What Happens After a Michigan DUI Arrest?

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Short Answer

A DUI murder charge in Michigan requires more than proof that a driver was intoxicated and someone died. When a fatal impaired-driving case is prosecuted as second-degree murder, the prosecution must also prove the additional mental state Michigan law calls malice.

A fatal intoxicated-driving crash can expose a driver to one of Michigan’s most serious felony prosecutions. But the fact that alcohol or drugs were involved, even when combined with a death, does not automatically transform an OWI causing death case into second-degree murder.

The post When Can a Michigan DUI Causing Death Become Second-Degree Murder? appeared first on Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.

Michigan hospital blood results can become evidence in a DUI case even when medical personnel drew the blood for treatment before the driver was arrested. Michigan’s statutory term is operating while intoxicated, or OWI, although most people search for this issue as DUI. The prosecutor’s ability to obtain the result depends on why the blood was drawn, what happened before the hospital transport, who requested the result, and precisely what the hospital disclosed.

The controlling Michigan Supreme Court decision remains People v. Perlos. It upheld the statutory procedure in 1990. More recent Fourth Amendment law creates a principled basis for challenging the statute as unconstitutional as applied to the warrantless acquisition of private medical information and for asking the Michigan Supreme Court to reconsider Perlos. But no controlling decision has displaced Perlos. A careful defense must therefore develop the constitutional challenge while also testing whether the prosecution satisfied the statute in the first place.

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Short Answer

Accidental intoxication is not an automatic Michigan DUI defense. Michigan recognizes involuntary intoxication through the insanity doctrine. An unexpected medication reaction or unknowingly consuming an intoxicating substance may begin the analysis, but the defense requires far more. In a prescription-medication case, the defendant must establish lack of reason to anticipate the intoxicating effect, that the medication itself caused the condition, and that the resulting condition was equivalent to temporary legal insanity.

What Is Involuntary Intoxication Under Michigan Law?

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Short Answer

A Michigan DUI duress defense may apply when another person’s immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm causes an intoxicated person to drive in order to escape that danger. Michigan law formally calls drunk driving Operating While Intoxicated, or OWI. Duress does not mean the person was not intoxicated or did not operate the vehicle. It is an affirmative defense that can excuse otherwise criminal conduct when the evidence satisfies Michigan’s demanding requirements.

The defense is much narrower than simply having a compelling reason to drive. Fear, inconvenience, being stranded, or even a serious argument will not necessarily be enough. The threat must be sufficiently serious and immediate, the defendant must actually have feared death or serious bodily harm, and the decision to drive must have been made because of that threat.

The post Michigan DUI Duress Defense: When Can It Apply? appeared first on Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.

Short Answer

A GLP-1 medication does not create an automatic DUI defense. But if the medication altered the timing of alcohol absorption, a later BAC may not accurately describe the driver’s BAC at an earlier time. This can become important in a rising-BAC defense and when a prosecution expert uses retrograde extrapolation to estimate the driver’s alcohol concentration at the time of operation.

Why Could GLP-1 Medications Matter in an Alcohol-Related DUI Case?

The post Can GLP-1 Medications Affect BAC Evidence in a Michigan DUI Case? appeared first on Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.

Victim intoxication can become an important issue in a Michigan DUI causing death prosecution when alcohol or drug evidence bears on the victim’s conduct and the causation analysis. But the legal significance of that evidence is more complicated than simply asking whether the victim was intoxicated or even by learning how intoxicated they were.

The post When Can a Victim’s Intoxication Matter in a Michigan DUI Causing Death Case? appeared first on Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.

Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Returns After More Than 30 Years: What the New DOJ Rule Changes

For more than three decades, federal law contained a procedure allowing some prohibited persons to seek restoration of their firearm rights, but the administrative process was effectively unavailable. That is now changing. On August 20, 2026, the Department of Justice published a final rule creating a functioning process for federal firearm rights restoration under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) and new 28 C.F.R. Part 107.

The development is important for people with old felony convictions, but the new program is considerably broader and more complicated than a simple process for restoring the rights of people convicted of nonviolent felonies. The rule establishes detailed presumptions, extensive evidentiary requirements, and an individualized review focused on whether an applicant is likely to pose a danger to public safety and whether restoration would be contrary to the public interest.

The post Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Returns After More Than 30 Years: What the New DOJ Rule Changes appeared first on Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.

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What Changed in Federal Firearm Rights Restoration in 2026?

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