Drunk Driving Michigan Dispatch Logs and how they can help your case get dismissed or challenged at trial

Most attorneys overlook dispatch logs when examining their client’s case.  While most DUI cases involve an officer already out on patrol or on the lookout for possible drunk drivers, a portion of DUI cases involve accidents and 911 tipsters calling in about incidents.  

When I am working on one of these types of cases, I order the dispatch logs and 911 call to learn more about what lead up to the police arriving at the scene of the incident.  A review of these records is invaluable, which allows us to establish a timeline, and hear exactly what the caller stated to the 911 operator.  This information will allow us to know what the officer knew when he was arriving at the scene of an accident or on the look-out for a car.  

When I listen dispatch records and read the logs, I am looking for details such as make and model, license plate numbers, specific facts about driving, locations and descriptions of occupants of a vehicle.

Dispatch records may contain possible admissions by my client in a situation where my client or someone who was with them calls into 911, and states so and so was driving and crashed.  This information could be used against my client to prove operation at trial.  Better to know these facts immediately when sorting through my client’s options.  ​