Law Blog

Criminal offenses are defined by the length of their jail or prison terms. Misdemeanors are less severe offenses and have a maximum sentence of 12 months or less. Felonies have prison sentences of greater than 12 months up to life.

If you are charged with a criminal offense, there is the possibility of incarceration.

However, a jail term is unlikely for first offenders of most crimes. Usually, a person is given probation with no jail unless there is a violation of probation.

There is a statute (law) in Michigan called Implied Consent Law which provides that you must take an alcohol test if asked by a police officer who suspects you were drinking and driving. If you refuse to take the test, the officer can get a court order to withdraw your blood and you will lose your license for 1 year because you refused the test. You will also get 6 points on your driver’s license.

The courts are getting away from the ‘every other weekend’ standard on visitation with the non-custodial parent.

Joint custody is favored in many situations which would include more than typical alternating weekends. You would have to aggressively insist on more visitation to have the Court consider a joint custody arrangement.

Continuing contact with the children is very important even if one parent moves from the household during the divorce. It is advisable to spend as much time as possible with the children before and after separation to prevent the argument that there was very little contact initially so there should be very little after the divorce.

Additionally, the amoun

There are very limited circumstances where you are convicted and you can prevent that conviction from being in the public record. Criminal convictions are entered into a database available to everyone including employers, financial institutions, schools, and anyone else who happens to be interested.

As a result, a criminal conviction can affect your employment, your eligibility for student financial aid, your immigration status, where you live, and where you can travel. As such it is important to consult with an experienced criminal lawyer to help prevent any convictions which would render you ineligible for procedures to avoid the public record of convictions. There are several methods available to avoid a permanent conviction.

There are several factors used to determine child support. The most important are the income of the parents and the amount of overnight parenting time exercised by each parent. The more overnights a parent has the less child support that parent pays.

The legislature has created a child support formula which calculates the amount of child support to be paid. The Guidelines are required to be followed by the Court’s except in certain circumstances. Every attorney who practices family law should have a computer version of the Child Support Manual to counsel you in this regard.

A parent cannot ‘threaten’ to withhold child support without incurring expensive problems including criminal prosecution and jail.

The answer is a resounding “no.”

Many people feel they have to consent to a police officer’s request to search their car; however, there must exist certain reasonable or probable cause before a police officer can do so without a warrant or consent.

The common way a police officer gets around this requirement is to ask a person “what will I find if I search you or your car?” or “is there anything in the car I should know about?”

These questions should be answered with a polite “I do not believe I should answer that question without speaking to a lawyer.”

Always, deny a request to search you or your motor vehicle.

If you are charged with a criminal offense you have a right to be represented by an attorney the Court/Judge must inform you of the right to counsel and whether you want to proceed with or without an attorney.

Since there is a potential for jail time on all criminal offenses, it is recommended that a person charged with a crime always have an attorney. This is especially true for first offenders who should be informed of several programs available to avoid having a conviction on your record.

More and more employees are doing background checks and discover even minor offenses which could prevent a person from being hired. For example, while some traffic offenses may seem minor, there are many that are misdemean

A polygraph examination is commonly referred to as a ‘lie detector test’. Most people assume that the law does not allow polygraph results into evidence. That assumption is misleading.

While the polygraph examiner’s ‘opinion’ as to whether you are telling the truth is not allowed as evidence, any statements you make before, during or after the examination are admissible.

Polygraph examinations are considered a great law enforcement tool by police because it involves significant interrogations without an attorney which often lead to confessions. Many clients thought these statements would not be admissible because it was a ‘lie detector.’ Not true! The statements are allowed

No. The ‘miranda’ warnings typically known by the average citizen are ‘you have the right to remain silent and everything can and will be used against you in a court of law.’ Television and movies have popularized the warnings so that most people are aware of them.

However, in Michigan, the ‘miranda’ warnings are not required unless you are formally arrested by law enforcement. Many clients have said that police officers have come to their house to ask them questions and were not advised of Miranda. However, the police officer is not required to give you Mirandas when he is just talking with you and asking you questions.

The major emphasis is whether a person feels free to stop the quest

If the pension benefit was acquired during the marriage, then that portion may be considered marital property and subject to being shared with your spouse.

This would include general pension plans as well as a 401(K), IRA or other retirement type account.

Yes. Michigan Statute does not forbid the award of alimony or spousal support. The determining factors are several of which the most important are: the length of the marriage and income disparity between the parties. While Courts consider awarding spousal support, it is not required.

There exists standardized software available to attorneys and the Court called Alimony Guidelines which can get a rough estimation of the possibility and amount of spousal support.

Even though spousal support is not required, it is advisable to have language in the Judgment of Divorce specifically precluding spousal support and any consideration thereof.