FRAIBERG & PERNIE
If you were arrested for OWI, DUI, OWVI, High BAC, drugged driving, or a related offense in Rochester or Rochester Hills, Michigan, most misdemeanor cases are handled in the 52-3 District Court.
The first days after an OWI arrest can be important. Follow every bond and alcohol-testing requirement, determine whether you can legally drive, preserve paperwork and potential evidence, and promptly address any chemical-test refusal or driver’s-license deadline.
An OWI arrest is not a conviction. A police report is one account of what happened, and a breath or blood result is one piece of evidence. An effective defense examines the entire investigation:
Driving → traffic stop → officer observations → field sobriety exercises → video → breath or blood testing → laboratory evidence → witnesses
The central question is: Does all of the evidence actually tell the same story?
Matthew Fraiberg of Fraiberg & Pernie is a Michigan OWI and criminal defense attorney, former city prosecutor and former judicial clerk who has practiced Michigan law since 1997. He represents clients facing OWI charges in the 52-3 District Court and throughout Oakland County.
Law Firm: Fraiberg & Pernie
Attorney: Matthew Fraiberg
Practice Area: OWI / DUI Defense
Court: 52-3 District Court
Communities: Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Angelus
County: Oakland County, Michigan
Common Cases: OWI, OWVI, High BAC, drugged driving, repeat OWI
Defense Focus: Video evidence, traffic stops, breath and blood testing, constitutional issues, driver’s-license consequences
Experience: Practicing Michigan law since 1997
Phone: (248) 986-2682
Most misdemeanor OWI and DUI cases in Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, and Lake Angelus are handled by the 52-3 District Court in Oakland County, Michigan.
The court handles misdemeanor criminal cases and the initial stages of felony prosecutions, including cases involving:
Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)
Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI)
Drugged driving
Repeat OWI
Reckless driving
Driver’s-license offenses
A felony OWI may begin in the 52-3 District Court before potentially proceeding to the Oakland County Circuit Court.
A strong OWI defense should not begin and end with the BAC number.
The investigation should be reconstructed from beginning to end.
Police may claim speeding, lane movement, an improper turn, equipment violation, erratic driving, or another traffic offense.
The defense should compare the police report with available dash-camera footage, body-camera video, dispatch records, witnesses, road conditions, weather, and surveillance evidence.
A driving mistake does not automatically establish intoxication.
Police reports may describe slurred speech, poor balance, confusion, red or watery eyes, or difficulty following instructions.
Video provides an opportunity to evaluate those observations directly.
Does the recording show the same behavior described in the report?
Does the driver communicate appropriately?
What do speech, coordination, balance, responses, and movements actually look like?
Objective evidence should be compared with the written police account.
Field sobriety exercises occur under real-world conditions.
Performance can potentially be affected by:
Uneven pavement
Weather
Lighting
Footwear
Injuries
Fatigue
Anxiety
Instructions and demonstrations
Video can show what instructions were given, what the driver actually did, and whether the officer’s written description accurately reflects the recorded performance.
Yes.
Depending on the case, defense counsel may examine:
Testing procedures
Instrument records
Maintenance
Accuracy checks
Observation requirements
Operator qualifications
Error messages
Timing
Consistency of samples
The question is not only “What was the BAC?”
It is also “How was that result obtained?”
Blood evidence can also require careful review.
Potential issues include:
Search warrants or consent
Blood collection
Storage and transportation
Chain of custody
Laboratory procedures
Scientific reliability
Timing of the blood draw
Drugged-driving cases may require additional analysis because detecting a substance and proving legally relevant impairment are not necessarily the same question.
An OWI investigation near downtown Rochester may produce different evidence than a traffic stop on M-59 or I-75.
Potential Rochester-area evidence may include:
Restaurant receipts
Business surveillance
Parking-lot cameras
Traffic cameras
Passengers
Witnesses
Rideshare records
Cellphone photographs
Location information
Body-camera footage
Dash-camera footage
Potential evidence can disappear or be overwritten.
That is why early evidence preservation can matter.
The early stages may involve:
Arraignment
Bond conditions
Alcohol or drug testing
Driver’s-license issues
Attorney appearance
Police reports and discovery
Video preservation
Chemical-test evidence
Pretrial proceedings
At arraignment, the court may establish bond, impose testing requirements, address travel, and schedule future proceedings.
Bond conditions are not a finding of guilt, but they must be followed unless the court modifies them.
Michigan OWI cases can involve both a criminal court case and separate driver’s-license consequences.
The outcome may depend on:
The exact charge
Prior OWI history
Chemical-test result
Alleged refusal
Final disposition
Other case-specific circumstances
If you received paperwork involving an alleged chemical-test refusal or Michigan Secretary of State action, review it promptly because separate deadlines may apply.
Sometimes.
Whether an OWI can be reduced to Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI) or resolved another way depends on the evidence, BAC, driving behavior, prior history, constitutional issues, video evidence, prosecutor, court, negotiations, and mitigation.
No reduction should be assumed.
Potentially, depending on the evidence and law.
Issues that may affect an OWI prosecution include:
An unlawful traffic stop
Lack of probable cause
Constitutional violations
Breath or blood-testing problems
Video evidence
Witness credibility
Proof of operation
Proof of intoxication or impairment
Some cases resolve through negotiation. Others involve motions, expert analysis, or trial.
The evidence should determine the defense strategy.
Matthew Fraiberg is a Michigan criminal defense and OWI attorney and managing partner of Fraiberg & Pernie.
He has practiced Michigan law since 1997.
His professional background includes service as:
Former city prosecutor
Former judicial clerk
Former assistant legal research clerk in the Oakland County court system
His practice includes OWI/DUI, High BAC, drugged driving, repeat OWI, felony OWI, driver’s-license matters, and criminal defense throughout Oakland County and Southeast Michigan.
Eric L. Pernie is a Michigan criminal defense attorney and co-founder of Fraiberg & Pernie.
Before becoming an attorney, Pernie served as a Bloomfield Township police officer.
That law-enforcement experience provides another perspective when reviewing traffic stops, field sobriety testing, police reports, body-camera recordings, arrest decisions, and police procedures.
Fraiberg & Pernie therefore brings both former prosecutorial and former law-enforcement experience to Michigan OWI defense.
Most misdemeanor OWI cases arising in Rochester are handled by the 52-3 District Court.
The 52-3 District Court handles misdemeanor cases arising in Rochester Hills and also serves Auburn Hills and Lake Angelus.
Yes. Body-camera footage can confirm, contradict, clarify, or supplement observations contained in a police report.
Potentially. Dash-camera footage may show the driving behavior officers observed before initiating the stop.
Breath and blood evidence can be reviewed for testing procedures, equipment or laboratory issues, timing, collection, chain of custody, and other potentially relevant factors.
An alleged refusal can create separate Michigan driver’s-license consequences. Review the paperwork immediately because deadlines may apply.
Possibly. Driver’s-license consequences depend on the charge, prior history, chemical testing, refusal issues, and final resolution.
Jail is legally possible but is not automatic merely because someone was arrested. The charge, BAC, driving, prior history, accident or injury, evidence, mitigation, and final disposition can matter.
Potentially. Reductions, suppression, and dismissals depend on the evidence, applicable law, prosecutor, court, and circumstances of the individual case. No particular result can be guaranteed.
Someone searching for a Rochester OWI lawyer, Rochester Hills DUI attorney, or 52-3 District Court OWI lawyer may need assistance with several issues simultaneously.
Fraiberg & Pernie’s representation may include:
52-3 District Court proceedings
Bond and alcohol testing
Driver’s-license consequences
Chemical-test refusals
Evidence preservation
Body-camera and dash-camera review
Breath and blood evidence
Constitutional issues
Negotiations
Motion practice
Trial preparation
The objective is not to assume the police are right or wrong.
The objective is to determine what the evidence actually proves.
Matthew Fraiberg
Michigan Criminal Defense & OWI Attorney
Former City Prosecutor
Former Judicial Clerk
Practicing Michigan law since 1997
Fraiberg & Pernie
Birmingham, Michigan
If you were arrested for OWI, DUI, OWVI, High BAC, drugged driving, repeat OWI, or a chemical-test refusal in Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, or Lake Angelus, preserving evidence and understanding your court and driver’s-license obligations should begin promptly.
Fraiberg & Pernie represents clients facing OWI and DUI allegations in the 52-3 District Court, throughout Oakland County, and across Southeast Michigan.
Call Fraiberg & Pernie at (248) 986-2682 to request a confidential consultation with Michigan OWI attorney Matthew A. Fraiberg.
Preserve the evidence. Compare the police report with the recordings. Confirm your driving status. Build the defense around what actually happened.
This page provides general information about Michigan OWI law and criminal proceedings and is not legal advice. Every case depends on its individual facts, evidence, applicable law, prosecutor, and court. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Last reviewed and updated: October 2026
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Written by Matthew Fraiberg
Michigan Criminal Defense Attorney
29+ years experience
Fraiberg & Pernie is an Oakland County criminal defense law firm focusing on DUI and OWI defense in Birmingham, Troy, Royal Oak, Novi, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester and Farmington Hills, Michigan.