work. To do this we will review your employment contract, employee handbooks, and where applicable, the law. For example, most licensed professionals, like doctors, nurses, lawyers, CPAs, individuals with financial or insurance licenses, and any other person or profession licensed by the state may need to report their arrest or conviction to the state licensing board. The law will define what action the board then can or must take in response to this information.
Of course, anyone who depends on their driver license for their employment might have work-related problems if they lose their license as a result of a conviction. Others who drive employer provided vehicles may lose this perk. These are some of the things we will help you with when you are represented by the Barone Defense Firm.
Regarding jail time, at the Barone Defense Firm we have learned many things that our clients can do before sentencing to help minimize or even eliminate jail time. We will assist and guide you through this process as well.
Needless to say, if you win your case there will be no sanctions of any kind. A dismissal, acquittal or significant reduction of the charges will almost always mean no work problems and will certainly mean no jail time. Thus, the best way to avoid these sanctions is to avoid the conviction altogether, and this means winning your case.
Considering everything that’s potentially at stake, maybe the question is not “is my case worth defending” but rather, can I afford not to defend my case?
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baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on .
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.
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Mr. Barone: I need help. I ran over a nun. Does it make any difference that she had more to drink than I did (2 beers vs 3 beers). She was from some obscure order so maybe they won’t miss her while she recovers.
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