There are lots of examples of things that could be misdemeanors, but typically it is going to be something that is considered a bit more serious in nature. The court has the authority and or the discretion to be able to potentially put you in jail for what you did. The most common one in the driving and traffic realm is driving while a license is suspended. That is a ticket that will be issued, because somebody failed to pay a speeding ticket and their license was suspended and then pulled over. Sometimes the drivers do not even know that their license was suspended, but that is not a defense in most situations. If you find yourself in a similar situation, speak with a reputable motor vehicle offenses lawyer today. With a driving while license suspension, if you are convicted you will receive an additional thirty day suspension on your license, and two points off your license. You might face probation, and be subjected to drug or alcohol testing if the court feels that is appropriate. You could go to jail for up to ninety-three days for a first offense and up to one year in jail for a second subsequent offense. That is the most common ticket people do not think is serious enough. But in certain situations it is treated very seriously in many of the courts. In particular in Oakland County, they take driving while a license is suspended very seriously, especially if the person has any prior history of the same offense. They really do not approve of multiple DWLS tickets. They feel like it represents people who do not care about following the law. In Oakland County, Macomb County and parts of Wayne County, they take it very seriously. Sometimes clients have been in trouble in local cities where driving while a license is suspended is not taken as seriously, and then suddenly shocked to find out that they are in front of a judge who is considering placing them in jail. Reckless driving is another traffic misdemeanor, and you can go to jail for that offense. If convicted, it is six points on your license and a ninety-day hard suspension of your driver’s license. This means you cannot drive at all for ninety days. Surprisingly most people think of reckless driving as being totally out of control, but the statute basically says that a person is guilty of reckless driving if they drove in a reckless manner. It is really vague, and not as dramatic as many people think. There have been many examples of people getting ticketed for reckless driving simply because they were spinning their tires on a road or doing donuts in a snow-covered parking lot when there were no other cars around. Some things that people do not look at as being that dangerous or risky have resulted in charges of reckless driving. Some other misdemeanors with traffic offenses can involve operating while intoxicated by alcohol, operating while impaired, or operating while intoxicated by drugs. Child endangerment is another charge that often comes into play. This is where kids are in the car when someone is doing something that is dangerous or improper. Open intoxicants in a vehicle are one of them. If you have a half bottle of wine or an open bottle of beer in the car, and even if you are not drinking the alcohol, the police can charge you with open intoxicants. This results in a misdemeanor and does often result in people being placed on probation, and having a misdemeanor criminal conviction on their record. What Would Aggravate A Misdemeanor Traffic Violation To Felony Status? Occasionally if a person does not stop immediately upon being signaled to pull over by a police officer, they can be guilty of fleeing and eluding which can be a felony and can result in a long-term suspension of their driver’s license. Another charge out there is called felony joyriding, or unlawful driving away of an automobile, and this can result in a felony. Another common misdemeanor is failure to stop and identify after a property damage accident. In other words, say your car slides off the road and causes some damage to a fence, and rather than sticking around and waiting for the police to make a police report you drive home and intend to just deal with it the next day. Many of those situations result in the police showing up at your house and issuing you a misdemeanor ticket for failure to stop and identify after a property damage accident. The courts take those very seriously, because in general the assumption at the courthouse is that you probably were drunk and got away with it. Or you had drugs in your car, had a warrant for your arrest, or you had a suspended driver’s license. They always assume that if you leave the scene of a property damage accident, it is because you are trying to cover up something worse. That is another important misdemeanor that can add six points to your driver’s license as well. For more information on Enhancement Of Traffic Violations, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Contact us today and get the information and legal answers you are seeking by speaking with one of our Michigan criminal defense lawyers at (248) 451-2200. Via https://www.michigandefenselaw.com/blog/when-does-a-traffic-violation-become-a-misdemeanor/
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Probation is an alternative to jail for somebody who has been convicted of some type of criminal offense. The judge basically has a few choices when somebody is convicted as far as what the punishment should be. The first is to just put them in jail and forget about them. The second is to give them jail and the combination of probation or the third is probation only and by last chance, the last option and the least often imposed is simply a fine and no jail or probation. If you have been charged with probation violations, contact a reputable Michigan criminal defense attorney right away. Probation is basically considered an alternative to incarceration and it is a way for the court to supervise somebody and keep an eye on somebody for a set period of time in order to make sure that they are doing everything the court wants. For a misdemeanor conviction, the longest time you can be on probation is two years. For a felony, the longest you can be on probation is five years. What is the Difference Between Probation And Parole? Parole is a type of supervision that is imposed on someone who is being released from prison. What you might do is similar to probation but it’s parole if you’re coming out of prison. It’s probation if you are in the state system but have not been sent to prison, meaning either you got no jail time or the amount of jail time you’ve got was one year or less which is the amount you can serve in the County Jail. Beyond one year, you go to the Michigan Department of Corrections and you go to prison. When you’re released from prison, you get on parole. As long as you never went to prison, if you’re being supervised, it’s probation and parole. What Factors Does the Judge Consider When Deciding on Probation and Terms of Probation? They look at your charges and your past criminal history. They look at whether or not you have previously been on probation and been successful or failed in trying to decide whether you’re even a good candidate for probation. Some people have a long history of getting in trouble and being put on probation and failing to complete it successfully. In those cases, a lot of times, the judge doesn’t want to waste the resources on probation with this person and instead will just give them a jail sentence. Typically they’re looking at the totality of the circumstances. They can impose any kind of conditions that they feel are rationally and reasonably related to the underlying offense and the underlying problems that the person is trying to address. Is Probation Only Applicable After a Conviction? Before you are sentenced, you are out on bond. If you’re not in jail, you’re on bond. While you’re on bond, you can have conditions similar to probation. You can’t leave the state without permission, you have to do drug or alcohol testing, you have to stay in touch with pretrial services, and other things along those lines are conditions of your being out of jail while your case is pending. You do not go on probation until after your sentencing occurs, which is usually a few weeks or a month after you’re convicted. Probation only starts only after sentencing. Does A Person Have to See a Probation Officer While Out on Bond? Not usually. Sometimes you do keep in touch with pretrial service which is a division of probation that oversees certain people who are out of bond. That’s up to the judge whether or not you’re being supervised by pretrial services. That decision occurs at the time you are arraigned on the original case. The very first time you appear before a judge or magistrate, they set your bond conditions and then determine what you have to do while the case is pending. Whether or not you’re supervised by an actual worker through pretrial services is up to the judge. A lot of times the judge won’t require that and other times they will. That’s one reason why long before somebody goes on probation, they want to make sure that they are putting their best foot forward even at the time of arraignment because those bond conditions can substantially affect your freedom during the pendency of your case. Can Probation Ever Save Someone From Getting a Conviction on their Record? Yes, there are certain deals that we make sometimes for example for people who are under the age of 25 or have a first offense drug case, or in some situations, we can negotiate what’s called a deferred sentence where the charge will be reduced or dropped after a successfully completed probation. In all of those types of scenarios, the qualifying factor is that we negotiate a deal where they get a chance to prove themselves through probation and if they’re successful, then the case results, and the case gets dismissed. There are some circumstances where that occurs and other circumstances where the person just has the success, so they complete probation in order to avoid jail time. For more information on Probation Process In Michigan, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Contact us today and get the information and legal answers you seek by calling (248) 451-2200. Via https://www.michigandefenselaw.com/blog/what-is-the-process-of-probation-in-michigan/ |
About UsIf you or a loved one is facing criminal charges, it can be a traumatic and confusing time. That's why it's crucial to have a skilled and compassionate attorney by your side who will work tirelessly to protect your rights and defend your case. With Paul J. Tafelskj on your side, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have a tenacious advocate who will fight for you every step of the way. FIND US ONLINE Bitly Box Diigo Dropbox Evernote Postach.io Histre Inoreader Instapaper Nimbus OneDrive Onenote Raindrop.io Todoist Toodledo Trello Tumblr Weebly Wordpress Blogger Google Drive Youtube Map Related Links About.me Behance.net Dribbble.com taplink.at Gravatar.com Carrd.co Minds.com Justpaste.it issuu.com Linktr.ee Solo.to Pearltrees Follow.it 500px Feedspot Shutterfly Skillshare Feedly Alltop Feeder Bloglovin Netvibes Mystrikingly Archives
January 2023
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