Blog
Can You Keep a Loaded Gun in Your Truck for Michigan's Small Game Opener?
Michigan small game season opens September 15, and the charge that catches careful hunters happens in the last four hundred yards of the drive. What MCL 750.227c and 750.227d actually require.
Does Michigan Actually Use Drunk Driving Checkpoints?
Michigan banned sobriety checkpoints in 1993 under the state constitution, so what goes up around events like the Plymouth Fall Festival is a saturation patrol. That distinction decides whether the stop that started your case can be challenged.
Should You Just Pay the Ticket?
In Michigan, paying a civil infraction is an admission of responsibility that puts points on your record for two years. What the alternatives are, and why they all disappear the moment you pay.
Does Scanning the Wrong Barcode at Self Checkout Count as Retail Fraud?
Michigan retail fraud requires intent to defraud, so a discrepancy at the scanner isn't the offense on its own. What loss prevention uses to prove intent, and why the statement in the back office does more damage than the video.
Can the School Expel You and the Court Charge You for the Same Fight?
Double jeopardy doesn't reach school discipline, so a district can expel while a prosecutor charges. The hearing comes first, which is why what a student says there ends up in the criminal file.
Is a THC Vape Pen at School a Felony in Michigan?
Michigan treats the oil in a cartridge as marijuana, so a student's first offense is a civil infraction rather than a felony. The school discipline track is where the real damage happens, and it moves faster than the court file.
Summer's Over: A Clear-Eyed Look at What a Pending Case Costs You in the Fall
Today is the last day of August. School starts this week, Labor Day is Friday, and the summer that generated a lot of criminal cases in Western Wayne County is over. If you are carrying an unresolved case into September,...
Charged With a Crime While on Vacation in Michigan? Out-of-State Defendants and Wayne County Courts
Michigan draws visitors all summer — lake country, Detroit sporting events, festivals, the Dream Cruise, family visits over holiday weekends. A meaningful number of them go home with a pending Michigan criminal case. Being charged in a state you do...
Labor Day Weekend Is Next Week: Michigan's Most Dangerous Driving Weekend
Labor Day weekend runs September 4 through 7 this year, and it is consistently among the most heavily enforced stretches on Michigan roads. It is the last long weekend of summer, the last cottage trip, the last boat weekend, and...