Elite Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Defense Firm
Protecting and Defending Clients Charged With OWI, DUI, and all Alcohol and Drug-Related Driving Charges in Michigan
Your Best Defense to OWI or DUI Starts Here!
Drunk Driving (DUI), also known as Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), is a serious offense with potentially serious consequences. If you are charged, you need the protection of experienced Michigan drunk driving attorneys. Prosecutors charging felony and misdemeanor drunken driving offenses in Michigan are particularly hard-nosed.
Frequently, the prosecution’s case is centered around the opinion of a police officer. In the typical OWI case, the arresting officer may allege that the motorist exhibited signs of intoxication: the odor of an alcoholic beverage, bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, and an unsteady on their feet. These observations are subjective and highly defensible. It should be remembered every motorist is presumed innocent, and the prosecution has the burden to prove their case beyond any reasonable doubt.
Drunk Driving Penalties are Serious in Michigan
DWI is politically unpopular in Michigan. As a result, legislators are regularly trying to give prosecutors and courts more and more tools to pursue convictions and increase the severity of the penalties in DUI cases. Some might argue that the system is rigged to facilitate a conviction. Advocacy groups such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) lobby for tougher and tougher OWI laws and encourage law enforcement to make frequent arrests. A top Michigan drunk driving attorney is the best defense against excessive or false charges.
A DWI is one of the most common criminal offenses in Michigan courts. Even in misdemeanor cases, you face a possible jail sentence if convicted due to political pressure and notoriously harsh judges. Furthermore, a jail sentence may be in addition to:
- substantial fines,
- many hours of community service,
- months or years reporting to a probation officer,
- loss or restriction of your driver’s license,
- costly and time-consuming alcohol or drug therapy,
- loss of employment, and
- numerous other intrusions which may invade your privacy and your wallet.
If your driver’s license is revoked, you will not be able to drive at all, and restoration of driving privileges in Michigan can take years. People with a DWI conviction on their record may have trouble obtaining or keeping a professional license (doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc.) or a security clearance, which might prevent current or future employment. An alcohol-related conviction could interfere with obtaining loans or prevent you from traveling to other countries such as Canada.
Experienced Michigan Drunk Driving Attorneys Can Help – There is Hope
If you are arrested for Operating Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol, it is critical that you have a lawyer who understands all the potential evidence in DUI cases, including breath testing, blood testing, and the pseudo-science of standardized field sobriety testing. All the nuances and complexity specific to DWI trial advocacy make drunk driving defense one of the most challenging fields in criminal defense. The Michigan drunk driving attorneys at LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. have this experience and are ethical, knowledgeable, and dedicated. We are also criminal defense specialists who exclusively handle criminal cases instead of the jack-of-all-trades lawyers who handle multiple areas of the law and are experts at none of them.
The problem occurs when innocent people get caught up in overzealous police actions, or the police feel justified in violating a person’s civil rights to justify an OWI arrest and conviction. More innocent people are convicted of OWI than any other crime. No one is saying that DWI is not a serious crime. We all want our roads to be safe. However, the attorneys at LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. strongly believe that the playing field must be leveled for you if you face being charged with a crime by the government and all the power that it has behind it.
Michigan Drunk Driving Plea Bargaining and Trial Lawyer
Most DWI cases are not headed for trial. A good lawyer can negotiate a favorable plea bargain with the prosecutor in most cases. The Michigan drunk driving attorneys at LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. have the poise, tact, experience, and professionalism required to be highly effective plea negotiators. Although achieving a dismissal of all charges is our highest priority, there are cases where a plea bargain to a reduced charge is in the client’s best interest. Sometimes a quick plea agreement is in the best interest of the client. Other times, it takes perseverance, persistence, and significant effort on the attorney’s part to obtain a satisfactory plea agreement. However, if a plea agreement is not possible, it is critical to have an attorney who understands how to win a trial in a DUI case. When a case is aggressively and intelligently defended, there are even circumstances when an OWI case can be reduced to reckless driving, careless driving, or other civil infraction.
How does a lawyer achieve an extraordinary resolution in a case? By being a credible threat. We are exceptionally well known in Michigan and considered among the top OWI trial lawyers. Prosecutors and judges know that if our clients are not treated fairly, we are capable and qualified to fight the charges and protect their rights.
Successfully Defending Cases in Michigan for Decades
Many people arrested for DUI feel they have already been pronounced guilty of a crime. If you have been charged with DUI, you should immediately speak to one of the experienced DUI attorneys at LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. We will help you discover how your case can be successfully resolved before you make an ill-advised decision to plead guilty. LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. is backed by a team of highly experienced investigators and forensic and toxicology experts. These specialists can sometimes help us disprove your breathalyzer or blood test results to win your case.
If you, or a loved one, is charged with operating while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, a controlled substance, or any intoxicant, contact the attorneys at LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. and we will put decades of DUI defense experience to work for you.
Call us today at (248) 263-6800 for a free consultation or complete a Request for Assistance Form. We will contact you promptly and find a way to help you.
We will find a way to help you and, most importantly,
we are not afraid to win!
