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Friday, December 21, 2012
By Michael Nichols
Categories: Drunk-Driving
A foreign national living in Southeast Michigan was petrified that a drunk driving charge in Jackson would ruin his life. He had reason to feel that way because he was in the United States on an H1B - which meant that he could only stay here if his wife stayed here. "The problem is that this man's wife was transferred back for her job to their home country and they had to leave by the beginning of 2013 and we would not even have a pretrial until mid-December," says DUI attorney Mike Nichols of East Lansing.The man's own work visa lapsed because he worked in the U.S. for 6 years and he needed to leaved the country or change his status - which was pointless right now if his wife and 3 year old son were going home.
Nichols went to the pretrial for the OWI charge in mid-December in Jackson. "I explained to the prosecutor that we could not just plead to OWI because then the client would basically walk into a lengthy ban on much of his international travel - and his line of work requires travel internationally," said Nichols. Nichols added "I began marshalling documents to verify the status of the client and his wife, then I consulted with an immigration attorney to verify the information and what I should avoid by way of negotiated outcomes."
At the end of the negotiations, the prosecutors agreed to dismiss the OWI charge if the client agreed to pay the fines and costs normally associated with an OWI or OWVI (impaired) conviction. The client was ecstatic to have his life back. "This," Nichols added "was a great Christmas gift for our client and his family and a great story."
For an attorney who will be committed to results contact OWI-OUIL-DUI attorney Mike Nichols, an adjunct professor of forensic evidence and DUI law and practice at Thomas M. Cooley Law School and published author at mnichols@nicholslaw.net or 517.432.9000