FRAIBERG & PERNIE
Looking for an OWI lawyer in Oakland County? Fraiberg & Pernie represents people charged with OWI, DUI, High BAC, drugged driving, and repeat offenses in courts throughout Oakland County, Michigan. Matthew Fraiberg has practiced Michigan law since 1997 and is a former city prosecutor and judicial clerk. Eric L. Pernie is a criminal-defense attorney and former Bloomfield Township police officer. Their work combines review of the police investigation, chemical evidence, driver’s-license consequences, and the court handling the case.
The firm’s Birmingham office serves clients with cases in the 48th District Court and other Oakland County courts, including courts serving Novi, Clarkston, Rochester, Troy, Royal Oak, Southfield, and Ferndale. Review the firm’s case results and client reviews, then call 248-986-2682 for a confidential consultation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
There is no official ranking that identifies one “best” OWI lawyer for every person or every case. The right attorney for you should be able to explain how your particular charge, evidence, court, and driver’s-license issues will be evaluated.
Before hiring an attorney, ask:
Learn more about how to choose a Michigan DUI or OWI lawyer.
Each case requires its own assessment. An attorney’s background or a prior result cannot predict what will happen in another person’s case.
Short answer: Identify your court and next court date, read every bond and testing instruction, check your current driving status, preserve paperwork and potential evidence, and ask an attorney to review any time-sensitive license issue.
An arrest is an allegation, not a conviction. A police report and a breath or blood number are important evidence, but they do not replace review of the complete investigation.
The location of the alleged offense generally determines the district court. Check the court identified on your citation, complaint, bond paperwork, or notice to appear.
The 48th District Court handles cases arising in these communities and others within its jurisdiction. Fraiberg & Pernie’s main office is in Birmingham. Read the page for your community:
Michigan OWI law applies throughout the state, but bond orders, testing instructions, scheduling, and other court procedures must be checked in the court where your case is pending.
The relevant questions depend on the charge and facts. An attorney may examine:
Sometimes the different sources of evidence agree. Sometimes they do not. The defense should be built around what can actually be proved, rather than assumptions based on an arrest or a single test result.
A first OWI can raise questions about bond, testing, a criminal record, employment, insurance, and driving privileges. Jail is legally possible, but an arrest does not make jail automatic. The charge, evidence, history, compliance, and final resolution matter.
Michigan’s High BAC provisions apply in qualifying cases involving an alleged alcohol content of 0.17 or higher. The test result is important, and so are the stop, arrest, video, testing procedures, and license consequences. Read more about High BAC defense in Michigan.
Prior convictions can substantially change the charges and potential consequences. A felony third-offense case may begin in district court and proceed through felony court procedures. The defense should review the alleged prior convictions as well as the evidence in the new case.
Cases involving marijuana, medication, controlled substances, or combinations of substances may present different toxicology and impairment questions from alcohol cases. The exact charge, laboratory findings, officer observations, and applicable law must be reviewed together.
An alleged refusal of a post-arrest chemical test can create a driver’s-license matter separate from the criminal prosecution. A roadside preliminary breath test and a post-arrest evidentiary chemical test should not be treated as interchangeable. Read more about Michigan implied-consent refusals.
Sometimes. The answer depends on the charge, prior record, evidence, applicable law, negotiations, and rulings in the case. Potential issues may involve the traffic stop, arrest, statements, video, chemical testing, witnesses, or whether the prosecution can prove each required element.
A proposed reduction should be evaluated for its complete effect, including criminal penalties, driving privileges, employment, and professional licensing. No attorney can ethically guarantee a reduction or dismissal before reviewing the facts.
Matthew Fraiberg is the managing partner of Fraiberg & Pernie. He has practiced Michigan law since 1997 and previously served as a city prosecutor, judicial clerk, and assistant legal research clerk working with judges in Oakland County Circuit Court. His practice includes OWI, High BAC, repeat and felony OWI, drugged driving, driver’s-license matters, and criminal defense.
Eric L. Pernie is a co-founder of the firm and a former Bloomfield Township police officer. His law-enforcement experience informs the review of traffic stops, field-sobriety tests, officer observations, reports, body-camera footage, and evidence collection.
When comparing lawyers, look beyond a firm’s own description. Review the attorneys’ public professional profiles, ask who will work on your case, read the firm’s case results with their limitations in mind, and consider its client reviews.
Matthew also has public profiles with the National College for DUI Defense, Avvo, Justia, and Martindale-Hubbell. Those profiles are additional places to check his professional information; a directory listing is not a guarantee of a case outcome.
Yes. State law defines the charge, while the court handling the case issues its own orders and schedules its proceedings. Read and follow the specific instructions in your paperwork.
It depends on your current license status, the documents issued, and whether a separate license action applies. Do not assume that an arrest either automatically prohibits or permits driving; review the actual paperwork.
Testing depends on the allegations and the bond order in your case. Follow the written order and ask counsel promptly if any instruction is unclear.
The defense can review how a sample was obtained and tested, the records supporting the result, and whether the evidence is legally admissible and scientifically reliable. A challenge depends on what the records actually show.
Prompt review can help identify court and license deadlines, preserve evidence, explain bond obligations, and begin evaluating the charge.
Fraiberg & Pernie represents people facing OWI and DUI allegations throughout Oakland County. Its main office is at 1000 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Suite 103, Birmingham, MI 48009. Meetings in Oak Park are available by appointment only.
Call 248-986-2682 to request a confidential consultation. Bring your court paperwork, bond instructions, testing documents, and any notice concerning your driver’s license.
Written and reviewed by: Matthew Fraiberg, Michigan criminal-defense and OWI attorney licensed since 1997.
Last reviewed: October 2026.
Attorney advertising. This page provides general information, not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its facts, evidence, applicable law, and court. Prior results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes.