Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

Re: Cosequences...

A court may find a person who has violated a court order guilty of either civil or criminal contempt. That being said, the specific consequences following any arrest depend on the underlying charge(s).

Assuming your friend�s fines were for civil infractions, you should know that in 1994, Michigan grouped civil infractions into three major categories: those infractions found in the Motor Vehicle Code, state civil infractions, and municipal civil infractions. Motor vehicle violations can be found in each of the three categories.

Assuming further that the court issued a bench warrant in order to assure his appearance in court, he will be required to show in court that the default was not because of his intentional refusal to obey the court or his failure to make a good-faith effort to get the funds required for payment. If he can�t show this, the court will find that his default constitutes civil contempt. Once the court finds him guilty of civil contempt, the court may order him imprisoned until payment is made.

The court must specify the term of imprisonment, which can�t exceed one day for each $10.00 he owes although he will be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment and each day of detention before judgment at the rate of $10.00 per day.

Finally, he can�t be released from custody until one of the following occurs:

(A) He has been credited with the amount due;

(B) The amount due has actually been collected; or

(C) The amount due has been satisfied through a combination of the above two methods.

Re: Cosequences...

it's up to the prosecutor and the court - in most cases, they just impose more fines, on top of those already owed, and make you pay them right away. if his license was suspended for failing to pay fines (which happens every often), that is a completely different story. DWLS is a misdemeanor and he will need an attorney to properly handle that charge.

Good luck.