1/7/13 - An Ohio man who was charged with felony âdrugged drivingâ after a May 2011 crash along I-96 between Webberville and Williamston is expected to plead to a misdemeanor in court today following a ruling last month that dismissed a blood test that indicated marijuana in his system. Jon Goodburn of Columbus was originally charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence of a drug and possession of marijuana for an incident along I-96 east of Williamston Road. But his attorney successfully argued to an Ingham County District Court judge that the stateâs crime lab testing for marijuana intoxication was too imprecise to determine if his clientâs driving ability was impaired at the time of the accident. Michael Nichols (pictured) argued that small amounts of marijuana can still be detected up to 30 days after use. The Detroit News says that when the head of the state police toxicology unit could not satisfactorily explain the testing process to the judge, he ruled the test results as inadmissible. Goodburn, who is scheduled to be back in court today, is expected to plead to an offense of reckless driving, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail. The Ingham County Prosecutor's Office has not indicated whether it will appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, Nichols has criticized a new law that makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle with "any intoxicating substance in a person's system." He says it sets up the potential for innocent people to be convicted and called on lawmakers to amend the law more in line with what he called âconsistent with modern forensic science and its limitations." (JK)
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