by Attorney Daryl Wood, JD
In an all-too-common story that is repeated over and over in the State of Michigan and all over the country, a person – we’ll call him George – is pulled over for speeding. The officer gives George a break and only issues him a ticket for No Proof of Insurance on Person – this way, George doesn’t have to appear for a hearing. The officer tells George, “Go to the courthouse, and get the ticket signed off, and you won’t have worry about appearing in front of the judge.” Following the officer’s advice, George takes his ticket up to the courthouse. As promised, the court clerk signs off on his ticket and charges George $25. However, a few weeks later, George receives a surprise in his mailbox – a bill for $200 in driver responsibility fees for each of the next two years.
Since money is tight, George sets up a payment plan with the Department of Treasury. He struggles to meet the payments and misses one. Because of his missed payment, George’s license is suspended. Unable to pay off the assessment right away and facing the loss of his employment, George continues to drive to and from work. It’s not long before he receives a ticket for Driving While License Suspended and another $500 driver responsibility fee assessment for each of the next two years.
Come tax time, George learns the hard way that if there is an outstanding driver responsibility fee, Michigan will intercept your state tax returns and take out the fee before sending you the rest of your tax return. George is now stuck in an uncontrollable cycle, which continues and just about consumes him.
How Did This Happen?
In 2003, the State of Michigan enacted the Driver Responsibility Fee through 2003 Senate Bill 509, Public Act 165 of 2003. Today the list of fees can be found at:
http://www.michigan.gov/driverresponsibility/0,1607,7-213-32166---,00.html.
In 2003 – much like today – the Michigan Legislature was struggling to balance the state budget, when they decided to mirror a New Jersey program for driver responsibility fees. Statistics showed that New Jersey was boasting collection rates of 60% on these fees. Hoping for the same results, Michigan anticipated raising $74.8 million dollars per year from Driver Responsibility Fees. The Legislature adopted the driver responsible program, stating that its desire was to curb participation in serious driving offenses. In reality, Michigan’s actual collection rate was somewhat lower than New Jersey’s, and ended up at 48.5% through 2008.
Unfortunately, the driver responsibility program has had a devastating effect on the lower-income residents of this state. In 2005, there were 95,323 offenses involving Driving While License Suspended. By 2007, that statistic rose to 44%, or 137,673 cases. Since 2003, the State of Michigan has billed over $800 million but collected only approximately $400 million.
Many of the individuals that are assessed the driver responsibility fees are not even aware of the program until it is too late. Assessments of $200 for No Insurance or No Proof of Insurance and assessments of $150 for Expired License commonly surprise individuals who generally are not advised in advance of the consequences of pleas of responsibility or guilt. These fees don’t just hit you for one year, but they come back again the next year.
Unintended Consequences
Here is the problem: The State created the program because it needed a new revenue stream, but even at the time they implemented it, their model for the program – New Jersey’s system – showed that they would never collect all of the fees. This meant that over 40% of the people who were covered by the far-reaching umbrella of the driver responsibility program would never be able to afford to pay off their driver responsibility fees, and thus would end up with suspended licenses and continually multiplying bills.
The consequence of this is that the legislature’s new revenue stream became a direct hit to low-income families and individuals. While the legislature knew that there was a very good chance that 40% of the people charged with these fees would be financially unable to pay, they failed to build a safety valve into the program. There currently is no way for low-income people to petition for a reduction in the outstanding balances based on financial hardship.
Why was this bill enacted? Those responsible for enacting the legislation wanted to be able to state to the public that they did not vote to raise taxes. However, this is really a tax in disguise - a punitive measure on low income individuals without judicial oversight.
Thank you, State Legislators, for creating a new criminal class for the poor. Even criminal restitution statutes allow for a person to avoid imprisonment based solely on their inability to pay. However, now that driver responsibility fees are the law, many in Michigan people face jail time for Driving While License Suspended for no other reason than that they are unable to pay their bills.
Attorney Daryl Wood is an experienced Michigan defense attorney, and a recognized legal expert on Driver’s License suspension and restoration issues. If you have received a ticket, have had a license suspended, or have been subject to Driver’s Responsibility fees in Michigan, Mr. Wood can help and advise you.
Contact Mr. Wood at: 313.278.8811 or 248.855.0911. Or visit his web site at http://www.crimlawattorney.com or http://www.drunkdrivingmichiganlawyer.com
Showing posts with label sentencing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sentencing. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Why Former Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers is Going to Prison
Former Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers received a 37 month federal prison sentence for her role in the Detroit City Council Corruption case. She is scheduled to self surrender to the designated Federal facility sometime in July. Many people are asking “how” and “why” she received such a tough sentence. And everyone is wondering if she will actually serve that “hard time” in prison . . . or just “get off easy” like many other celebrities and public officials.
Here’s the real story of what happened, and why, from the perspective of an experienced Detroit area criminal defense attorney.
In the Federal Court System the Judges have Sentencing Guidelines that they look to, in order to impose an appropriate sentence. But, every Federal attorney knows that these guidelines are no longer mandatory. The sentencing guidelines are now advisory. This means that the Judge actually could have imposed probation or home confinement for Monica. Perhaps that is what her attorney was hoping for. Clearly, Monica appeared to be expecting nothing more severe than probation.
But Monica’s biggest problem was that she was never taught to say “I Am Sorry for What I Did”. Even as she was being sentenced by highly respected Federal Judge Avern Cohn, she continually displayed her defiant and contemptuous attitude toward our Justice System, the Federal Court and, unfortunately, toward the City of Detroit. As a result, the wise Judge exercised his authority to “throw the book at her.”
Monica Conyers was certainly incredulous when Judge Avern Cohn actually sentenced her to a prison term. That is why she kept telling everyone who cared to listen that she would “appeal” the sentence. What the public needs to know is that she has little grounds for an appeal. This is because the Plea Agreement she signed (under “Rule 11”) precluded an appeal if the Judge sentenced her within a “Guideline” sentence. It is clear that the Judge did just that. In other words, since Judge Cohn did impose a sentence within the “guidelines” of the applicable law, Conyers has given up her right to appeal.
Will this stop her lawyers from trying to appeal? It probably won’t. But in all probability, it will prevent them from doing so successfully.
Monica’s attitude through this whole ordeal did not ring well with the Judge or the citizens of Detroit. Perhaps some humility or contrition on her part may have moved the Judge to impose a lighter sentence – since it was within his discretion to sentence her to something short of prison. But it was clear from her demeanor throughout the entire process that Monica has little if any real remorse, even though her attorney probably urged her to show at least some contrition.
It is a well known fact that the American public has a short memory, and an uncanny ability to forgive public personalities who let us down – especially if they exercise a little humility and publicly apologize. There is tremendous power in saying I am sorry. Even skeptics will agree that it is a lot easier to forgive those who humble themselves and say they are sorry. It is something we all can relate to, since we all make mistakes.
But Monica Conyers obviously feels that saying she is sorry to the City of Detroit is a sign of weakness. And, as a result, she will now be vacationing in prison.
Monica, you just don’t get it!
Attorney Raymond Cassar is a Detroit Area Criminal Defense attorney who has twenty years of experience in State & Federal Court. His office is happy to give advice regarding criminal matters. You may learn more about Attorney Raymond Cassar by visiting his website at: http://www.crimlawattorney.com/
Here’s the real story of what happened, and why, from the perspective of an experienced Detroit area criminal defense attorney.
In the Federal Court System the Judges have Sentencing Guidelines that they look to, in order to impose an appropriate sentence. But, every Federal attorney knows that these guidelines are no longer mandatory. The sentencing guidelines are now advisory. This means that the Judge actually could have imposed probation or home confinement for Monica. Perhaps that is what her attorney was hoping for. Clearly, Monica appeared to be expecting nothing more severe than probation.
But Monica’s biggest problem was that she was never taught to say “I Am Sorry for What I Did”. Even as she was being sentenced by highly respected Federal Judge Avern Cohn, she continually displayed her defiant and contemptuous attitude toward our Justice System, the Federal Court and, unfortunately, toward the City of Detroit. As a result, the wise Judge exercised his authority to “throw the book at her.”
Monica Conyers was certainly incredulous when Judge Avern Cohn actually sentenced her to a prison term. That is why she kept telling everyone who cared to listen that she would “appeal” the sentence. What the public needs to know is that she has little grounds for an appeal. This is because the Plea Agreement she signed (under “Rule 11”) precluded an appeal if the Judge sentenced her within a “Guideline” sentence. It is clear that the Judge did just that. In other words, since Judge Cohn did impose a sentence within the “guidelines” of the applicable law, Conyers has given up her right to appeal.
Will this stop her lawyers from trying to appeal? It probably won’t. But in all probability, it will prevent them from doing so successfully.
Monica’s attitude through this whole ordeal did not ring well with the Judge or the citizens of Detroit. Perhaps some humility or contrition on her part may have moved the Judge to impose a lighter sentence – since it was within his discretion to sentence her to something short of prison. But it was clear from her demeanor throughout the entire process that Monica has little if any real remorse, even though her attorney probably urged her to show at least some contrition.
It is a well known fact that the American public has a short memory, and an uncanny ability to forgive public personalities who let us down – especially if they exercise a little humility and publicly apologize. There is tremendous power in saying I am sorry. Even skeptics will agree that it is a lot easier to forgive those who humble themselves and say they are sorry. It is something we all can relate to, since we all make mistakes.
But Monica Conyers obviously feels that saying she is sorry to the City of Detroit is a sign of weakness. And, as a result, she will now be vacationing in prison.
Monica, you just don’t get it!
Attorney Raymond Cassar is a Detroit Area Criminal Defense attorney who has twenty years of experience in State & Federal Court. His office is happy to give advice regarding criminal matters. You may learn more about Attorney Raymond Cassar by visiting his website at: http://www.crimlawattorney.com/
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