What Does a Criminal Defense Attorney Do? (And When You Need One in Michigan)

Most people hire a criminal defense attorney once in their lives, under pressure, with a court date already on the calendar. They have seen the courtroom version of the job on television and have almost no idea what the lawyer will be doing on the other twenty-nine days of the month.

That gap matters, because the courtroom is the smallest part of the work. Here is what a Michigan criminal defense attorney does at each stage of a case, how a court-appointed lawyer differs from one you hire, and what to bring to the first meeting so it is worth your money.

The Short Version

A criminal defense attorney represents the person accused of a crime. The prosecutor represents the state. Everything the defense attorney does flows from that one job: making the state prove its case, protecting the client from making it easier, and finding the resolution that does the least lasting damage.

In practice that means handling police contact so the client does not talk themselves into a charge, arguing bond at the arraignment, pulling the police report and body camera footage through discovery, filing motions that challenge how the evidence was gathered, negotiating with the prosecutor, trying the case when a trial is the right call, and arguing at sentencing. In Michigan it also means knowing which programs can keep a conviction off the record entirely, which is where a lot of the real value sits for a first offense.

Criminal Lawyer, Defense Attorney, Trial Attorney: Same Job?

Mostly. People search for “criminal lawyer,” “criminal defense lawyer,” “defense attorney,” and “criminal defense attorney” and mean the same thing: the lawyer on the accused person’s side. Lawyer and attorney are interchangeable in Michigan practice.

The one distinction worth knowing is prosecutor versus defense. A prosecutor is also a criminal lawyer, employed by the state (in our courts, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office) to bring charges and prove them. A defense attorney answers only to the client. Some firms also advertise as “trial attorneys,” which signals that they try cases rather than plead everything out. That is a fair question to ask any defense lawyer directly, since most cases resolve without a trial but the ones that need one need a lawyer who is comfortable in front of a jury.

What a Criminal Defense Attorney Does, Stage by Stage

A Michigan criminal case has a fixed sequence, and the defense attorney’s job changes at each step. The table shows where each stage happens for a Wayne County case and what your lawyer is doing there.

Stage	Where it happens (Wayne County)	What your defense attorney is doing
Police contact and investigation	Phone, station, or your door	Taking over communication with the detective, deciding whether you give a statement (usually not), arranging a voluntary surrender instead of an arrest at work
Arraignment	District court for the city of the charge (19th in Dearborn, 36th in Detroit, 16th in Livonia)	Entering the not guilty plea, arguing for a personal bond or a reasonable amount, pushing back on conditions that would cost you your job or contact with your kids
Probable cause conference and preliminary exam (felonies only)	Same district court, 7 to 14 days after arraignment, then 5 to 7 days later	Reviewing the prosecutor’s evidence, discussing any early offer, deciding whether to hold the exam to test the witnesses or waive it strategically
Discovery and motions	District court for misdemeanors; Wayne County Circuit Court Criminal Division at 5301 Russell St. in Detroit for felonies after bind-over	Obtaining the report, dash and body camera video, and lab results under MCR 6.201; filing motions to suppress evidence from an unlawful stop, search, or interrogation
Negotiation	Mostly by phone and at pretrial conferences	Pressing weaknesses in the state’s case for a reduced charge or dismissal; screening you for HYTA, 7411, a domestic violence deferral, or a delayed sentence
Trial	District court (6 jurors) or circuit court (12 jurors)	Jury selection, cross-examining the officers and witnesses, holding the state to proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Sentencing	Same court	Presenting your history, treatment, and employment; arguing the advisory guidelines and the alternatives to jail
After the case	Probation department of the sentencing court; later, the same court for a set-aside petition	Handling probation issues before they become violations; filing for expungement under Michigan’s Clean Slate law when the waiting period runs

A few of those rows deserve more than a table cell.

Before charges are filed

The most valuable hour a defense attorney spends is often before a charge exists. If a detective calls and asks you to “come in and tell your side,” that is an investigation, and the statement you give is evidence. An attorney can find out what the investigation is about, decline the interview on your behalf without it looking like flight, and arrange a surrender on a warrant so you are not arrested in front of your coworkers on a Friday afternoon, which in Wayne County can mean a weekend in custody before a Monday video arraignment.

The arraignment and bond

We have written a full guide to what happens at an arraignment in Michigan. The short version is that the plea is a formality and the bond argument is not. The conditions set that morning (no-contact orders, alcohol testing, travel limits) last for the life of the case, and a lawyer who knows the judge’s habits at the 19th District Court can argue for terms you can live under.

Discovery and motions

This is the part clients rarely see and it decides more cases than trials do. Under Michigan Court Rule 6.201 the defense is entitled to the police report, witness statements, video, and test results. The attorney reads all of it looking for the question that ends the case: Was there a lawful reason for the traffic stop? Was the search consented to or forced? Was the breath test machine calibrated? Were you questioned after you asked for a lawyer? A successful motion to suppress removes the evidence, and a case without its evidence usually does not survive.

Negotiation and the programs that keep a record clean

Most Michigan cases end in a negotiated resolution, and the quality of that resolution depends on two things: the weaknesses the attorney has found, and the programs the client qualifies for. Michigan has several that a defense attorney should screen every eligible client for:

• The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA, MCL 762.11) for offenses committed between ages 18 and 26. Successful completion means no public conviction. For ages 21 through 25 the prosecutor has to agree.
• Section 7411 (MCL 333.7411) for a first drug possession or use charge. The court defers the case, and if probation is completed the charge is dismissed without a conviction.
• The domestic violence deferral under MCL 769.4a for a first domestic assault, available with the prosecutor’s consent after the alleged victim is consulted.
• A delayed sentence under MCL 771.1, which gives the court room to reduce or dismiss a charge after a period of good behavior.

None of these is automatic. Each has to be asked for, and the asking usually happens in the negotiation, not in open court. A client who pleads guilty at the arraignment to get it over with has usually given all of them up.

Trial

Fewer cases go to trial than most people expect, but the credible threat of one is what makes negotiation work. A misdemeanor trial in a district court is heard by six jurors; a felony trial in the Circuit Court by twelve. The defense attorney picks the jury, cross-examines the officers and witnesses, and holds the state to its burden. The client does not have to prove anything.

Sentencing and after

Michigan’s sentencing guidelines have been advisory, not mandatory, since the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in People v. Lockridge, which means the judge has real discretion and the defense attorney’s sentencing presentation matters. After the case, the same attorney is the one who handles a probation problem before it becomes a violation hearing, and who files the set-aside petition when the Clean Slate waiting period runs. Our guide to expunging a DUI or OWI in Michigan covers the one category where that door is mostly closed.

Court-Appointed vs. Retained: What Changes

If you cannot afford a lawyer, Michigan will appoint one. Under the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act, every adult who shows up to an arraignment without a lawyer is screened for eligibility, and counsel is assigned once you qualify. Court-appointed attorneys are licensed Michigan lawyers, many of them experienced, and the right move at the arraignment if you cannot pay is to ask for one and not wait.

What a retained attorney changes is practical rather than professional:

• You choose the lawyer, and you can choose one whose practice is built around the court your case is in.
• The representation can start at the police-contact stage, before there is a case for a court to appoint anyone to.
• The same lawyer stays with the case from the first call through sentencing and any later expungement, instead of the file changing hands.
• Caseload. Appointed counsel in Wayne County often carry heavy dockets. A defense runs on the hours someone can give it, and a retained attorney can commit those hours in writing.

Fees for criminal defense work are commonly quoted as a flat fee for a defined stage or case, so you know the number before anything starts. We put ours in the engagement letter at the first meeting.

What a Criminal Defense Attorney Does Not Do

• Promise an outcome. Michigan’s rules of professional conduct prohibit it, and a lawyer who guarantees a dismissal should make you nervous.
• Lie for you, or let you lie on the stand. The attorney’s duty to the client runs up to, and not past, the duty of candor to the court.
• Handle the civil side of the same incident. The personal injury claim from the crash that produced the OWI charge, or the personal protection order filed alongside the domestic assault, are separate matters, though at a firm like ours they can be handled under one roof.
• Clear a record the law does not allow to be cleared. Some convictions, including a second or third OWI and any OWI involving injury or death, are not eligible for set-aside, and an honest attorney will say so before you plead.

What to Bring to the First Meeting

The first consultation is more useful when the attorney can see the actual case instead of hearing a description of it. Clients who come in with the file below usually leave with a real plan rather than a list of things to send later.

The first-meeting file:

1. Every paper you were handed: the ticket or complaint, the bond order with its conditions, the notice of your next court date, any property or evidence receipt.
2. A timeline of the day, written by you, as soon as possible and before you talk to anyone else about it. Times, places, who was present, what was said. This document is for your lawyer and is privileged.
3. Names and phone numbers of everyone who was there, including people who were in the car or at the house and may not realize they are witnesses.
4. Your phone, with texts, photos, and location history from that day intact. Do not delete anything, even if it looks bad. Deleting is worse.
5. Your own record, as you remember it, including anything you believe was dismissed or expunged. The prosecutor will have the accurate version, and the attorney needs to know before the prosecutor brings it up.
6. Anything related to the stop or arrest: a towing receipt, a breath test slip, a hospital discharge, a bond receipt.
7. The police report, if you have it. Most people do not at this stage; the attorney requests it through discovery.

One thing to leave at home: a prepared explanation. The attorney needs the facts, not the version you have been rehearsing. The explanation gets built later, from the evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a criminal defense attorney do?

A criminal defense attorney represents a person who has been charged with, or is being investigated for, a crime. The work runs from the first police contact through the end of the case: handling communication with detectives, arguing bond at the arraignment, obtaining the police report and video through discovery, filing motions to suppress evidence from an unlawful stop or search, negotiating with the prosecutor, trying the case if it goes to trial, and arguing at sentencing. In Michigan the attorney also screens the client for programs like HYTA or a 7411 deferral that can keep a conviction off the record.

Is a criminal lawyer the same as a criminal defense attorney?

In everyday use, yes. A prosecutor is also technically a criminal lawyer, since prosecutors practice criminal law for the state, but when someone says they need a criminal lawyer they mean a defense attorney. The titles criminal lawyer, criminal defense lawyer, defense attorney, and criminal defense attorney all describe the same job: representing the accused. Lawyer and attorney are interchangeable in Michigan practice; what matters is an active State Bar of Michigan license, which you can check in the bar’s public directory.

What is the difference between a court-appointed attorney and a private criminal defense attorney?

Both are licensed Michigan attorneys. A court-appointed attorney is assigned by the court under the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission system after you are screened for financial eligibility, usually at the arraignment, and the court decides who you get. A retained attorney is one you choose and hire directly, and the representation can start before charges are filed, at the police-contact stage, instead of at the first court date. The practical differences are caseload, continuity, and who picks the lawyer; the license is the same.

When should you hire a criminal defense attorney in Michigan?

As soon as police want to talk to you about anything that could lead to a charge, and before the arraignment if you have been arrested or ticketed. The two decisions that are hardest to undo happen early: what you say to a detective, and the bond conditions set at the arraignment. An attorney retained after a plea or after sentencing has far fewer options than one retained the week of the arrest.

Do you need a lawyer for a misdemeanor in Michigan?

You are not required to have one, but a Michigan misdemeanor conviction is a public record that shows up on background checks for years, and clearing it later means a petition, a waiting period, and a judge’s discretion. Many misdemeanor cases in the Wayne County district courts resolve through a plea to a lesser offense, a deferral program, or a dismissal after a motion, and those outcomes depend on someone who knows the court asking for them. The cost of handling a misdemeanor alone is usually paid years later, on an application or a lease.

Can a criminal defense attorney get charges dropped?

Sometimes, but no attorney can promise it, and you should be wary of one who does. Charges get dismissed when the prosecutor cannot prove an element of the offense, when a court suppresses key evidence after an unlawful stop or search, when a witness cannot or will not testify, or when a negotiated resolution replaces the original charge. What a defense attorney does is build each of those possibilities from the police report and the video forward; whether one of them materializes depends on the facts of the case.

What should I bring to my first meeting with a criminal defense attorney?

Every piece of paper you received: the ticket or complaint, the bond paperwork and conditions, the notice with your next court date, and any property receipt from the arrest. Add the names and contact information of anyone who was there, a written timeline you wrote yourself while it is fresh, any texts or photos from that day, and your own prior record if you have one, including anything you think was dismissed. Bring the police report if you were given one, but most people have not seen it yet; your attorney will request it through discovery.

Conclusion

LegalSolv is a Dearborn, Michigan law firm whose criminal defense practice is led by Hassan K. Bazzi, selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2021 and 2022. We defend misdemeanors, felonies, and OWI/DUI charges in the 19th District Court and the other Wayne County district courts, follow felony cases to the Circuit Court, and handle expungements when the time comes, in English and Arabic.

If police have contacted you or you have a court date on the calendar, talk to us before it.