The Michigan jury instructions for OWI, offense by offense

Michigan judges read juries a standard set of instructions that list the elements the prosecutor must prove for each OWI charge. They are in Chapter 15 of the Michigan Model Criminal Jury Instructions (M Crim JI), which was rewritten and renumbered in February 2021.^[1] Every instruction requires proof of each element beyond a reasonable doubt, and jurors are told the defendant does not have to prove innocence or do anything.^[7]

This page summarizes each instruction and quotes the key words. It is a reference for readers following a case. It is not a substitute for the full text, which includes bracketed options the judge chooses based on the evidence, and use notes for the court.

Instruction numbers at a glance

Cases and articles written before 2021 use the old numbers. The instructions' own history notes record the former numbers, shown in the right-hand column.^[1][8]

Instruction	Charge	Former number
M Crim JI 15.1	OWI with high bodily alcohol content (0.17 or more)[2][1]	15.1a[1]
M Crim JI 15.1a	High BAC causing death or serious impairment[6]	Adopted in 2021[6]
M Crim JI 15.2	Operating while intoxicated (OWI)[9]	15.1 and 15.3[8]
M Crim JI 15.2a	OWI causing death or serious impairment[5]	Not covered here
M Crim JI 15.3	Operating while visibly impaired (OWVI)[10]	15.1 and 15.4[8]
M Crim JI 15.4 and 15.4a	Any amount of a Schedule 1 drug or cocaine; and causing death or injury[11]	15.4 was 15.3a[8]
M Crim JI 15.5	Factors for OWI and OWVI, including test results[12][13]	Not covered here
M Crim JI 15.6 to 15.7e	Possible verdicts and verdict forms[4]	Not covered here
M Crim JI 15.8	Refusal of a chemical test[14]	15.9[14]
M Crim JI 15.9	Commercial vehicle, 0.04 to under 0.08[15]	15.13[8]
M Crim JI 15.10	Owner permitting an intoxicated person to drive[16]	Not covered here
M Crim JI 15.11	Under 21 with any alcohol[17]	Adopted in 2021[8]
M Crim JI 15.12	Violation with a child under 16 in the vehicle[18]	Adopted in 2021[8]

The two elements every OWI instruction shares

Each instruction begins the same way. First, "that the defendant operated a motor vehicle. To operate means to drive or have actual physical control of the vehicle."^[3][2] Second, that the defendant operated it "on a highway or other place open to the public or generally accessible to motor vehicles [including any designated parking area]."^[2] The use notes point to People v Rea, which held a private driveway is "generally accessible to motor vehicles."^[19] The commercial-vehicle instruction is the exception: its first element is operating a commercial motor vehicle, and it has no separate place element.^[15]

See what counts as operating and where the law applies for the case law on these two elements.

M Crim JI 15.1: high bodily alcohol content

The third element is that the defendant "operated the vehicle with a bodily alcohol level of 0.17 grams or more" per 100 milliliters of blood, 210 liters of breath or 67 milliliters of urine.^[2] The use note allows lesser offenses of other forms of OWI and OWVI, using only the alcohol provisions.^[2] The possible verdicts are not guilty, guilty of high BAC, guilty of OWI, or guilty of OWVI.^[4] See the high BAC guide.

M Crim JI 15.2: operating while intoxicated

The third element is "that the defendant was intoxicated," chosen from: a bodily alcohol level of 0.08 grams or more, or operating under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, an intoxicating substance or a combination.^[9]

For the under-the-influence theory, jurors are told the ability to operate "in a normal manner was substantially lessened."^[20] A person "does not have to be falling down or hardly able to stand up," but drinking or smelling of alcohol does not by itself prove it.^[20] The test, the instruction says, is whether the defendant's mental or physical condition was "significantly affected" so the defendant could no longer operate a vehicle in a normal manner.^[9] The use note allows OWVI as a lesser offense.^[9]

When jurors agree that the defendant either had an unlawful alcohol level or was under the influence, "it is not necessary that you agree on which of these violations occurred," but all must agree one of them did.^[4] The "under the influence" guide covers these definitions.

M Crim JI 15.3: operating while visibly impaired

The third element is that, because of alcohol or drugs, "the defendant drove with less ability than would an ordinary careful driver," lessened to the point "that it would have been noticed by another person."^[10] It is "the defendant's ability to drive that must have been visibly lessened, not the defendant's manner of driving," though driving behavior may be considered.^[21] The Court of Appeals held in Mikulen that OWVI does not require proof of erratic driving.^[22] See the OWVI guide.

M Crim JI 15.4 and 15.4a: any amount of a Schedule 1 drug or cocaine

For MCL 257.625(8), jurors must find that while operating, the defendant "had any amount of" the specific Schedule 1 substance or cocaine the prosecutor alleges in his or her body.^[11] For the causing-death or injury version, they must also find the defendant "voluntarily decided to drive knowing that [he / she] had consumed or used a controlled substance."^[11] See driving under the influence of drugs.

M Crim JI 15.5: the factors jurors weigh

Jurors are asked about the defendant's mental and physical condition when driving: "Were the defendant's reflexes, ability to see, way of walking and talking, manner of driving, and judgment normal?"^[13] If they find an unlawful bodily alcohol content, they may convict "whether or not this alcohol content affected [his / her] ability to operate a motor vehicle."^[23]

On test results, jurors are told to consider whether the test was technically accurate, whether the equipment was properly maintained, whether the test was given correctly, and whether the person who gave it was properly trained.^[12] They "may infer" the level at the test was the same as at the time of driving, may consider evidence of drinking after driving where it applies, and may give the test "whatever weight you believe that it deserves."^[24]

Causing death or serious impairment: 15.1a, 15.2a, 15.4a

These instructions add two elements to the base offense. One is that the defendant "voluntarily decided to drive knowing" he or she had consumed alcohol or drugs (and, for 15.2a, "might be intoxicated").^[5][6] The other is that the defendant's operation of the vehicle was a factual, "but for" cause of the death or injury, and that the death or injury was "a direct and natural result of operating the vehicle."^[5][6]

This follows the Supreme Court's holding in Schaefer that the operation of the vehicle, "not the defendant's intoxicated manner of driving," must cause the death.^[25] See OWI causing death.

Other Chapter 15 instructions used in OWI cases

• 15.8, refusal. If jurors find the defendant refused, "that evidence was admitted solely for the purpose of showing that a test was offered to the defendant. That evidence is not evidence of guilt."^[14]
• 15.9, commercial vehicle. The prosecutor must prove the defendant operated a commercial motor vehicle with a bodily alcohol content of 0.04 or more but less than 0.08.^[15]
• 15.10, owner permitting. The defendant authorized or permitted the vehicle to be driven, knowing the driver was under the influence, over the limit or visibly impaired.^[16]
• 15.11, under 21. The defendant was under 21 and had a bodily alcohol content of 0.02 or more, or any alcohol from drinking.^[17] Where the evidence calls for it, a further element is that the alcohol was not consumed as part of a recognized religious service or ceremony, though the statute puts the burden of proving that exception on the defendant.^[17][26]
• 15.12, child in the vehicle. The judge instructs on the underlying offense and adds a final element that a child under 16 was in the vehicle.^[18]
• 15.14, reckless driving. Often charged alongside OWI; "willful or wanton disregard" is defined as more than simple carelessness, and the instruction was amended in September 2026.^[27]

The jury instructions are model instructions. The judge chooses among bracketed options to fit the charge and the evidence, so the words read in a given trial can differ from the summaries here.

For the trial itself, see jury trials in OWI cases and refusal evidence at trial. Terms used here are defined in the OWI glossary.