What's the time limit I have to bring up an old case of being charged with OWI. State BAC limit is .08, I was .07, and was still charged with the OWI, just some brief info in this matter.
2 Answers from Attorneys
They have six years from the date of the offense to bring charges.
The prosecutor has 6 years to charge you, however, once they charge you, a warrant for your arrest can stay in the system for many, many years. While the state can still charge you with OWI if your BAC was .07, it does make it more difficult for them. The state actually has two ways to convict you. One is showing that your BAC was .08 or more. The other is by showing that your ability to operate your vehicle was affected due to the consumption of alcohol - they do not have to show your BAC to convict you of this one.
That being said, you should immediately sit down with a lawyer who handles OWI cases. I work on OWI case all the time and can tell you that there is more than just the BAC. I look for other things to see if there are any other defenses. For example, I recently got a Not Guilty verdict for my client who had been driving and had a BAC of .14%. The reason for the not guilty verdict is that the prosecutor could not prove what my client's BAC was at the time of driving. The blood test was conducted 3 hours after my client drove and he was drinking after getting out of the car. Make sense?
I wish you well!
Ed
Law Office of Edward J. Sternisha, PLLC
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Grand Rapids, MI 49504
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