My question involves criminal law for the state of: Michigan
I was recently sentenced for a DUI from 5 months ago (friends do in fact, place blacked-out friends in cars and tell them to drive 30 minutes home..as do the police officers they were dating at the time!)
This is my first ever legal offence and I just have a lot of questions, and I don't want to risk getting on the bad side of my probation officer during our first meeting by seeming like I'm looking for loopholes.
I'm currently sentenced to 6 months probation, alcohol counseling, no alcohol, no bars, and no restaurants that serve alcohol. Plus court fees and fines.
Questions:
1. One of my employers has had multiple DUI's before. He told me that Michigan probation law has something about how if you complete 50% of your probation "satisfactorily" and have paid all fines that your probation officer can recommend to the judge to terminate probation early. I can't find any straight answers about this online myself, could someone please explain this to me?
2. Is there any possibility that I would be able to ammend my probation terms, and if so how? I just find it ridiculous that I can't legally walk into an Olive Garden, TGIFriday's, etc, without risking getting arrested. Mainly I don't want to have to avoid every food-related friend and family get-together for 6 months, not to mention having my classy dinner dates at Steak 'n Shake
I was hoping that after beginning the alcohol counseling I would be able to try to plead that case with the courts/probation officer after a month or so for some form of leniency on that note.
3. I saw from looking through these forums that you can get a misdemeanor expunged after a certin period of time, looking on average to be 5 years after the offence. Just wondering if that's the time period in Michigan, and if that just allows it so you don't have to disclose it on employment applications or if it's more then that.
4. My employer also said that there's a possibility that the police would show up at my residence to prove that I do, in fact, live there. Is this true, and if so are they legally allowed to come in and search for signs of alcohol without any probable cause, or through my apartment complex if I'm not home? I'm one of those recent college kids that has a couple of empty liquor bottles that I keep around because they are something you don't see very often, and general nonstalgia.
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just still trying to get my head around all of this!
Thanks!


