Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: criminal law

1. "Can they just refuse reducing probation if fees are paid?" => Yes. The judge has no requirement to reduce your probation length if you have completed certain requirements. One reason for a lengthy probation is to monitor your life and keep a thumb on you in case you do later violate probation terms (including things like "no driving", "don't violate any laws", etc.). You can request an early discharge from probation, but it is not an abuse of discretion for the judge to deny the request. Probation is meant to be disruptive of your life, ma'am, because the alternative was to put you in jail or prison. Plus, you KILLED someone!

2. "Do I have any recourse [for being deprived of thyroid medicine for five days and blood pressure for 3]?" => This is an issue that should be reviewed by attorneys who handle civil litigation because you're really asking if you can sue the sheriff. This section of lawguru.com focuses on criminal law issues, not "can we sue?" questions. You may want to re-post that question in another section.

3. "Do i have any recourse [for being prohibited from driving when your husband is disabled]?" => If the "no driving" order is a term of probation, then your only recourse is to file a motion with the judge to modify that term and give supporting documents to prove your hardship. If the "no driving" order is imposed by the Secretary of State, you may have a recourse with the Driver License Appeal Division. One common license restriction is to let a defendant drive to/from medical appointments for family members (but then that does not give you license to drive 24/7 or use that as an opportunity to drive for other reasons). In either case, you should hire an attorney to help research your legal options and the best way to present your request.

Regardless, if there is an "actual medical emergency" going on and someone needs to get to the hospital that one time, you may drive a person there and then (if charged with a crime for driving without a license) assert a defense that you drove due to an actual medical emergency. But, getting your husband to scheduled medical appointments is not an actual medical emergency. There's usually public transportation as a travel option.