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Criminal Law

Foster Swift has a rich history of protecting the rights of the accused and ensuring fairness in criminal cases. Many of our founding partners earned their reputations in the criminal law arena.

Our criminal defense section represents persons accused of crimes including all types of traffic offenses, municipal ordinance violations, and serious felony charges. We handle cases before both state and federal trial and appellate courts. We also handle administrative hearings before state agencies involving professional licensing matters and driver's license appeals. In many situations, a criminal conviction can be a life-changing event. We utilize independent experts to confront charges. We have helped many individuals navigate the criminal justice process and arrive at just outcomes.

Our expertise extends to the following areas:

  • Federal trial
  • State trial
  • Federal appellate
  • State appellate
  • Felonies
  • Misdemeanors
  • Probation violations
  • Drivers licensing actions
  • University relations, implications of criminal charges/convictions 
  • Family law implications of criminal charges
  • Professional licensing implications of criminal charges
  • Expungement of conviction

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We can help make the best of a bad situation. We have developed extensive resources to assist our clients in getting their lives back on track, while protecting the best interests of our clients. When needed, we can make referrals to other professionals including mental health professionals, substance abuse counselors and court probation staffs to assist and protect our clients.

Our many contacts in law enforcement throughout Michigan give us access to key decision makers in the criminal justice process. We have helped many clients save their careers and preserve their reputations.

Michigan’s driver's license sanctions are among the most severe in the nation. We have assisted many clients facing the loss of driving privileges. In many cases we have preserved our clients' licenses and have obtained restoration of driving privileges that were suspended or revoked. 

Foster Swift's criminal defense attorneys have the resources and experience to navigate sophisticated and complicated white collar crime situations in both State and Federal Court. Our attorneys have represented those charged with various crimes in the workplace including fraud and embezzlement. We have a network of expert witnesses to review and assess the evidence. Our attorneys also are experienced with professional license restoration in the wake of white collar crime charges.

Foster Swift has been named a Tier 1 firm in Criminal Defense: White Collar in Lansing by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Representative Matters

  • Attorney Alexander S. Rusek successfully negotiated the dismissal of the assaultive criminal charges against his client less than one week before the start of the trial in the matter.
  • Represented national corporation charged criminally for violating building codes and ordinances. Attorneys Alexander S. Rusek and Toi Thomas successfully negotiated a dismissal of the criminal charges resulting in a de minimis fine for the client.
  • Represented car dealership in a federal lawsuit and associated arbitration matter wherein the Plaintiff claimed numerous violations of consumer protection laws and other causes of action. Case was successfully settled within one week of the client retaining Foster Swift, which included a resolution of the arbitration matter and dismissal of the federal lawsuit without any admissions of guilt or liability.
  • March 2023: Client was charged with Assault and Battery and was alleged to have physically assaulted her minor sister. Following extensive negotiations with the prosecutor, the case was dismissed in its entirety, leaving our client with a clean record.
  • March 2023: Client was charged with Operating While Intoxicated – High BAC and Refusal to Submit to a Preliminary Breath Test. Client, a 20-year old student, was alleged to have crashed his vehicle on the highway with a BAC of 0.194 (more than double the legal limit of 0.08 BAC). After successful negotiations with the prosecutor, client pled to the significantly reduced charge of Operating While Visibly Impaired and was sentenced to fines and costs (no jail, no probation). 

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