We represent criminal defendants, the elderly, and other civil matters. Criminal defendants and the elderly are two segments that need someone to fight for them.

CRIMINAL LAW

Former Wayne County Judge George Crockett III once told me: “Don’t push a judge, but don’t let a judge push you”. We will spare no effort when warranted, we will never back down when promoting your cause and your rights. In criminal law prosecutors often overcharge, in hopes that the defendant will plead to what the defendant should have originally been charged with. For example, a defendant might be charged with Assault With Intent To Do Great Bodily Harm, instead of Aggravated Assault. That is an illusory offer – no real offer at all – and therefore inappropriate.

Everyone makes mistakes, including judges, juries, and attorneys. That is why it is important to understand appellate law, as we do, even during the trial court phase. If issues are not preserved, they can be deemed waived and any appeal can therefore be jeopardized.

It is also sometimes necessary to appeal when a case is still in the trial court, which is an appeal that the appellate court has discretion to grant and is called an interlocutory appeal. This is another example of where knowledge of appellate law is critical, even when the case is in the trial court.

Unfortunately, the availability of the internet, and the negative implication that any criminal record – even a misdemeanor – has on an individual, makes it essential that no convictions or unwarranted charges appear on anyone’s criminal history. It can mean not getting accepted to college or a job. That is why any criminal matter is very serious. It is also why it is essential to make sure that your criminal history does not contain anything that can and should be removed.

We offer a service, for $19.99 where we will check the Michigan state police criminal database. This check can be done by anyone – including you – for $10.00 as long as the name, gender, and date of birth for the record that is to be retrieved is provided. However, we will analyze the record for you, and discuss what can be removed, and whether or not the information is accurate because often the data that the Michigan state police has is wrong to your detriment.

We provide this service for ten extra dollars because we want to determine if we can expunge or otherwise remove data that should not be in your record.

Check out our interactive program regarding serious driving offenses – Interactive Driving Program. It is one of our many soon to be released automated systems to help you with legal issues at no cost, even if you choose another law firm besides us – although we hope you retain us.

What most attorneys do not discuss with their clients are the driver license consequences and procedures, in addition to the long term insurance costs of a given serious driving conviction. Our interactive program includes this essential information. Many aspects of the law can and should be computerized like our program.

However, law is a uniquely human endeavor and many aspects of the law require human interaction. Although in theory, issues such as expungements can be reduced to a computer program, the program would have no way of knowing if there were charges or convictions that were on a person’s state police record that should not have been there – we have even had a few clients that were mistakenly labeled as terrorists! That is why interaction with us is essential to the process of ensuring a valid accurate record. There are also issues of charges and convictions from other jurisdictions besides Michigan, including Federal – another reason to use our services.

ELDER LAW

Our senior citizens often have the greatest need for legal protection. Yet, they often have no means to legally protect themselves. We are not only making the necessary legal documents and information available to seniors and their families, but we want to gently and thoroughly – while figuratively holding their hand – guide them through the process. Like the driving offense interactive program above, this service is free – although we hope you will retain us for further assistance.

There are many programs available that can save seniors tens of thousands of dollars which we can assist you with, including through the interactive program. Unlike some programs that purport to provide legal documents, and therefore legal protection, we start at square one. That means we not only provide, for example, a will, but rather we also assist you in determining if a trust is more appropriate for your needs than a will. Likewise with a durable power of attorney as compared to a guardianship.