Knowing rights important when dealing with the law

By Josh Holderbaum
Western Herald

As challenging as college life is, students who find themselves in trouble with the law find themselves with even more choices ahead of them with more permanent results.
Attorney Gary Tibble, of Tibble Law Office, P.C., thinks many students could avoid trouble by knowing about what they’re getting into, whether it’s a driving under the influence or minor in possession violations.

“What really kills me is that an MIP in Michigan is a criminal offense, which is overkill in the legal sense,” Tibble said. “Students who get in trouble for that walk down to the courthouse in droves and plead guilty. Big mistake.”

Because MIPs are a criminal offense, they stay on a person’s criminal record unlike civil offenses, such as traffic tickets for anything up to 30 mph over the speed limit, Tibble said.

“A lot of kids think that an MIP drops off after either seven years or when they turn 21. Huge wrong,” he said. “So when they graduate at 22, most employers are checking criminal records when they hire people. If you plead guilty to an MIP once you’re at a major competitive disadvantage.”

That disadvantage applies to any criminal record, even for having too many speeding tickets, something Tibble has personally seen.

First-time offenders of many offenses, from MIPs to speeding, may be eligible for diversion programs. Successfully completing a diversion program leaves no charges on that person’s criminal record, but those programs aren’t allowed in all counties.

Anyone convicted of such an offense that didn’t complete a diversion program needs an expungement to remove the charges from their record. To do so, they need to go before a judge five years after their conviction to petition for one and have no additional charges on their record since then.

For attorney Jeff Dufon, of Redmond, Redmond & Yokom Attorneys at Law, many students could save themselves trouble by treating police officers just like ordinary people.

“If a cop knocks on your door, you don’t have to let them in unless they order you to,” Dufon said. “If you’re walking and the police come up and start talking to you, you want to be nice and congenial, but unless you’re being taken into custody you can walk away. Police officers are just like everyone else.”

Students could also save themselves trouble by simply using their head Dufon said.

“If you are drinking, be smart about it,” Dufon said. “Realize there’s zero tolerance; if you’re underage use your head about where and when you’re drinking.”

One of the most surefire ways to avoid police trouble is to comply with them the first time, said Deputy Chief Blaine Kalafut, WMU Department of Public Safety.

“If we come to a party, our goal is to restore the peace, not hand out 300 MIPs,” Kalafut said. “If you don’t want us to come back, shut the party down and leave.

“Just comply and that will be the end of it. Don’t flip us off, don’t yell ‘Pig,’” Kalafut said.

Starting around the week of Sept. 16, Dufon will host free weekly legal clinics with the Western Student Association in the Bernhard Center from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=7263

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Aug 30 2009. Filed under Local, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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