Criminal

Overview

Student Legal Services (“SLS”) has three criminal defense attorneys: Alexander Hermanowski, Douglas Lewis (Director), and K. Orlando Simón. Please refer to our list of criminal definitions, for a definition of these two terms, as well as, other legal terms.

At SLS, we handle a variety of criminal matters. Criminal, as well as, traffic matters can be handled by the City of Ann Arbor Police Department, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department, or the University of Michigan’s Department of Public Safety (DPS). If you are charged with any crime, contact our office immediately to discuss your legal options. However, we cannot offer advice or defend a student in sexual assault cases.

As for UMPD, it also employs housing security officers who patrol university buildings but are not police officers. Usually, a U-M housing officer will perform an initial investigation and then contact UMPD if the housing officer believes a criminal act has occurred or a student is in need of medical attention. Only police officers can issue tickets and handle arrests.

Sometimes there are instances in which you encounter the police, are questioned, but are not given a ticket—keep in mind that you can still be charged with a crime at a later time. For instance, an officer may search your dorm room or residence and take away evidence for testing. Testing results can take as long as six months. This happens with most marijuana investigations.

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