877-Ben-Hall 
517-798-5801 
877-Ben-Hall Awards & Recognition
A conviction for Driving Under the Influence (DUI), or Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) as it is referred to officially, is a criminal offense that may affect your freedom, your driver’s license, and your future career opportunities. The legal system is built to process cases efficiently, which does not always mean fairly.
As DUI/OWI lawyers, our firm, Ben Hall Law, offers you a distinct advantage. We are a team of former police officers and prosecutors. We know precisely where the weaknesses in the state’s case are likely to be found because we are the ones who used to build those cases.
If you are concerned about losing your license or your liberty, we are ready to analyze your case from the inside out. Call us Ben Hall Law today.
Our founder, Benjamin J. Hall, brings a background that is rare in criminal defense.
For 10 years, while attending law school at night, he served as a full-time police officer. He knows how traffic stops are supposed to be conducted, how evidence should be collected, and, more importantly, where officers tend to cut corners under pressure. He has seen the exact procedural errors that could unravel a prosecution’s case.
His experience does not stop there. As a former prosecutor in Ingham County, he handled difficult criminal cases from the other side of the courtroom. This gives him an intimate understanding of the strategies the prosecution will likely use against you, allowing him to anticipate their moves and build a proactive defense designed to counter them.
All of this is complemented by his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, which instilled a disciplined, strategic mindset that he now applies to every legal battle.
At Ben Hall Law, we prepare every OWI case as if it is headed to trial. This trial-ready philosophy sends a clear message to the prosecution: we will not simply accept the path of least resistance. This pressures prosecutors to offer more favorable plea agreements or, in some cases, to dismiss the charges altogether when they see the weaknesses in their own evidence.
Our strategic approach gets results. In one instance, a client facing serious criminal charges had their case reduced to a simple fine with zero points added to their license after our intervention. Plus, our 5.0 Martindale rating and countless client testimonials speak for themselves.
Our office is located at 139 W Lake Lansing Road Suite 140, East Lansing, MI 48823. Being physically present in East Lansing gives us a home-field advantage. We are deeply familiar with the 30th Judicial Circuit Court, its judges, and the local prosecutors.
An OWI conviction comes with immediate penalties, but the secondary consequences may be just as damaging.
In a state like Michigan, a driver’s license is a necessity for getting to work, school, and managing daily life. The penalties for an OWI conviction frequently include license suspension or revocation.
We fight to minimize these sanctions, working to keep you on the road so you can continue to work or attend classes.
It is a common misconception that a failed breathalyzer test means an automatic conviction. This is simply not true. Evidence that appears damning on the surface does not mean you are 100% guilty in the eyes of the law. Breathalyzer machines, like any technology, are imperfect.
These devices may malfunction or be calibrated improperly, and certain biological factors might produce inaccurate results. We know how to investigate the machine’s maintenance logs and the officer’s training to ensure every protocol was followed correctly.
Breakdown of Michigan Alcohol Offenses
The state relies heavily on chemical tests to prove intoxication, most commonly the DataMaster DMT breath test or a blood draw. However, the machines require regular and precise calibration to function correctly. Furthermore, certain medical conditions can create false positives.
For example, conditions like Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) may trap alcohol vapors in the esophagus, leading to an artificially high reading. Diabetes may also be a factor, as a state of ketoacidosis may produce ketones that some breathalyzers might misread as alcohol.
A thorough defense investigates your personal medical history to see if it could have impacted the test results.
Before an arrest, an officer will almost always ask you to perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). They are divided attention tests designed to be difficult for anyone to perform perfectly, especially under stressful roadside conditions.
The most common tests include:
These tests are only as reliable as the officer administering them. A defense lawyer will scrutinize several factors:
Michigan has an Implied Consent law, which states that by having a driver’s license, you have consented to a chemical test if arrested for an OWI. If you refuse this test (the one at the station, not the portable one at the roadside), your license will be automatically suspended. However, you have the right to challenge this.
You have only 14 days from the date of your arrest to file a request for an administrative hearing with the Secretary of State to contest the suspension. Missing this deadline results in an automatic one-year suspension of your driving privileges, and this happens completely separate from the outcome of your criminal case. Acting quickly is absolutely necessary.
The city’s traffic flow and police patrol patterns are heavily influenced by Michigan State University and the downtown nightlife scene.
Police enforcement intensifies dramatically during MSU football and basketball games. Officers are specifically assigned to look for any signs of erratic driving from the influx of fans traveling to and from campus. During these times, police are on high alert, and a minor traffic violation is more likely to lead to a full-blown OWI stop.
Michigan’s harsh winters add another difficult element. A car sliding on a patch of ice or swerving in the snow could easily be misinterpreted by an officer as a sign of intoxicated driving.
We know how to differentiate between a mistake caused by poor weather and one caused by poor judgment, and we make sure the prosecution understands that distinction.
When you’re arrested for an OWI, you are suddenly facing the full resources of the State of Michigan. Trying to handle this situation alone puts you at a significant disadvantage against a system designed to secure convictions.
The police and the prosecutor’s office are not there to help you or to hear your side of the story. Their job is to build a case against you and achieve a conviction. An officer may feel pressure to justify making an arrest, and a prosecutor is measured by their conviction rate. This inherent conflict of interest means any information you provide is likely to be used to strengthen their case, not to help yours.
While a first-offense OWI is punishable by up to 93 days in jail, it is not a mandatory sentence. An effective defense focuses on securing alternatives such as probation, counseling, or community service, especially for first-time offenders.
Yes, recent changes to Michigan’s Clean Slate laws now allow for the expungement of a first-time OWI conviction under certain circumstances. We can advise you on your eligibility and guide you through the petition process to have your record sealed in the future.
Yes. Michigan has a very broad definition of operating a vehicle. The law defines it as being in actual physical control. If you were in the driver’s seat and had the ability to start the car, even if it was not running, a prosecutor may argue that you were operating it.
A criminal OWI charge may trigger separate disciplinary proceedings with the university, which could affect your academic standing or housing. You need legal counsel who can help you manage both the criminal court case and any administrative actions from MSU.
Miranda rights only apply to questioning that occurs after you have been taken into custody. If an officer did not interrogate you after your arrest, the lack of a Miranda warning may not be grounds for dismissal. However, if they did question you, any statements you made after being arrested could potentially be suppressed.
An OWI charge is frightening, and it’s easy to feel like the case against you is airtight. But you have rights, and the prosecution has a high bar to meet to prove its case.
You need a defense team that has seen the system from every angle. Don’t walk into the 54B District Court alone and hope for the best. Call Ben Hall Law today to start building your defense.
