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The state Court of Appeals recently upheld the nearly six-year sentence for a man who was convicted of drunken driving causing death for a 2007 crash in Macomb Township, in a precedent-setting ruling. Michael J. Bulger unsuccessfully argued that the sentence guideline range of 36 to 71 months for which he was punished should have been lower, 29 to 57 months. He contended a Macomb County judge should not have considered his prior offense, operating a vehicle as a minor with any bodily alcohol content, aka “zero tolerance” legislation. “The drunk-driving statute provides clear evidence that the Legislature intended to use prior convictions under the zero-tolerance provision to increase the sentences of repeat offenders,” the panel ruled. Bulger in October 2007 pleaded no contest to the charge for the April 2007 crash on North Avenue that killed Emilee Floer.

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