Practice Areas

In Michigan, the main drunk driving charge is called OWI, which means, "Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated." It used to be called OUIL, and before that, it was called DUIL. In other states, and here in Michigan, too, the charge is often referred to as DUI or DWI. If you took a breath test, your ticket may also say "per se" or UBAC, which means "Unlawful Bodily Alcohol Content," but it is often referred to as UBAL, because when the charge was first created, it used to be called "Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level." UBAC is now one of the two ways a prosecutor can try to convict you of OWI. These name changes are an indication of what has happened to the drunk driving laws in the State of Michigan. Every few years, the legislature revises the drunk driving laws, trying to take away defenses. A few years ago, they lowered the breath test presumption for drunk driving down to .08 for an OWI conviction, and took away the lower limit for OWVI (Impaired Driving). A few years before that, they made it much more likely that a person with prior drinking and driving convictions will be charged with a felony. In 2007, they made it so being charged with a felony became even more likely. If you have been charged with OWI or any drinking and driving offense, either as a misdemeanor or as a felony, you need the services of an attorney who practices primarily in the areas of drunk driving defense, OWI, and related topics, so you know you are getting up to date, specialized representation, from an attorney who will dig deep for your defenses and fight hard for your rights. There is still a Constitution!

In 2010, Michigan passed what is often called the Super Drunk Law, which increased the penalties for a conviction for drunk driving if the driver had a Bodily Alcohol Content of .17 or above. All of the defenses available for an OWI case are still available in these cases. Since the consequences are more severe, it is even more important to have an experienced drunk driving defense attorney on your side in a Super Drunk case.

In Michigan, Impaired Driving or "Operating a Vehicle while Visibly Impaired due to the Consumption of Intoxicants" (OWVI) is a "lesser included offense" of drunk driving (OWI). Occasionally, a person may be charged with Impaired Driving from the start. People often assume that a plea to Impaired is the only option for a person charged with drunk driving, if they are even given that option. However, a plea to Impaired should be looked at as a last resort, after all other options have been fully explored. An experienced drunk driving defense lawyer can evaluate your case and determine what your options are. Only after a full analysis by an experienced drunk driving attorney should you even consider a plea to Impaired.

Driving while under the influence of drugs, even prescribed medications including marijuana, carries the same types of penalties as drunk driving, and Impaired by drugs carries the same types of penalties as Impaired by alcohol. There are some differences, however. Blood or urine tests are used to try to convict you of such an offense. Different issues come up in such cases, and an experienced "OWI" attorney can find errors and inconsistencies in the procedures used to process your arrest, take your sample, and test it. Independent testing of samples is often advisable. It is technically a violation of law to simply operate a vehicle with the presence of certain drugs in your system, but never assume that they can make the charges hold up in court.

If you are under 21, and you didn't blow high enough to be charged with Impaired or OWI, you will be charged with Zero Tolerance. A conviction for Zero Tolerance is not as bad as OWI or OWVI, but it still affects your driving record, and can count against you in the future.

If a child under the age of sixteen was in your car when you were stopped for drunk driving, you can be charged with Child Endangerment. A Child Endangerment charge after a previous drinking and driving conviction within the previous seven years, or after two at any time in the past, will be charged as a felony.

This charge is a Civil Infraction, so it is not as serious as a drunk driving charge. It refers to the hand-held breath tester the police use on the road. Many people confuse the PBT with the breath test in the police station. In Michigan, you get charged with a violation of the law for not taking the PBT, and you do not get charged with a violation of law for not taking the test on the big machine in the station. Instead, not taking the test in the station leads to an administrative procedure called the Implied Consent Law.

If you did not take a breath test on the machine in the police station (officially called the Datamaster DMT, not the Breathalyzer) (or at the Sheriff's Department or Michigan State Police post), or if you tried to take one and they say you didn't, you should have a form that says "Request for Hearing" at the bottom. That form is usually attached to the Michigan Temporary Driving Permit. If you did not receive such a form, you should contact a drunk driving defense attorney immediately. You must fill out the Request for Hearing and mail it to the address in Lansing printed on the form within fourteen days of the date of the incident. If you do not, you will lose your driver's license for at least one year. An experienced defense attorney will assist you in properly filling out that form. Unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary for an attorney to draft a Request for Hearing from scratch, because the police fail to give the person the form. All four issues on the form should be examined by an attorney, to assist you in contesting the officer's allegation that you refused their test. There are operator refusals, machine refusals, and actual refusals. There are defenses that can be raised against all of them.

If you have lost your license for multiple drunk driving convictions, your license is probably "revoked." This is different from being suspended, which is usually just a matter of waiting out the time and then getting your license back, or taking care of old tickets. With a revocation, your license is considered terminated. Unless it is a very old revocation, you have to go to the Secretary of State Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight also called Driver License Appeal Division (DLAD) to try to get your license back. In almost all cases, you only get one try per year, so you'd better be well prepared for your hearing when you go to DLAD. An attorney who is well experienced in such hearings is crucial to your success. Don't go to DLAD unprepared!

If DLAD has granted you a restricted license following a revocation, and you then have a problem with your vehicle's breath interlock, technically called a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device, or BAIID, then the Secretary of State will probably take away your restricted license and re-revoke your license. You have the right to a have a hearing at DLAD to show that you were not drinking and that you did nothing wrong. This includes false positives, skipped retests, and allegations of equipment tampering. Many of these problems can be explained and overcome, and you can get your restricted license back.
In limited circumstances, a decision of the Driver License Appeal Division concerning an appeal of a revocation can be appealed to the Circuit Court. A first Implied Consent Refusal Suspension (in a seven year period) can be appealed to the Circuit Court on the basis of hardship for a restricted license.

If you are ultimately convicted of a drinking and driving offense, you will be standing in front of the judge for sentencing. This is an area that even some experienced drunk driving defense attorneys overlook, but it is critical to the ultimate outcome of the case and its effects on you. An attorney who is fully dedicated to serving you will vigorously speak on your behalf at your sentencing, if your case comes to that. Knowing you, is a vital part of knowing how to present you to the judge at sentencing. Your attorney, taking the time to get to know you and your admirable qualities, is part of what makes a sentencing presentation effective. Your attorney, vigorously presenting the information to the judge, then gives you the best chance for a fair and lenient sentence.

If you have lost your license for some reason, and have been pulled over and charged with driving while suspended or revoked, or for violating the terms of a restricted license, you still should seek the services of a knowledgeable attorney. As with any traffic crime, there are statutory and constitutional issues that need to be examined in these cases. Did the officer have a legal justification to stop you in the first place?

If you have been placed on probation, and now are being accused of violating your probation, you should have an experienced attorney representing you, to try to smooth out the situation, or, if appropriate, to vigorously defend against the allegation.

If you receive a traffic citation, you should have the services of an experienced traffic attorney to help you obtain the best result possible. I can often keep points from going on your driving record. If you have old tickets that have caused your license to be suspended, I can help sort out the situation, clear up the tickets, and get your driver's license back.

This office handles certain other criminal matters. Call for details.

Call me! 313-565-9289. or e-mail: frankbford@wowway.com
My experience is what you are looking for. My personal approach is what you need and deserve.
I will give you EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION WITH A PERSONAL APPROACH.

I appear in all Southeast Michigan courts, including:

• Wayne County Circuit Court
• 16th District Court: Livonia
• 17th District Court: Redford
• 18th District Court: Westland
• 19th District Court: Dearborn
• 20th District Court: Dearborn Heights
• 21st District Court: Garden City
• 22nd District Court: Inkster
• 23rd District Court: Taylor
• 24th District Court: Allen Park (includes Melvindale cases)
• 25th District Court: Lincoln Park (includes Ecorse and River Rouge cases)
• 27th District Court: Wyandotte (includes Riverview cases)
• 28th District Court: Southgate
• 29th District Court: Wayne
• 30th District Court: Highland Park
• 31st District Court: Hamtramck
• 32A District Court: Harper Woods
• 33rd District Court: Woodhaven (includes Trenton, Rockwood, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, and Brownstown cases)
• 34th District Court: Romulus (includes Belleville, Sumpter, Van Buren, and Huron cases)
• 35th District Court: Plymouth (includes Northville and Canton cases)
• 36th District Court: Detroit
• Municipal Courts for
• Grosse Pointe
• Grosse Pointe Farms
• Grosse Pointe Park
• Grosse Pointe Shores
• Grosse Pointe Woods

• Oakland County Circuit Court
• 43rd District Court: Madison Heights, Ferndale, Hazel Park
• 44th District Court: Royal Oak (includes Berkley cases)
• 45B District Court: Oak Park (includes Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak Township cases)
• 46th District Court: Southfield (includes Lathrup Village, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin cases)
• 47th District Court: Farmington Hills (includes Farmington cases)
• 48th District Court: Bloomfield Hills (includes Birmingham, Sylvan Lake, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake, and West Bloomfield cases)
• 50th District Court: Pontiac
• 51st District Court: Waterford
• 52-1st District Court: Novi (includes South Lyon, Wixom, Walled Lake, Milford, Highland, Commerce, Lyon, and Wolverine Lake cases)
• 52-2nd District Court: Clarkston (includes Springfield, Independence, Holly, Groveland, Rose, White Lake, Brandon, Davisburg, and Ortonville cases)
• 52-3rd District Court: Rochester Hills (includes Auburn Hills, Rochester, Lake Angelus, Lake Orion, Addison, Orion, Oakland Township, and Oxford Cases)
• 52-4th District Court: Troy (includes Clawson cases)

• Macomb County Circuit Court
• 37th District Court: Warren and Center Line
• 38th District Court: Eastpointe
• 39th District Court: Roseville and Fraser
• 40th District Court: St. Clair Shores
• 41A District Court: Sterling Heights and Shelby Township (includes Utica and Macomb Twp. cases)
• 41B District Court: Clinton Township (includes Mt. Clemens and Harrison cases)
• 42-1st District Court: Romeo (includes Memphis, Richmond, Bruce, Washington, Armada, and Ray cases)
• 42-2nd District Court: New Baltimore (includes Lenox, Chesterfield and New Haven cases)

• Washtenaw County Circuit Court
• 14A District Court: Ypsilanti (city court), Chelsea, Ann Arbor (Washtenaw Avenue at Hogback Road court), Saline (includes cases from all of Washtenaw County except Ypsilanti Township and the City of Ann Arbor)
• 14B District Court: Ypsilanti Township
• 15th District Court: Ann Arbor (city court)

• Livingston County Circuit Court
• 53rd District Court: Howell and Brighton (includes cases from all of Livingston County)

• Monroe County Circuit Court
• 1st District Court: Monroe (includes cases from all of Monroe County)

• Adrian
• Hillsdale
• Jackson
• Flint
• Port Huron
• and others.