Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Too harsh of penalty?

Sentences in adult court are supposed to respond to three areas: (1) punishment [e.g., jail, fines, court costs], (2) rehabilitation [e.g., counseling, AA, community service, etc.], and (3) protection of the community from those who may endanger us [e.g., driver's license revocation to keep you off the road, incarceration, drug drops or breath testing to make sure you are not still 'using' .. and increasing the plan during the holidays when drinking increases at Holiday Parties]. Your sentence terms fit all of these criteria.

All of the terms are legal, and commonly imposed. Some of the terms (i.e., driver's license revocation) are automatic, and cannot be modified by the judge. (In fact, license actions are imposed by the Secretary of State, not the judge.)

As a REPEAT offending drunk driver, you are a danger to the community. You endangered the lives of countless innocents on the roads. Your conduct (driving drunk on our public roads) must be sanctioned/punished ... and WAS. Further, it is a credit to the judge's sense of justice that he/she held out hope that you can be rehabilitated (which obviously failed after your sentence for OWI #1), so the sentence focused on helping you stay sober, rather than just locking you up for 1 year (the max for OWI 2nd).

Judges are not supposed to impose sentences that are the most convenient for the defendant. Sentences are supposed to 'hurt' to some extent. (Thus, the 'punishment' criteria.) The sentence from OWI #1 didn't stop your behavior, so this judge (case #2) had to up the ante. Bravo for him or her!

Ever heard the phrase "if you can't do the 'time' then don't do the crime"? Well, it applies here ... because it is true! Ignorance of the law is no defense, so I'm sure you've heard about the constant evolution of drink driving laws: making them harsher, including more terms, etc. Why? Because repeat offenders (like you) hadn't gotten the message. Drunk drivers lose their driver's licenses, ok? when that happens, it's harder to keep a job, ok? When the judge tells you to pay fines and you don't, the judge does not forget about it and will haul you back into court and do something about it, ok? Start feeling sorry for yourself, and start acting responsibly .... ok??!

Speaking as a prosecutor, I hope that this judge's sentence has truly been a lesson to you, and that you will change your behavior - - if only to avoid being involved in the consequences from a THIRD drunk driving offense (a felony that could land you in prison for up to 5 years, if you did not know it already).