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Monday, June 10, 2013
By Michael Nichols
Categories: Michael J. Nichols
A Van Buren County District Judge dismissed a drunk driving charge in a written opinion that may start paving the way for other judges to hold police officers accountable. The Judge, Robert T. Hentchel, ruled that the police officer who stopped a driver for not wearing a seatbelt, should have properly administered the standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) before making a warrantless arrest. A warrantless arrest is only constitutional in Michigan if it is based on sufficient probable cause. Probable cause is defined in Michigan law by People v Woods as “sufficiently trustworthy information” for an officer to reasonably conclude that the misdemeanor crime was committed outside his presence.
Michigan Drunk Driving lawyer Mike Nichols of Meridian Township was the lead attorney in the case. He says “this is the first written opinion that I received in which a judge got it absolutely right – ‘if you are going to use these tests to arrest a citizen for heaven sake do them right. It’s not too much to ask.’” Nichols points out that the agency that trains police officers in the state: the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) adopted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) protocols as the standards used to train ALL officers.
SFSTs include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the one legged stand and the walk and turn. According to the training manual published by NHTSA “if the tests are not performed according to the standardized manner, the validity of the tests is compromised.”
For the attorney who is fighting to hold police to be accountable for their arrest decisions and who is going to fight for you, no matter what the charge or how bad the facts, call Mike Nichols at 517.432.9000 or e-mail him at mnichols@nicholslaw.net