Michigan Criminal Defense Legal Questions

First- you should hire a local attorney familiar with your court, judge and prosecutor. If you have a clean record, you should be in ok shape. If not, that gets more complex. You are facing up to 93 days in jail if convicted. If you are in metro Detroit, call me if you'd like to discuss further.... Read Answer

If he was convicted of one, and only one, prior felony, then the present charge would include second felony offender. This would raise the maximum sentence for manslaughter from 15 years to 22 1/2 years. If he has 2 prior felony convictions that doubles the max to 30 years. If he has 3 prior felony convictions the sentence is life or any term of years. If he was not convicted on the earlier case then he would not be subject to habitual offender sentencing, and the max would be 15 years.... Read Answer

Assuming this is a State case and not a federal case, Michigan Circuit Court judges are required to consider the Michigan Sentencing guidelines when sentencing a convicted individual. The court will consider prior record variables and the offense variables and the appropriate grid. In addition arguments can be made for extenuating circumstances.... Read Answer

He can plead not guilty. If he cannot afford an attorney the judge will appoint one, at his request. Whether the judge will release him pending trial is up to the judge. The judge might impose a high bond that the defendant cannot pay. Of importance will be his past record of showing up for court and obedience to bond conditions when released on earlier occasions.... Read Answer

The prosecutor decides whether to bring charges against a person, and whether to drop them. A confession by another person does not guarantee that the charged person will get his case dismissed. These factors might be important: (1) In a drug case it is always possible for multiple people to be guilty. (2) Prosecutor might not believe the statement clearing you. (3) Prosecutor could decide to let a jury decide. If the prosecutor does not drop it, the confession of the other person could be used at your trial, to try to clear you or show reasonable doubt.... Read Answer

If he does not like what the probation officer orders, he can ask for a hearing with the judge where he can make his requests for change. He absolutely should not just disobey the probation officer without judge approval. I know someone arrested on a warrant over 30 years old, and I do not know of any cases where the warrant just "goes away." The judge can approve his move to another state, but that would probably involve having a new probation officer in the new state; the probation would not go away until it is completed. If the judge says no, then he has to continue obeying the probation officer, or accept punishment for probation violation.... Read Answer

It is not clear whether hiring an attorney would or would not make things better for you, but generally, having an attorney is better. I am concerned about the possible felony charge of "Larceny in a Building." Hopefully, you could make a deal to lower that to a misdemeanor, or make a "plea under advisement" where charges are dismissed if you successfully complete probation.... Read Answer

The right to bring charges does not belong to the victim. It belongs to the prosecutor (or the attorney general). The courts do not decide whether to charge you. If a felony is charged, the courts may review the prosecutor's evidence to see if it is sufficient to go to trial, but otherwise will not decide whether to charge you. Many prosecutors will go by the wishes of the victim not to press charges, but some will not. You potentially face a felony charge of larceny in a building, or misdemeanor charges. If you are charged, you will need representation. Avoid making any further statements about the case to anyone but your attorney.... Read Answer

No, you do not have to respond unless you want to. If there were a court order directing you to come in you would have to obey it, but would still not have to answer questions. Normally, the police bring you in (or ask you to come in) to try to squeeze or trick you into saying something unwise that will help make a case against you. If you say nothing, that cannot happen. You can hire a lawyer to tell them you will not be answering questions without a lawyer, but it is unclear that is needed. If you are charged or arrested, tell them you have nothing to say without an attorney (but you should provide your name and address). In that case, you will definitely need a lawyer. You might wish to hire a lawyer now just to consult about the matter if you have any continuing concerns.... Read Answer

I do not see how you could arrange a wedding without having contact with each other. The recommended action is to ask the judge to lift the no contact order. Also, possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, so they must have gotten you for possession with intent to deliver. That sounds unreasonable to me with only 5g. However, I have no way of knowing right now whether the actual conviction can be overturned.... Read Answer

Get a criminal defense attorney right away. Do not allow him to be questioned without the attorney present (and even then probably not). If he ends up fighting the case, he does not want to make statements that could be used against him. It is not always easy to predict what might be used against him; any statement he makes that can be proved false is a real problem. If he ends up making a deal, he might confess as part of the deal, but not before. His options will depend in part on his age, and the attitude of the prosecutor. If the evidence against him is strong, he might want a deal to HYTA (Holmes Youthful Trainee Act), that voids a conviction after completion of the program.... Read Answer

The law does not require selling to convict; it requires delivery. Very likely the police will drain you for all the information they can get out of you, then refer the case to the prosecutor anyway. If you provided info about sources, they might make a deal with you to give testimony. Or, they might use the info you gave to get search warrants. They can take their time on this.... Read Answer

You can legally apply for a pardon for any conviction. A pardon is granted or denied by the governor, after he first gets a report from the parole board. Not many pardons are granted, but given the age of the convictions, and the minor nature of the convictions, you appear to have a reasonable chance.... Read Answer