Mike Nichols makes headlines in Muskegon and Lansing. Mr. Nichols is featured in a profile that runs in the latest edition of the Muskegon legal news. Muskegon is just a few miles away from Ludington, where Mr. Nichols is litigating the admissibility of blood alcohol measurements by the Michigan State Police.

Mike Nichols is currently involved in a case that may affect admissibility of blood-alchohol tests. Read the article at lsj.com.

Mike Nichols is featured in an article in the Flint/Genessee Legal News section of LegalNews.com. Read the article.

The Nichols Law Firm is involved in a case that might clarify Michigan's medical marijuana law.

A conviction may be set aside (also called “expunged) under MCL 780.621 et seq. so long as it is not a prohibited offense. The statute of course, does not establish the right to set aside a conviction but enables a defendant to Petition the Court to Set Aside a conviction once five years passes from the date of sentencing or the last day of incarceration.

Watch Mike Nichols give his thoughts on personal sobriety tests.

The flavor of the month for dealing with suspected drunk drivers in extreme cases like felonies, accidents involving injury or death, even some 1st time defendants with an extremely high BrAC or BAC seems to be ordering the defendant to undergo a substance abuse assessment.

Judges are constrained in most Michigan-criminal-cases when it comes to setting bond. The Michigan constitution, statute and court rule on bond requires that the judge set bond either with no money up front, a sufficient amount to assure your appearance or a combination of money up front and conditions that are the least restrictive on your freedom but also assure the safety of any member of the community.

Read the article from The Detroit News.

The Lansing State Journal launched an editorial in opposition of the Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney and in support of a client of the Nichols Law Firm.

The Nichols Law Firm negotiated a non-DUI result for a client who was accused-but-not-guilty in a Michigan DUI case. “It was a matter of lining up an expert to discuss the variations of the datamaster and why there was no evidence of impaired driving” said Mike Nichols.

>Mike Nichols helped lead a presentation on evidence to lawyers and judges at the Ingham County Bench-Bar conference.

Michigan lawyers will learn the top three things that every lawyer must know about setting aside convictions by reading the upcoming issue of the State Bar of Michigan Criminal Law Section newsletter.

An East Lansing District Judge dismissed a count of accessory after the fact in the MSU Fireworks case

A judge dismissed an OWI charge in the middle of Mike Nichols' cross examination of the arresting officer. "The officer admitted that the datamaster gave him an ambient fail. I then made him read the portion of the operator's manual for the datamaster that said that ambient fail is a display message that means that there may be contaminated air in the room. A short time later the judge excused the jury for lunch and advised the prosecutor that he felt he needed to dismiss the case because the officer should have followed up and, as he admitted, the officer didn't even know what to do." To find out more about whether your breath result may be contaminated, click here for http://www.datamasterlimits.com.

Mike Nichols is certified in Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) after he attended a 24-hour course and passed a proficiency exam. “It was fascinating to administer the SFSTs on our intoxicated subjects” said Nichols. He added: “I have a much better understanding for how difficult the tests are for both the subject being tested and the officer administering the test. Hence, if the officer is not careful, cautious and patient the test can easily end up as an invalid indicator of intoxication; and that is no better than flipping a coin when deciding whether to arrest someone.”

A Michigan State University freshman takes the stand, admitting she tossed an explosive at an East Lansing home. Read Ann Emerich's story from wlns.com:

Mike Nichols was called as an expert witness by the defense in an Eaton County DUI-case on November 19, 2009. The issue in the case was the defense available to a defendant who pled guilty in a marginal case and didn’t realize it would cost him his driver’s license for a year because of his prior conviction. You can find out how to put Mike Nichols’ expertise to work for you in your DUI-case by contacting us at 517.432.900: 877-9DUI-LAW or www.michiganduidefender.com 

MSU students facing up to 20 years prison time for explosives.  Read more on the charges at: www.freep.com/article/20091104/NEWS06/91104077/4-MSU-students-charged-in-blast

Mike Nichols will be featured in the Ingham County Legal News for an upcoming edition regarding the release of the Michigan OWI Manual for Thomson West Publishing. The interview will be conducted at the offices of the Nichols Law Firm by Ingham County Legal News editor Roberta Gubbins. 

Former Ingham County Judge Beverly Nettles-Nickerson will not have to stand trial for drunk driving. A judge dismissed the case Monday morning....

Mike Nichols will testify as an expert witness on Monday, September 19th, 2009. The issue is whether a lawyer rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in an OWI case. Mr. Nichols will testify as an expert in the datamaster and OWI investigation from the attorney's perspective.

A Nichols Law Firm client received no jail at his sentencing despite the fact that he had two prior convictions for DUI. “The key was the presentation during plea bargaining and a lot of work in a short time to understand what the client’s record was and what the other side knew. I disclosed everything in plea negotiations including our legal arguments about the stop,” said attorney Mike Nichols. The client was also allowed to plead to the reduced charge of operating while visibly impaired. “That saves him $1000.00 in driver responsibility fees alone,” Nichols added.

Mike Nichols accepted the invitation from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) to attend the National DUI conference in Las Vegas October 8-10. “I was awestruck to find copies of the Michigan OWI handbook for sale at the West booth where all the vendors were set up” said Nichols. “I was also awestruck by the presentations by Dr. Paul Homoly, a leadership coach who talked about speaking. I am almost finished with his book and it will help improve my trial preparation and presentation greatly. I hope to bring him to Michigan” Nichols added.  Nichols also was the winning bidder in the silent auction for a rare photo of Babe Ruth and Shoeless Joe Jackson. “This will truly be a treasured item to add to my office art and I am pleased to contribute to the causes promoted by the NACDL,” he said.

A Lansing Judge ruled that the prosecutor may not use the result of a breath test in an OWI 3^rd charge against a client of the Nichols Law Firm. “In this case, we demanded the right to inspect the datamaster and the room in which the datamaster is stored. The police and prosecutor resisted. When the officer failed to appear for a hearing on our motion, the judge finally threw up his hands and kept the evidence out of the preliminary examination,” said attorney Mike Nichols. The end result was an Order from the judge that the felony charge would go to trial strictly on the theory of Operating Under the Influence of Liquor. “The OUIL charge requires proof that the defendant’s ability to drive was ‘substantially diminished’ because of drinking alcohol. It is more difficult to prove than so called OUIL per se based on an unlawful blood or breath alcohol content.” Nichols added.  “If you’re charged with a felony, make sure that you demand the right to inspect closely the chemical test procedures, instruments and all facets of the analysis of your breath or blood” said Nichols. Nichols just completed the “Michigan OWI Handbook,” for Thomson Reuters Publishing. Thomson Reuters (formerly West) is now taking orders for the book, a leading guide for attorneys who practice OWI defense in Michigan.

Mike Nichols was named a sustaining member of the legal writing organization “Scribes.”  Scribes is the American Society of Legal Writers. Mr. Nichols became a member in 2008. He is author of the Michigan OWI Handbook by Thomson Reuters Publishing.

Superdrunk legislation leads the way amongst new statutes that affect criminal law practictioners.

The United States Government has dismissed a bank robbery charge against a Nichols Law Firm client.

Michigan’s lawmakers are at it again: so-called “superdrunk” legislation will take effect in October, 2010. “It’s another onerous crackdown on Michigan-DUI cases” said attorney Mike Nichols. A link to an article published by Mr. Nichols in the BRIEFS for the Ingham County Bar Association is attached.

The prosecuting attorney dismissed a DUI/OWI charge against a Nichols Law Firm client on September 3rd in a Michigan DUI case. "We prepared hard; I knew what I wanted to do with the arresting officer during voir dire and cross examination and it all came together" said attorney Mike Nichols. The prosecutor offered to allow the client to accept a civil infraction at a break, following a ruling by the court to take Mike Nichols' objection to the datamaster results under advisement. "The officer was very honest to his credit," Nichols added. "He just could not give sufficient foundation for the datamaster result," he said.

Mike Nichols has received a perfect 10.0 out of 10.0 from AVVO.

A charge of "exhibition driving" was dismissed against a Nichols Law Firm client in a Michigan-DUI case on August 19th. "We filed a motion to argue that the misdemeanor charge filed by the city was unconstitutional," said Mike Nichols. "The so-called Exhibition Driving violation was the basis for the officer to stop the citizen who we represent and it was without merit," Mr. Nichols added. The client was charged with violating Michigan's-DUI-law after he was stopped. Mike Nichols added "we'll see how this affects the DUI case if at all. However, at least one misdemeanor is now gone and it is not coming back. If you are stopped and ticketed or arrested for exhibition driving in a municipality in Michigan, I urge you not to plead guilty but talk to a lawyer. Municipalities are not authorized to pass such an ordinance under the Home Rule Cities Act (MCL 117.3) and I find that many of these ordinances are unconstitutional because they are so vague," Nichols said.

An Ingham County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the prosecutor erred by not trying to submit the breath test results at the preliminary-exam.

Mike Nichols and co-counsel Andrew Abood argued a Motion to Suppress Evidence today. A judge took the argument under advisement and will issue a ruling soon. http://www.wlns.com/Global/SearchResults.asp?vendor=ez&qu=nettles-nickerson 

Charges of OWI were dismissed against a Nichols Law Firm client, who was allowed to plead guilty to Reckless driving instead. The client was charged with OWI and possession of marijuana after his vehicle was stopped early one morning shortly before the Christmas holiday.  "We were able to convince the prosecutor to dismiss the drug possession charge after groundbreaking Supreme Court decisions this spring" said Mike Nichols. "We then attacked the OWI charge and attack we did," Nichols added. The client was offered the plea agreement after motions were filed to suppress the evidence and the prosecuting attorney risked losing the case on the eve of trial.

Mike Nichols accepted an invitation to join the State Bar of Michigan Foundation as a fellow. An attorney in Michigan can become a fellow of the foundation by invitation only.  "I am very honored and humbled to become a fellow," said Nichols.  "The hard work that I put into writing, speaking and helping other lawyers is its own reward but I am grateful for recognition from my fellow lawyers."