He was going home from a Memorial day get together and got nabbed for a OWI.

He had his brights on and got pulled over and spent the night in jail.

He has never been in trouble before and has a job and a girlfriend and is a good kid.  But he does drink a lot when he is with his friends.

What I need from you guys a is good lawyer he can hire in Wayne county.  

Thanks!

These two things don't work together: if he was a good kid, he'd not be driving while intoxicated.





His choice to drive intoxicated meant he viewed his need to drive as greater than the safety and possibly lives of everyone else on the road.





He doesn't need a good lawyer, he needs to lose his license, plain and simple.





 

Steve Rabaut. One of the best criminal attorneys in SE MI. He would be my first call. http://www.stephenrabaut.com/

Jim Thomas. One of Kwame's attorneys. He is connected well in Wayne Co. http://www.jamescthomas.com/

Raymond Cassar. Another high end Wayne Co. attorney. http://www.crimlawattorney.com/

We watched our friends bury their daughter due to a drunk driver who decided to drive drunk and slam into the back of her going over 100mph on I275 on her way home from baby sitting.

Drunk drivers, selfish pricks...but I know, I know.. your step son is a"Good kid".





Good post.

Not taking sides here, but everyone deserves good representation in our court system.  We must stand up for "our" rights as a people even if we don't like them sometimes.

Certainly there will be life after this dark moment, and hopefully a sober life-lesson learned prior to someone getting killed or injured.  I think many of us have made some bad decisions early on be it with alcohol, money, women, etc, and developed some bad habits along the way but have "grown up" so to speak to act responsibly.

Good luck with your search, and a brighter, responsible future for your stepson.

Tell him to say goodbye to $30,000.

That is what lawyer cost are over here for first offense.

Stupid is supposed to Hurt, OP.

Good kids, good people, make bad decisions every day. My guess is that he's smart enough to know he shouldn't have been driving.

Jeffrey Pepper, he's in Dearborn. He does a lot of this type of work. His fees are very reasonable, he won't kill you with billable hours and court time. He knows everyone in Wayne county, he's been doing cases like your sons for a long time. He has taken care of people I know and worked wonders.
If you want you can pm me with any questions you have. I'm glad nobody got hurt. Smack your son around and sign him up for uber

Glad they nabbed him.  Knowing someone killed by one of these drunk scumbags.  Hope he looses everything.

A good kid.  Yea right

Pretty tough language, until it happens to one of YOUR family members!  Hypocrisy is alive and well!

Until one of YOUR family members gets busted for being stupid?

Until one of YOUR family members gets kills by one of these 'I'm just buzzed, I can still drive' people.

No sympathy at all.

Ezra Goldman, friend of mine does lots of dui.

That young man has a right to counsel same as every other person in this great country.

I bet you've never driven after having a beer or made any mistake ever

If you don't have anything polite to say then why post anything at all?  The guy just asked for some simple recommendations.  

I'm on the other side of the state OP so can't offer anything. Good luck to your step son.

The self-rightous always come out in these threads. I always laugh because they have almost certainly done way way worse, but project their shit onto others.

Call
Steven Drakos Attorney At Law
www.stevenadrakosattorneyatlaw.com
334 S Broadway St, Lake Orion, MI
(248) 814-7777

He is in Oakland county but I have known him to do very well in Wayne.

Sorry about your boy. I hope he learns a lesson and can do well in his life.

How much trouble he's in will depend on his history up until now and how high his blood alcohol content was.

If he was over .16 BAC he is consider "super drunk". The court's experience with drunk drivers tells them that this is not a casual drinker that made a mistake, but a person who abuses alcohol and thinks they can still drive.

First offence cases that aren't "super drunk" can sometimes be plead down to "operating under the influence", this will not count toward future DUI's that trigger a felony on the third conviction. If he thinks he can ever have a drink and safely drive again he's in for a rude awakening. He should always lawyer up and try to lower the charge if possible. Sometimes a "reckless driving" charge looks better on a person's record than operating under the influence, some prosecutor's will consider this option. Job opportunities that require a driver's license vanish into thin air if a DUI is part of his record. Business owners are unwilling to assume increased liability and higher insurance costs associated with covering someone once they're convicted.

Many of Michigan's urban areas have "sobriety courts" which allows people to avoid jail time by volunteering to participate in an intensive probationary process. They have house arrest outside of court appointments and scheduled work times. They have a breathalizer installed at home at their expense $100 +/- per month and have scheduled times they must blow into the device which records their picture during the process.

Court officers, usually light duty officers or retirees under contract are tasked with arriving at the probationer's home unannounced to insure they are home and sober during curfew hours, usually around 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. If the probationer refuses to answer their phone or door at 2:30 a.m. when they show up it's weekend in jail minimum. Failure to comply with the stipulations of their probation results in weekend's in jail or revocation of the sobriety court option and 93 days in jail.

While this seems onerous, it allows that person to keep their job and home which would be lost in most circumstances. It forces approximately 1.5 years of strict sobriety instead of a jail sentence. Many of the people charged haven't been sober that long since they were in their early teens. It gives a person a running start at a sober lifestyle and insures that they aren't drinking at all during that 1.5 year house arrest. The people with advanced drug and alcohol addiction wash out or refuse to participate in the first place. It's amazing how many choose 93 days in jail rather than a strictly supervised 1.5 year probation.

Mandatory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings is part of their probation. Usually at least four to five meetings each week for the entire 1.5 year probation. This requirement must be met in spite of the fact that the probationer hasn't got a driver's license. Their friends, neighbors and families get stuck with the transportation of these men and women or the ride bicycles/walk to meet their obligations. If they're court papers don't match up with the other probationer's paperwork regarding signatures obtained at any given meeting they do a weekend in jail. If this happens again they can be kicked out of the program and have to serve their 93 days.

They also are required to attend substance abuse counseling at their own expense if they don't have insurance.

These court systems have taken extraordinary efforts to address the problem of drunk driving by affording the violators a real opportunity to look at and address their substance abuse. They also have no problem of sentencing them to 93 days if they should fail to tow the line. Your step son would be well advised to search out an AA group now, close to where he lives and start attending meetings and recording his attendance. The court likes to see people being proactive regarding the problem the court will think they have. The meetings won't hurt him one bit and he may even enjoy them.

Getting a DUI is the definition of a drinking problem. Having a hangover is a drinking problem. Spending more money than you wanted to last night is a drinking problem. Whether your son-in-law has the bigger problem I don't know. If he is an alcoholic this legal problem is just the beginning of his troubles. He is going to have a lot more trouble to come if he is. The worse thing you can do is give him financial support, it's important that he feels the full force of his decision making process. This may sound harsh, but it's sound policy. You won't feel betrayed when he continues down this rocky road. Your daughter's well being will become more important to you should he continue down the path of self-destruction.    

What's with all the hostility guys?  A fellow enthusiast asks for help and some of you shit on him for having positive emotions for his stepson?  I don't get it.  Have a little empathy.  WTF.

Sorry OP never had to get a lawyer so I'm no help

I hope your boy learned a hard lesson, also lucky no one was hurt.