Michigan Drunk Driving Appellate Decisions

Case Court Year Case Summary
People of The City of Troy v John Vincent Haggarty Michigan Court of Appeals 2012
State of Michigan v Henry Clark Michigan Court of Appeals 2002
State of Michigan v Roger Wayne Fielstra Michigan Court of Appeals 2005
In Re Neubeck Michigan Court of Appeals 1997
People v Ruzicka Michigan Court of Appeals 1969
State of Michigan v Terry Lee George, Jr. Michigan Court of Appeals 2007 Defendant argued that the trial court's reference to impaired driving as a "less serious offense" to operating while intoxicated misled the jury into believing that defendant would face a lesser penalty if they convicted him of impaired driving rather than OWI, when the penalties for the two offenses are the same. I tend to agree with this argument. The Court of Appeals disagreed, even though this instruction remains fundamentally flawed in the current standardized instructions. I have addressed this with members of the jury instruction committee, and I have won numerous motions to make a simple change to this instruction. Instead of characterizing the offense as “less serious,” courts will frequently change the term to “lesser included,” a simple yet effective fix.
State of Michigan v Rita Ann Ruhana Michigan Court of Appeals 1998
People v Keen Michigan Court of Appeals 1976
State of Michigan v Jeffrey Clarence Davidson Michigan Court of Appeals 2003
State of Michigan v Douglas Elmer Boughner Michigan Court of Appeals 1995