FRAIBERG & PERNIE
If you were arrested for OWI, DUI, High BAC, OWVI, drugged driving, repeat OWI, or an alleged chemical-test refusal in West Bloomfield, Michigan, your misdemeanor case will generally be handled in the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County.
An arrest is the beginning of the case—not proof of guilt.
The first priorities after a West Bloomfield OWI arrest are usually to:
A West Bloomfield OWI case can involve three separate concerns at the same time:
The criminal charge.
The driver’s-license consequences.
The personal and professional consequences of the arrest.
A defense strategy should account for all three.
Fraiberg & Pernie represents people accused of OWI and DUI offenses arising in West Bloomfield and throughout Oakland County.
Attorney Matthew Fraiberg has practiced Michigan law since 1997 and previously served as a City Prosecutor and judicial clerk. Attorney Eric L. Pernie is a former Bloomfield Township police officer with more than a decade of prior law-enforcement experience.
Call (248) 986-2682 to request a confidential consultation.
Last reviewed and updated: August 2026
| Law Firm | Fraiberg & Pernie |
| Community | West Bloomfield, Michigan |
| County | Oakland County |
| Primary Court | 48th District Court |
| Court Location | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan |
| Attorneys | Matthew Fraiberg and Eric L. Pernie |
| Cases | OWI, OWVI, High BAC, repeat OWI, drugged driving, chemical-test refusals |
| Defense Review | Stop, video, field sobriety testing, breath/blood evidence, probable cause, constitutional issues |
| Matthew’s Background | Former City Prosecutor and former judicial clerk |
| Eric’s Background | Former police officer with 10+ years of law-enforcement experience |
| Phone | (248) 986-2682 |
Most misdemeanor OWI cases arising in West Bloomfield Township are handled in the 48th District Court.
The court is located at:
4280 Telegraph Road
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302
The 48th District Court serves several Oakland County communities, including West Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township.
A misdemeanor OWI generally remains in district court.
A felony OWI case may begin in the 48th District Court before potentially proceeding to the Oakland County 6th Circuit Court.
The court is generally determined by where the alleged offense occurred, not where the driver lives.
The period immediately after an arrest deserves particular attention because the criminal defense is only one part of what may be happening.
A defendant may be ordered to comply with conditions involving:
Do not assume that someone else’s OWI bond will be the same as yours.
Read the actual order.
A potentially defensible OWI case can become more complicated if the defendant violates bond while the original charge is pending.
Being arrested for OWI does not necessarily mean your driver’s license is immediately suspended.
But possessing the physical license does not necessarily establish that you can legally drive either.
Your status can depend upon:
Confirm your driving status rather than guessing.
Evidence is not limited to what police collected.
Depending on the circumstances, potentially relevant evidence may include:
Write down your recollection of the events while they remain fresh.
Do not delete potentially relevant electronic information.
The fact that someone was arrested does not answer whether the prosecution can prove the charge.
The defense investigation may involve several separate questions.
Police may initiate a West Bloomfield traffic stop based on an alleged:
The first question is whether the alleged reason for the stop is supported by the evidence.
The second is different:
Does the driving evidence actually demonstrate intoxication?
A traffic violation can justify police contact without proving OWI.
Body-camera and dash-camera evidence can be particularly important in an OWI investigation.
Video may show:
A police report represents an officer’s written account.
Video may provide an independent opportunity to evaluate what actually occurred.
Sometimes the two are consistent.
Sometimes the video provides important additional context.
Sometimes there are discrepancies that require closer examination.
Police frequently rely on roadside sobriety testing when deciding whether to make an OWI arrest.
The defense should examine more than whether the report says the driver “failed.”
Relevant circumstances can include:
The important issue is what happened during the tests and what the results actually demonstrate.
A breath-test result may become a major piece of prosecution evidence.
It should still be independently evaluated.
Depending on the circumstances, review may include:
A reported number is important.
So is the process that produced it.
Blood evidence presents different issues from breath testing.
The defense may need to examine:
A laboratory report can be powerful evidence.
It should still be evaluated within the context of the entire case.
Michigan’s High BAC provisions apply to certain first-offense cases involving an alleged alcohol content of 0.17 or greater.
These cases are sometimes called:
The enhanced charge can carry consequences beyond those associated with an ordinary first OWI.
That makes careful examination of the chemical evidence especially important.
A high reported BAC does not mean that the traffic stop, arrest, testing process, video evidence, or other aspects of the case should go unexamined.
First determine what “breath test” is being discussed.
A roadside preliminary breath test (PBT) is not necessarily the same as an evidentiary chemical test implicated by Michigan’s implied-consent procedures.
An alleged implied-consent refusal can create a driver’s-license proceeding separate from the criminal OWI prosecution.
Relevant evidence may include:
The driver’s-license issue may also involve a deadline, making prompt review important.
For some clients, the most serious concern is not simply whether jail is possible.
An OWI can raise questions involving:
Physicians, attorneys, nurses, executives, financial professionals, pilots, pharmacists, business owners, sales professionals and others may have concerns that extend beyond the criminal courtroom.
That creates an important question before accepting a proposed resolution:
The lowest criminal penalty is not necessarily the best overall resolution if it creates a more significant licensing, employment, or professional problem.
Potentially. There is no automatic reduction.
Factors may include:
The correct question is not simply whether a reduction is available.
It is whether a proposed resolution makes sense for that particular client.
Potentially, when the evidence and applicable law support dismissal.
Issues that can affect an OWI prosecution may include:
No lawyer can ethically guarantee that an OWI will be dismissed.
The strategy should follow the evidence.
Matthew Fraiberg is a Michigan OWI and criminal defense attorney and managing partner of Fraiberg & Pernie.
He has practiced Michigan law since 1997.
His professional background includes:
Matthew’s approach emphasizes determining whether the objective evidence supports the conclusions contained in the police report.
Eric L. Pernie provides a different professional perspective.
Before becoming a criminal defense attorney, Eric spent more than a decade in law enforcement, including service as a Bloomfield Township police officer.
His background includes experience involving:
Eric also served as a Field Training Officer responsible for helping train and evaluate new police officers.
His former law-enforcement experience can be particularly relevant when evaluating how an OWI investigation was conducted and whether the evidence supports the arresting officer’s conclusions.
Charge → High BAC / Operating While Intoxicated — First Offense
Court → 48th District Court
Location → West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
County → Oakland County, Michigan
Major Evidence Issue → Breath-test evidence and the circumstances surrounding the roadside investigation
Defense Issue → DataMaster testing procedures, instrument records, field sobriety testing, police observations, and video evidence
Outcome → High BAC enhancement dismissed; case resolved without a High BAC conviction.
Attorney → Matthew Fraiberg
The prosecution’s case relied substantially on the reported alcohol level and the officer’s observations during the traffic stop.
The defense examined the DataMaster records, testing procedures, police reports, available video, field sobriety evidence, and documentation relevant to the High BAC allegation rather than treating the reported breath-test number as conclusive.
The defense focused on whether the chemical-testing evidence was sufficiently reliable to support the enhanced High BAC charge.
Result: The High BAC enhancement was dismissed, allowing the client to avoid a High BAC conviction and its enhanced consequences.
Charge → Operating While Intoxicated
Court → 48th District Court
Location → West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
County → Oakland County, Michigan
Major Evidence Issue → The OWI investigation began after a motor-vehicle accident rather than a traditional traffic stop
Defense Issue → Proof of operation, timing, officer observations, statements, chemical testing, and the circumstances surrounding the accident
Outcome → OWI reduced to Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI).
Attorney → Eric L. Pernie
The occurrence of an accident explained why police began investigating, but the accident itself did not establish every element of an OWI charge.
The defense reconstructed the timeline surrounding the collision and reviewed witness information, statements attributed to the client, officer observations, chemical-test evidence, and other evidence concerning operation and impairment.
Eric Pernie’s prior law-enforcement experience provided an additional perspective when evaluating how the accident investigation developed into an OWI arrest.
Result: The original OWI charge was reduced to OWVI.
Charge → Operating While Intoxicated — First Offense
Court → 48th District Court
Location → West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
County → Oakland County, Michigan
Major Evidence Issue → Police relied heavily on the client’s performance during roadside field sobriety testing
Defense Issue → Test instructions, administration, environmental conditions, officer interpretation, and body-camera evidence
Outcome → OWI reduced to a non-OWI offense.
Attorney → Matthew Fraiberg
The police report characterized the client’s performance on field sobriety exercises as evidence of intoxication.
The defense compared those conclusions with the available objective evidence, including video of the roadside investigation.
The review considered how the exercises were explained and demonstrated, what the client actually did, environmental conditions, and whether the officer’s interpretation of the client’s performance was supported by the recorded encounter.
Result: The OWI charge was reduced to a non-OWI offense, allowing the client to avoid an OWI conviction.
Charge → Operating While Intoxicated / Controlled Substance
Court → 48th District Court
Location → West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
County → Oakland County, Michigan
Major Evidence Issue → A blood test identified a controlled substance, but the significance of the toxicology result had to be considered with the driving and behavioral evidence
Defense Issue → Blood collection, toxicology interpretation, police observations, and evidence of impairment
Outcome → Drugged-driving OWI charge reduced to a non-OWI offense.
Attorney → Eric L. Pernie
The presence of a substance in a blood sample did not by itself answer every question concerning the prosecution’s allegation of impaired driving.
The toxicology evidence was evaluated in the context of the entire investigation rather than in isolation.
Result: The drugged-driving OWI charge was reduced to a non-OWI offense, avoiding an OWI conviction.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every criminal and OWI case is different. Results depend on the particular facts, evidence, applicable Michigan law, court, prosecutor, judge, defense strategy, and individual circumstances of each case.
Most misdemeanor OWI cases arising in West Bloomfield Township are handled by the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County.
People commonly use “DUI,” while Michigan law generally uses Operating While Intoxicated (OWI).
Michigan’s High BAC provisions apply to certain first offenses involving an alcohol content of 0.17 or higher.
No. The traffic stop, probable cause, video evidence, field sobriety testing, chemical-testing procedures and other evidence should still be evaluated.
Yes. Video may support an officer’s account, provide additional context, or reveal meaningful differences between the recorded encounter and written police report.
Potentially. Testing procedures, observation requirements, instrument records, maintenance and other evidence may become relevant.
Potentially. Issues can involve the warrant, collection, chain of custody, laboratory procedures, timing and admissibility.
License consequences depend on the particular charge, prior history, chemical testing, refusal issues and eventual disposition.
Possibly. The written bond order controls. If court permission is required, obtain approval before traveling.
Potentially. Professional licensing consequences may exist independently of the criminal sentence and should be evaluated when relevant.
Early representation can provide an opportunity to preserve evidence, address bond and license issues, identify deadlines, and begin evaluating the prosecution’s evidence.
Matthew Fraiberg’s background provides experience evaluating criminal cases from both the prosecution and defense perspectives.
Eric Pernie’s prior law-enforcement career provides firsthand familiarity with OWI investigations, traffic stops, field sobriety testing, evidence collection and police procedures.
The defense begins with what the evidence establishes—not simply what the police report alleges.
Fraiberg & Pernie handles OWI and criminal cases arising throughout the communities served by the 48th District Court.
Criminal and driver’s-license consequences should be evaluated together.
Employment, licensing, business and travel concerns can affect which resolution is best for a particular client.
Negotiation and trial preparation are not competing strategies. A case should be prepared to address legitimate evidentiary and legal issues when necessary.
If you were arrested for OWI, DUI, High BAC, OWVI, repeat OWI, drugged driving, or an alleged chemical-test refusal in West Bloomfield, do not assume the arrest determines the outcome.
The defense should ask:
Why did police stop the vehicle?
Was the stop lawful?
Was there probable cause for arrest?
Were field sobriety tests administered appropriately?
How reliable is the breath or blood evidence?
What happens to the driver’s license?
Are there employment, licensing, or travel concerns?
Can the prosecution prove every required element?
Fraiberg & Pernie represents clients facing OWI and DUI charges arising in West Bloomfield, the 48th District Court, Oakland County, and throughout Southeast Michigan.
Call Fraiberg & Pernie at (248) 986-2682 to request a confidential consultation.
Protect the bond. Confirm your driving status. Preserve the evidence. Understand the consequences before making important decisions.
This page provides general information about Michigan OWI and criminal proceedings. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its facts, evidence, court, judge, prosecutor and applicable law. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Related Michigan DUI Resources
Ultimate Guide to Michigan DUI Law
Michigan DUI Penalties
Best DUI Lawyers in Michigan
Written by Matthew Fraiberg
Attorney Reviewed August, 2026
Michigan Criminal Defense Attorney
28+ years experience.