Michael J. Nichols

In The News

Friday, July 1, 2016

The Holiday Weekend Will Mean Stepped Up Enforcement - Why the Walk and Turn is Unfair

By Michael Nichols
Categories: Michael J. Nichols, Drunk-Driving

Most people think that the court room is a level playing field. Things are supposed to be "fair."  That is far from the case in a drunk driving prosecution in Michigan. Among the many reasons is the way officers administer and then testify about one of the three standardized Field sobriety tests. The walk and turn is one of the hardest to "nail" because there are so many words in the instruction, eight "clues" to testify to and officers almost never ever get the instructions correct in the field.

Michigan drunk driving attorney Mike Nichols says "Michigan law changed at the end of June so that the officers must substantially comply with the standards developed by the national Highway safety administration (NHTSA). That is important because now judges should have no question that testimony should be excluded and maybe even a warrantless arrest determined unconstitutional if the officers fail to follow the law: is that not fundamental fairness?" (See MCL 257.62r).

Mike Nichols helped with input on the revisions to the law, which were part of the much publicized roadside saliva experiment for controlled substances and drug recognition pilot project. For the attorneys who help make the law and who are committed to results, call the Nichols Law Firm at 517-432-9000.
 

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Peer Recognition

Mike Nichols is a national leader in drunk driving defense. He is a member of the Forensic Committee and Michigan delegate to the National College for DUI Defense. He is also a Sustaining Member of the College. Nichols is also a founding member of the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys; a member of the American Chemical Society; an associate member of he American Academy of Forensic Science, Adjunct Professor of Forensic Evidence in Criminal Law and OWI Law and Practice at Cooley Law School. He is also author of the West OWI Practice book and several chapters in other books on science and the law.

Mike Nichols is recognized by his peers in Michigan as a “SuperLawyer” in DUI/Criminal Defense. Nichols has also been asked to speak at conferences by groups such as the NCDD; Various Bar Associations in other states.