Drunk Driving Charges in Trenton Michigan
Quick Facts about the 33rd District Court for Trenton, Michigan, Wayne County
District Court
If you are charged with a DUI offense in Trenton, Michigan, then your case will be heard in the 33rd District Court in Woodhaven, Michigan, unless the case is charged as a felony. Felony cases begin in the 33rd District Court with a preliminary examination but, if bound over, the case will proceed to trial in the Wayne County Circuit Court at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit, Michigan. The three current Judges of the 33rd District Court are the Honorable Jennifer Coleman Hesson, the Honorable Michael McNally and the Honorable James Kersten.
Although Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the various assistant prosecuting attorneys working under the elected official have the ability to prosecute drunk driving cases in the 33rd district court, most DUI cases in the 33rd District Court are prosecuted by local jurisdictions using private attorneys who work under a contract with the city or township. In addition to the local jurisdictions, the Wayne County Sheriff and the Michigan State Police occasionally bring drunk driving charges in the 33rd District Court. When the case involves a Wayne County Sheriff's deputy or a Michigan State Trooper, these cases are handled primarily (although not exclusively) by the Wayne county prosecutor's office.
Thumbnail Sketch of DUI / OWI Penalties You Face in the 33rd District Court If Convicted
If you plead guilty or if you are found guilty following a trial, you are facing the following penalties. Please note that your driver's license remains valid unless or until you enter a plea or are found guilty, even though the police may have issued you a temporary paper license.
First Time Offender: Super Drunk Over .17 BAC
- Recorded as "misdemeanor" conviction as opposed to felony conviction on criminal record
- Jail up to 180 days
- Probation for up to 2 years with alcohol and drug monitoring
- Fines of $200 to $700, "plus court costs" which totals well over $1,000.00
- One year of alcohol rehabilitation
- 45 days hard suspension, eligible to drive for the balance of the year (320 days) if the offender pays to have a breath alcohol ignition interlock device installed in the vehicle
- Up to 360 hours community service
- Six points on your Michigan driver's license
- $1,000.00 per year for two years "Driver Responsibility Fee" charged by the Secretary of State through the Michigan Department of Treasury
First Time Offender: OWI - Operating While Intoxicated (Same as DUI or DWI)
- Recorded as "misdemeanor" conviction as opposed to felony conviction on criminal record
- Jail up to 93 days
- Probation for up to 2 years with alcohol and drug monitoring
- Fines up to $500, "plus court costs" which totals over $1,000.00
- 30 days hard suspension on Michigan driver's license, eligible to drive for the balance of the six months (150 days) on a restricted basis, i.e. to / from / and in connection with work, court ordered programs, and emergency medical treatment
- Up to 360 hours community service
- Six points on your Michigan driver's license
- $1,000.00 per year for two years "Driver Responsibility Fee" charged by the Secretary of State through the Michigan Department of Treasury
First Time Offender: OWVI - Operating While Impaired
- Recorded as "misdemeanor" conviction as opposed to felony conviction on criminal record
- Jail up to 93 days
- Probation for up to 2 years with alcohol and drug monitoring
- Fines up to $300, "plus court costs" which totals over $1,000.00
- 90 days restricted driving on Michigan driver's license, i.e. to / from / and in connection with work, court ordered programs, and emergency medical treatment
- Up to 360 hours community service
- Four points on your Michigan driver's license
- $500.00 per year for two years "Driver Responsibility Fee" charged by the Secretary of State through the Michigan Department of Treasury
A second offense for either OWI or OWVI within seven years of a prior OWI or OWVI results in tougher penalties, greater likelihood of jail, and a lifetime revocation of a person's driver's license. A third offense for any combination of OWI and OWVI charges in a lifetime is a felony OWI 3rd offense, which carries mandatory jail and a possible prison term of up to 5 years.
Drug and Alcohol Testing in the 33rd District Court
Unless a person enters the Sobriety Court program (see below), the 33rd district
court's probation department typically engages in random drug and alcohol
screens as opposed to constant testing and monitoring. To ensure that you do
not violate a no alcohol/no drug order of the court, you should completely
refrain from drinking any alcohol while on probation and from using any
controlled substance without a prescription.
Important:
When reporting for probation, you will likely be given a breath test on a PBT.
Do
not arrive to court for a probation appointment after consuming alcohol! There
is also an increased use of EtG tests by many probation departments across Michigan.
The EtG test is a urine test that claims to detect biomarkers that result from
the consumption of alcohol. Supposedly, these tests detect alcohol consumption
for upwards of several weeks. If you have a positive EtG test but have not
consumed alcohol, do not offer suggestions or defenses.
Do not admit to consuming alcohol. Call our office as soon as possible so we can address a potential violation
of probation on your behalf.
33rd District Court Sobriety Court Program
The 33rd District Court has a Sobriety Court program at this time.
Click to see the brochure
. This program is reserved for motorists who are: 1) convicted of a second
drunk driving conviction, 2) convicted of OWI with a BAC greater than .20, 3)
convicted of OWI with an accident where the BAC was .15 or greater, or 4)
convicted of OWI with minor children in the vehicle. Entry into the Sobriety
Court program is in lieu of jail, where the person is provided the option of
entry into the program, or to serve a minimum of five days in jail or a minimum
of 30 days with an alcohol tether.
Judge Michael McNally is in charge of the program, and it is his hard work that
brought this program to the 33rd District Court. He monitors and works with
the Sobriety Court candidates. Peg Krizan is the sobriety court administrator.
A person in Sobriety Court is required to submit to frequent drug and alcohol
tests and participate in regular support meetings.
Important:
A Michigan driver who is convicted of two alcohol-related offenses within 7
years faces mandatory lifetime revocation with no driving privileges, i.e. no
restrictions, no breath interlock device, and no ability to get to and from
work. Michigan's Secretary of State places a nationwide hold on revoked
motorists, so moving to another state does not help. Under a new pilot project
approved by lawmakers, certain Sobriety Court judges are permitted to overrule
the Secretary of State's revocation procedures, granting a restricted driver's
license to the Sobriety Court candidate. It appears that this pilot project
is in place in Woodhaven at this time, so if you are facing OWI 2nd charges,
contact our office to discuss how we can help defend you on your DUI charges or help you save your driver's license.
The 33rd District Court Prosecutors in Trenton Michigan Cases
Please note: We do not recommend that you contact the prosecutors directly! It is always wiser to have your lawyer engage in all communications with the prosecutor because statements that you make can be used against you.
State Prosecutor for Wayne County
Kym L. Worthy (P38875)
Wayne County Prosecutor
1441 Saint Antoine St
Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 224-5777
Fax: (313) 224-8180
e-Mail: kworthy@co.wayne.mi.us
Kristen M. Capling (P62438)
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office
25637 Michigan Ave Fl 2
Dearborn Heights, MI 48125
Phone: (313) 791-9841
City of Trenton Prosecutor
Wallace G. Long (P34019)
Giarmarco Mullins & Horton PC
101 W Big Beaver Rd Ste 1000
Troy, MI 48084
Phone: (248) 457-7124
Fax: (248) 457-7001
e-Mail: wglong@aol.com
Web:
www.gmhlaw.com
Trenton Michigan Police Department
2872 W. Jefferson
Trenton, MI 48183
Station (734) 676-3737
Records (734) 676-8377
Web:http://www.trentonmi.org/index-dept.asp?Dept_ID=14
33rd District Court Judges
The following opinions are drawn from our experiences and dealings with the
judges in the 33rd District Court. It's important to understand that these are
just opinions, and other lawyers might disagree. Because we routinely challenge
drunk driving cases, however, our firm's experience with a particular judge
might be different from lawyers who do not take cases to trial. None of the
comments here should be viewed as an attempt to discredit a particular judge or
reflect poorly upon the judiciary.
Hon. Michael McNally
Judge McNally is a decent judge because he is predictable and willing to
work with attorneys on drunk driving cases. He was elected to the bench in
1994, but it seemed that for several years thereafter, he was not handling
drunk driving cases. With random assignments, it is possible that the other
two judges were simply "luckier" to enjoy our presence on a more frequent
basis. In recent years, we have had a number of cases with Judge McNally, but
most of these cases have been uncontested plea agreements or felonies that
were bound over for further proceedings in the Wayne County Circuit Court.
Judge McNally is one of the rare Wayne County judges where we have never had a jury
trial, even though we have had several jury trials in the 33rd District Court.
According to other lawyers in the area, Judge McNally actively participates in the jury trial
process, which is usually detrimental to the defense. Given Judge McNally's courtroom
demeanor, this sounds like an accurate depiction of how Judge McNally would conduct jury
trials. On sentencing, Judge McNally will reliably sentence a person to probation with light
conditions on a first offense unless it is a high BAC case or an accident. (See Sobriety Court
above for further information regarding Judge McNally's sentencing practices.)
Hon. James Kersten
Judge Kersten is a decent judge, and we have had many drunk driving cases
before him. He generally goes light on offenders, particularly if the matter
is uncontested. At trial, Judge Kersten typically does not interfere with the
trial process, keeping comments from the bench to a minimum. That said,
however, he is generally bad on evidentiary issues, frequently siding with
the prosecution. We have had several compelling evidentiary arguments before
Judge Kersten where he has fumbled the ball, and this seems to be a recurring
theme in our cases before him. In one of the more notable cases, he allowed a
state toxicologist to testify to the results of another lab person's test
results. By allowing those test results into evidence over our objection, the
case was lost. The accused in that case opted not to appeal the verdict.
Those familiar with the Confrontation Clause cases know that an opinion was
handed down on a nearly identical case by the Michigan Supreme Court, which
adopted the arguments we had presented to Judge Kersten. A few years after that,
the United States Supreme Court was presented with yet another case that was
very similar to the facts in our case, and they also adopted the arguments that
we had presented years prior to Judge Kersten.
Hon. Jennifer Coleman Hesson
Judge Jennifer Coleman Hesson was elected to serve as judge in the 33rd
District Court in 2010, taking the bench on January 1, 2011. In 2012, we finally started to pick up some drunk driving clients that were assigned to Judge Hesson. At all times, she has proven to be an excellent judge. By 2013, we began to have the occasional case that resulted in disputed charges, allowing an opportunity to see how Judge Hesson would treat contested drunk driving cases. Recently, with a jury trial scheduled before her, the City of Trenton prosecutor made a very generous offer, and she accepted this plea agreement without hesitation based upon the Trenton prosecutor's admission that serious constitutional issues justified the settlement agreement. Currently, we have a critical case proceeding at this time through motions that will likely result in a jury trial involving Grosse Ile Township.
33rd District Court Map
The court is located at 19000 Van Horn, Woodhaven, MI 48183. It is located in an unusual spot with poor freeway access. The best way to access the court is to use the West Road exit ramp from I-75 and proceeding south down Allen Road. The alternative is to use Fort Street to access Van Horn. Be forewarned that train tracks cross over Allen Road just west of the Court's location on Van Horn. The trains that run in this section frequently stop for long periods of time, cutting off that route. The court's telephone number is (734) 671-0201.
If You Are Searching for Qualified Trenton Michigan DUI Lawyers . . .
If you are currently charged with drunk driving in Trenton, Michigan, and
seeking a qualified Trenton Michigan DUI lawyer to represent you in the 33rd District Court, please complete our
free on-line evaluation form
or call our office at (888) 941-1122 or locally at (734) 591-0100.
William Maze of the Maze Legal Group can provide you with the highest quality representation in
your Trenton Michigan drunk driving case. Mr. Maze limits his practice to handling only drunk
driving cases and DUI-related traffic matters. He is certified in standardized
field sobriety tests and teaches other lawyers how to defend DUI cases. He has been trained on the BAC Datamaster breath testing device at National
Patent Analytical Systems and owns two BAC Datamaster devices. He has received
toxicology training in blood and urine testing, and he has attended hundreds of
hours of specialized training in DUI defense across the county.
The Maze Legal Group has handled many Trenton Michigan DUI cases, successfully
representing clients through motions and jury trials that have resulted in
favorable rulings. If you want to know more about our experience in handling
drunk driving cases in the 33rd District Court or what you might expect in your case, call our office and
schedule an appointment with Mr. Maze.
