Michael J. (Mike) Nichols is the author of the West OWI Handbook for lawyers. He also co-authored a chapter update for the West Publication “Inside the Minds” with Dr. Andreas Stolz, PhD and Ted Vosk called “DUI Mathematics.” Mike and attorney Jeremy Brehmer, Esq then collaborated with Dr. Stolz on measurement uncertainty, limits of detection and validation for the same publication. Mike also writes a column for legal newspapers of Michigan on criminal law-based forensic issues called “Mens Rea.”
Mike Nichols is an adjunct professor at Thomas M. Cooley law school’s Lansing campus of DUI Law and Practice and a course on Forensic Evidence in Criminal Law.
Mike Nichols is an active trial lawyer focusing on defending those accused of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. He also focuses on complex forensic issues and other limited litigation matters. He is a founding member of the Nichols Law Firm, PLLC in East Lansing. The firm was launched by Mike and Wendy Schiller-Nichols in 2006 while Mike was co-counsel on one of the most notorious murder trials in Michigan history, People v Holland.
Mike is a founding member and member of the board of Directors for the DUI Defense Lawyers Association of America. He is a frequent speaker for several organizations in particular the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, of which he has been an active member since 2000. He was a CDAM Trial College Faculty member in 2010 and 2011. Mike helped launch the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys (MIAOWIA) in 2012. He continues to serve as the Secretary of the organization. Mike has taught from coast to coast on issues related to trial litigation, DUI Law and practice and forensic evidence.
Mike Nichols is the state delegate for Michigan for the National College for DUI Defense and is a sustaining member of the organization. He is also on the forensic evidence committee for the NCDD. He is an associate member of the American Chemical Society, the American Academy of Forensic Science, jurisprudence section and presented at the AAFS 2012, 2013 and 2014 annual conferences on the Michigan and Federal Rules of scientific evidence, uncertainty, epistemology and other topics. He also challenged the Michigan State Police lab’s methodology for blood alcohol and THC testing successfully in People v Jabrocki, People v Goodburn, People v Carson and he successfully requested a trial judge to order blood re-tested in a felony matter that is pending.
Mike Nichols also obtained a not guilty verdict in 2002 in what is believed to be the first ever “vehicle black box” case to go to trial in Michigan. A 17-year old high school student was charged with negligent homicide following a fatal accident. The electronic data recorder from the vehicle claimed the accused teenager was traveling 14 miles an hour over the speed limit. The jury found him not guilty in 20 minutes after a week-long trial, during which the prosecutor flew in a national expert from San Diego California. The client turned 18 on the second day of the trial. The case was featured in newspaper articles and on television as an example of over-reliance on technology. Mike and his co-counsel called an expert in physics from Michigan State University to explain that the accident could never have happened according to the prosecutions theory.
Mike Nichols lives in Meridian Township near East Lansing. He can be reached at mnichols@nicholslaw.net or 517.432.9000.