Attorney Alan Gocha, Jr.

People that drive the mean streets of Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield and Keego Harbor drive in fear. At least when they've had a few drinks at the bars and restaurants along Orchard Lake or Telegraph Roads, or Woodward Avenue.

If you get pulled over anywhere within the jurisdiction of the 48th District Court and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, you have a 33% chance of facing Judge Kim Small. She has garnered headlines over the years with her tough sentences, putting ordinary folks in jail for up to 30-days on a first offense.

In the case of 5-Hour Energy lawyer Alan Gocha, Jr., after unsuccessfully challenging the police traffic stop, he was sentenced to 6-days in the Oakland County Jail. His appeals, right up the line, also were unsuccessful.

That's when Mr. Gocha turned to the Governor's office. Since his election back in 2010, Governor Snyder has only pardoned 11 people.

A governor's pardon removes the conviction from your criminal history. While many other crimes are eligible for expungement, alcohol-related driving crimes are not among them; a drunk driving conviction follows you for life.

In the case of Mr. Gocha, a high-end lawyer with a single wealthy client, his pardon application asserted that his conviction was slowing deals with Wall Street and making his required international travel more difficult. In 2013, Gocha was among a select group of lawyers featured as "Leaders in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Looking into this pardon, reporters learned that Gocha donated over $25,000 to the conservative Michigan Chamber of Commerce. In addition, one of Gocha's law firm's clients, ETC Capital, donated millions to the Republican Governor's Association.

These were, of course, legal political donations. But we here at the Law Blogger have to ask whether Governor Snyder, who is normally "by-the-book" in his judicial appointments, was somewhat swayed by politics in this case.

Correction's Deputy Director, Russ Marian, does not think so. Mr. Gocha is "just another person" who received no special treatment according to Marian.

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Ben Wallace

What a difference one-year makes.  Last year, our law firm's web site carried a tweet in our news feed about Big Ben attending law school.

Last weekend, any plans the big fella had of convincing a state bar to issue a law license in his name just became more complicated.  Wallace, recently retired from the Detroit Pistons, and a former Chicago Bull and Cleveland Cavalier, was arrested in Bloomfield Township on Saturday night.

News reports have Wallace failing field sobriety tests and submitting to a breath test allegedly resulting in a .14 blood alcohol content.  The legal limit in Michigan is .08; the year-old "SuperDrunk" threshold is .17.

An unloaded pistol allegedly was found in Wallace's Cadillac.  This could actually help him out.

Apparently, Wallace's case was randomly assigned to 48th District Judge Kim Small; known for her harsh sentences for first time offenders of Michigan's drunk driving laws.

Drunk driving is a misdemeanor if a first offense; misdemeanors stay in the district courts where they originate.  Carrying a concealed weapon, on the other hand, is a felony.  Felonies are bound over for trial, or resolution via plea, at the county circuit court.

Judge Small was all over the national headlines this summer when she sentenced former NBA star, Jalen Rose, to nearly a month in the Oakland County Jail.   Would Big Ben have received the same fate?  We'll never know now.

Wallace will most likely plead guilty to both the felony and the misdemeanor and get probation rather than any jail time.  Carrying the unlicensed pistol may have saved the big fella several weeks of sensory deprivation in the Oakland Hotel.

Update:
I was in the halls of the Oakland County Circuit Court on Tuesday when Big Ben was being sentenced by Judge Shalina Kumar.  As predicted, he received probation.

Here's a post to an outstanding criminal law blog that captures the perspective of these local NBA stars' convictions from the national level.

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