Criminal Defense

People call our office convinced their record cleared itself. Sometimes they're right. Michigan has been automatically setting aside qualifying convictions since April 11, 2023, and the volume is enormous — State Police data reported in April 2026 put the total at more than 1.5 million convictions cleared without anyone filing anything. But the automatic track is narrower than its reputation, and the convictions people most want gone are often the ones it doesn't touch. Here'

The overwhelming majority of criminal cases in Michigan never reach a jury. They end with a negotiated resolution — a plea bargain. That fact makes some people uneasy, and it should prompt a fair question from anyone facing charges: am I getting a real deal, or am I just being processed? The answer depends almost entirely on how well the negotiation is prepared and on whether you understand what you're actually being offered. This post explains how plea bargaining works in Mi