Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Within the body of the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, I have tried to examine the License Appeal process from every possible angle. This article will present a different perspective, as it won't focus so much on the process, or an aspect of the process, but rather something that underlies the whole process; the "voice" of the Lawyer. In a few recent additions to the DUI section and the Criminal cases section of my website, I have focused on the importance of the "voice" of the Lawyer and how, really, it all comes down to this.

In a License Appeal, the Lawyer's "voice" is a bit more understated, but no less important. In a Criminal case, the Lawyer's first job is to help shape his or her Client's side of the story, or at least their explanation for it. In a License Restoration Appeal, that "voice" helps shape the case as a whole. In an earlier article, I noted how the story of a person's Recovery is, in fact, a "story," and that a big part of my job is to help the Client put the words to it.

Imagine, for a moment, if you were sitting out on a suburban backyard patio, and suddenly, you looked up and rather surprisingly saw a deer standing about 20 feet away, just looking back at you. Now, think about how you would tell this story to different groups of people in your life:

To your small children, you'd talk about the deer like you might describe a "bunny rabbit."

To the women in your life, you'd describe the graceful beauty of the creature, with its big eyes.

To the guys you know who are big hunters, depending on your own disposition, you might not say a word, you might ask how they could shoot such a beautiful animal, or you might talk about the venison dish that "got away."

The point is that, depending on the audience, the "voice" of the story, if not the storyteller, changes. Knowing how to tell a story is every bit as important as the story itself, if not more so.

In a License Appeal, it falls to the Lawyer to help put the right voice to the story, and then, once the identity of the particular Hearing Officer who will ultimately decide the case becomes known, to fine-tune it accordingly.

I think I have the right "voice" to win a License Appeal, and, given my overwhelming success, this allows me to offer a win Guarantee. Nevertheless, I know that the voice I use in a License Appeal is neither the only one possible, nor the only one that can win. Still, my voice is strong enough to offer my first-time win Guarantee, and I don't hear any more of those amongst the chorus of Lawyers...

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeals - FInding That Winning Voice" »

In part 6 of this series, we discussed what happens at the actual Drivers' License Appeal Hearing. In this seventh and final installment of our overview of the Driver's License Restoration Process, we'll wrap up with some final observations about what happens after the Hearing. We'll examine how an Appeal is either Granted or Denied, we'll talk about the mandatory ignition interlock system that Michigan residents must install in whatever car they'll be driving for at least a year, and what the term "Restricted" means as far as a License goes, how out-of-state Clients essentially win an "Full" License, and then we'll finish with some commonly asked questions about the License Appeal Process.

Let's rewind a bit. Let's go back to the Hearing Room for a moment. The Hearing has just ended. The Hearing Officer calls the case "off" the Record, announcing the time it ends, and then hits the "stop" button on the Recorder. At that point, goodbyes are said, and we leave the Hearing Room and head toward the waiting room of the DAAD Hearing Office.

After the Hearing has ended, I usually go over it with my Client, and do a sort of "post-game wrap up." Normally, this involves me explaining to the Client how and why I think we won.

That's it. The process, or at least our active part in it, is complete at that point. No decision is announced at the conclusion of the Hearing. Instead, we go home and wait.

I'm often asked about that. Standard protocol is for the Hearing Officer to tell the parties that he or she will take the Appeal under advisement, and, once a decision is reached, will thereafter forward a written copy of that decision to everyone. One of the main reasons the Hearing Officers do not announce a decision on the spot is for safety. Except for those that I handle, many, if not most Appeals, lose.

In my Practice, I win nearly 99% of mine the first time, and, as I have mentioned before, I offer a guarantee that I'll win any Appeal I accept the first time, and will go back, without further legal Fees, until I do win my Client's License back. Thankfully, I've never had to go back a 3rd time, and out of the hundreds and hundreds of cases I've handled, have only had to go back a second time on just a few occasions.

If the Hearing Officer were to announce to someone that they have just lost, it's not hard to imagine someone "going off" on them, blaming them for holding the person back with respect to their employment opportunities, or their ability to otherwise lead a normal life. BY the same token if the Hearing Officers began announcing winning decisions on the spot, while those people would be grateful, others might learn that NOT being told they've won means they lost, and that could result in the same kind of confrontation.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 7" »

In Part 5 of this series, we discussed preparing for a License Appeal Hearing. In this sixth part, we'll move on to examine the actual Hearing, but we'll tie in a few points about the "prep" session that, in the last section, I noted would be better explained here.

The big day is drawing near. For those who've been through the process before, it's no less intimidating, because their prior attempt didn't work out too well, and thus, they're going back to try again. To the person waiting to go in for a License Appeal Hearing, it seems like everything comes down to this. It feels like it's all on the line...

While it may feel that way, the truth is that the Hearing, while important, is NOT the entirety of a License Appeal. It doesn't actually "come down to this." Instead, I try and help my Clients understand that the License Appeal Hearing is just the final step, and one of several such steps, before a decision is made. In this 6th part, we will examine the actual License Hearing, and what a person can expect to encounter, and why, at least if I am their Lawyer, this is really nothing to be nervous about.

As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer who has handled hundreds upon hundreds of License Appeal Hearings, and who has appeared in Court, quite literally, almost daily for the last 2 decades, I have to remind myself that while this is really "just another day at the Office" for me, it is a big deal for my Client. The best analogy that comes to mind is getting a root canal. For me, facing such a procedure is a bit intimidating. Will the tooth survive, or will it break apart, necessitating oral surgery and an implant? All kinds of questions whirl about in my head as that kind of "big day" approaches for me.

Yet for my Dentist, this is, in every sense of the word, "just another day at the Office." He's not worried, because he has a pretty good handle on what will happen, or at least the range of realistic possible outcomes. He'll assure me that everything will be fine, and then he'll begin talking about things like movies, sports, or whatever you might discuss with a co-worker or friend with whom you're sharing lunch.

Take me out of the Patient chair, put me in the same situation with my Client, and I'll do the same thing. I know that we're okay, but not just because I say so. Remember all that stuff back in parts 4 and 5 of this series, where we talked about how the Substance Abuse Evaluation is the foundation of a License Appeal, and that we need to make sure that it's perfect, or darn close to it, and then we examined how much time I'll put into helping with the Letters of Support? Well, if we've done all that, then by the time we file for the Hearing, we're already in EXCELLENT SHAPE. The actual Hearing is very important,of course, but much of the path toward winning (or losing) a License Appeal will have been cleared by virtue of the good evidence submitted beforehand.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 6" »

In Part 4 of this series, we concluded our overview of the documents that must be submitted when a License Appeal is filed. In this fifth part, we'll examine what happens when a Hearing is requested, and how one should prepare for the big day.

Once the Substance Abuse Evaluation and the Letters of Support have been checked, and re-checked, and everything is in order, the whole packet is sent to the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) in Lansing. In my Office, this is done by fax.

Out-of-state people can request either what's called an "Administrative Review," meaning essentially an "Appeal by Mail," or they can (and should) request an actual live, as in "conducted by a Hearing Officer" Hearing. Like those who live in Michigan, the Hearing can (and again, should be) live, and in-person, or it can be done at any Secretary of State Branch Office that has a video terminal.

Those who live in-state MUST go through a live Hearing, but it can either be done by video, or it can be done in-person, by requesting that it be scheduled at one of the 3 DAAD Offices (Grand Rapids, Lansing and Livonia) where the Hearing Officers are physically stationed. In my Practice, I have EVERY case I handle set for a live, in-person Hearing at the Livonia Branch of the DAAD. There are 5 Hearing Officers there, and I am in front of each of them regularly.

This, to me, is very important, and likely accounts, at least in part, for the success I have in winning License Appeals, and allows me to guarantee that I will win any Appeal I accept the first time, or I will go back, without additional Fee, until I do. We'll get to that.

I have noted before that I DO NOT believe in, nor will I ever even consider doing a video Hearing. Beyond the fact that the video equipment used by the State is older than dirt (the "video terminal" is an old, tube-style TV set with a big, antiquated and clumsy "web cam" hooked up to it), the simple fact is that appearing in person has numerous benefits, some of which are just beyond description.

Before we review some of those benefits, let me point out again that, recently, the Secretary of State opened a video terminal about 4 minutes from my Office. The Livonia Branch of the DAAD is about an hour from my Office, yet it has never crossed my mind to save the time and just do the Hearing by video at the much closer and more convenient location. I am such a firm believer in conducting these Hearings in-person that saving an additional hour on the road to personally appear isn't even a consideration. I take these cases to win, and, as I have repeatedly observed, if you're going to do this right, there simply are no shortcuts.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 5" »

In Part 3 of this series, we examined the importance of the role of the Substance Abuse Evaluation. In this fourth part, we'll look at the other part of the required documentation that must be submitted with the Substance Abuse Evaluation when a License Appeal is filed, the Letters of Support.

The DAAD requires at least 3 Letters of Support, and asks for a maximum of 6. While submitting at least 3 Letters is the procedural minimum, a person can submit more than 6, although that's not necessary. We'll examine that shortly.

In a very real way, the Substance Abuse Evaluation is the most important evidence submitted because it primarily addresses the most important issue before the DAAD: That the person's alcohol problem is likely to remain under control.

The other main issue before the DAAD in a License Appeal is that the person's alcohol problem is under control, which basically means that they haven't consumed any alcohol since "X" date. The primary evidence in that regard are the required Letters of Support. This means that the most important purpose of the letters of support is to confirm that the person has not consumed any alcohol since "X" date.

This can sometimes present the first challenge. Not all Letter writers will have known the person when they were drinking. Say Don the Driver quit drinking after his 2005 DUI, and one of his Letters is from Co-Worker Carl, who he has known since he began working at ABC Corporation back in 2009. Carl cannot vouch for Don not drinking in 2006, 2007, or even 2008. All Carl can say is that since he met Don in 2009, Don has not consumed alcohol in his presence.

And that's fine, at least to a point.

If Don was my Client, I'd use Carl's Letter, but I'd also want a Letter, or Letters, from those who knew Don at the time he stopped drinking.

This is where experience matters. What if Don moved out of state in 2008? Sure, his family can vouch for his turnaround then, but they've only seen him a few times a year since his move. As much as Carl cannot attest to what Don did back in 2007 and 2008, the family really cannot vouch much for anything after that, except on those few occasions where they've actually seen Don.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 4" »

In Part 2 of this article, we examined the 2 types of License Appeals (Administrative Review or full Hearing) a person can file, depending on where they live, if they seek Restoration (or Clearance) after a Revocation for multiple DUI's.

In this third Part, we will begin examining the 2 pieces of information that must be filed when either type of Appeal is filed.

In order to begin any kind of Driver's License Restoration Appeal, a person must file at least 2 things with the Secretary of State in Lansing:

1. A Substance Abuse Evaluation, and
2. At least 3 Letters of Support.

In this installment, we'll look at the Substance Abuse Evaluation. In the Part 4, we'll examine the Letters of Support.

The Substance Abuse Evaluation is an actual state form that must be completed by a Substance Abuse Counselor. I have covered this topic in considerable detail on both my website, and in various articles on this blog. One could, quite literally, write a book on this subject alone. For our purposes, we can boil all the detail involved into a few, simple, or at least, simpler points.

The most important thing the Substance Abuse Evaluation provides is a Prognosis. This is the Evaluator's educated prediction about how likely the person is to remain alcohol and drug-free for the rest of his or her life. This is important because, as we noted earlier in this series, the biggest question before the DAAD is whether or nor the person's alcohol problem is likely to remain under control, which essentially means how likely (or not) a person is to remain alcohol-free for the rest of their life. If the Prognosis isn't good enough, then, legally speaking, the Appeal is already lost.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 3" »

In Part 1 of this article, we looked at the importance of a person's self-recognition of an alcohol problem within the context of a Drivers' License Restoration Appeal. We set out the real requirements of the governing Rule in a License Appeal, and we reviewed how those requirements must be met by "clear and convincing evidence."

In this second part, we will begin by examining the various Appeal options available to both Michigan residents, and former residents who now live out-of-state but have a Michigan "hold" on their Driving Record which prevents them from obtaining a Driver's License in another state. Then, we'll take a look at what it means to be a "Driver's License Restoration Lawyer," and I'll go over a few things I think are important to bear in mind as a person searches for the right Lawyer to handle their License Appeal.

If a person with a Revoked License is a Michigan Resident, the only way to "win back" their Michigan License is to go through the full Driver's License Restoration Appeal process. This means they will, at some point, have to appear for a Hearing, even if that hearing is done by video, via closed circuit TV (for the younger readers, this is something like Skype, but with a bad connection and an even worse webcam).

If a person now lives outside of Michigan, or is otherwise a resident of another state, they can either come back to Michigan for a full Hearing, or they can file what is essentially an Appeal by mail, called an Administrative Review, thereby avoiding the trip back to Michigan. Whichever method is used, the person, instead of seeking a License, will try to obtain a "Clearance" which will allow them to get a License in another state.

Not only do I strongly advise against Administrative Reviews (remember, out of 875 such requests received by the state in 2010, a total of 650 of them were DENIED, meaning that 75% of all such "Appeals by mail" were losers), I also firmly believe that the best way to win an Appeal is to appear for a live, and In-Person Hearing. I absolutely DO NOT believe in video Hearings, and will not do one. In fact, I have pointed out that recently, the Secretary of State has opened a video terminal about 3 to 4 minutes from my Office. I could easily choose to do any and/or all of my Hearings there. It would be a lot more convenient for me to drive 3 to 4 minutes down the road, rather than driving nearly an hour to Livonia, but I take these cases to win them, and guarantee that I will. As a result, I absolutely WILL NOT do anything other than a live, in-person Hearing at the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) Hearing Office in Livonia, where I know the 5 Hearing Officers well. No second-rate, choppy, impersonal video Hearing done using equipment that was out-of-date a long time ago can compare to the real thing.

Despite my feelings and the statistical facts about Administrative Appeals, I'm not really too concerned with persuading someone not to try that route, if they're so inclined. I have more than enough work to keep me busy, so I'd rather just deal with someone who thought they would try it on their own, and then lost, and now really wants to do it right, rather than waste a lot of time trying to explain all that in the first place.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 2" »

Within the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, I have covered every facet of the License Appeal process. Some articles cover the process from a much broader, overview perspective, while others, particularly many of those more recent, put a single component under the microscope for a detailed examination. This article will return to the "overview" perspective, so that a reader searching for general information about License Restoration can find a starting point. In that regard, this article will also include a look at how I, as a License Appeal Lawyer, analyze and handle License Restorations. In order to not miss anything important, this article will be broken into seven parts. There will be plenty of links to related articles and relevant sections of my website.

First, let's clarify who and what we're talking about. "License Restoration" is a process that follows a "License Revocation." It means a person has had their License Revoked for 2 or more DUI's, or, in some cases, a combination of DUI's and/or "Drug Driving" Offenses. Because so few cases actually involve a "Drug Driving" Offense, and because the principles involved in the Restoration process are the same anyway, from here on out we'll simply use the term "DUI" as we proceed.

There are 2 classes of Revocations:

1. A 1-year mandatory minimum Revocation for 2 DUI's within 7 years, and
2. A 5-year mandatory minimum Revocation for 3 or more DUI's within 10 years.

This means that after the "minimum" period of Revocation, a person is legally eligible to file for Restoration of their Driver's License. "Legally eligible" and really eligible are not the same thing. Let me explain.

One of the most important requirements in filing a License Appeal is that the person have at least 1 year of Abstinence in order to win back a License. In addition, the person will have to show that a certain period, typically at least 6 months (and that usually means, given that anyone with a 2nd DUI will almost always have at least a year's Probation, an additional 6 months) of "voluntary" abstinence The operative term here is "voluntary."

The body that ultimately decides License Appeals is the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division, or "DAAD." The DAAD rules require, in some cases, a minimum period of at least 6 months abstinence from alcohol, and, in others, a minimum of 1 year. "Voluntary" means just that; a person has maintained their abstinence on their own. This is where many people who stumble through this on their own, and many Lawyers who simply do not know better, make a critical mistake. ANY period of time that a person is on Probation or Parole is NOT considered voluntary. The DAAD holds that if a person is subject to potential legal or penal consequences for drinking, and even if they are not subject to testing, the effective period of such a restriction (meaning Probation or Parole) cannot be considered "voluntary." In other words, a "voluntary" period begins when Probation or Parole ends.

In practice, a person can forget about winning a License Appeal with only 6 months of abstinence; the 1-year period is the minimum that will fly in a real-life Appeal. Thus, I will not accept a case where a person does not have at least 1-year abstinence from alcohol, and at least 6 months of that (or, more likely, another 6 months after that), of VOLUNTARY abstinence, because I know that, with any less, they will NOT win.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Appeal Process in Michigan - Getting Back on the Road - Part 1" »

In Part 1 of this article, we began examining the process by which someone who has moved out of Michigan, but has a Michigan "hold" on their Driving Record goes about obtaining a "Clearance," which releases that hold. We observed that in the year 2010, the Secretary of State received 875 Administrative Appeals, and DENIED 650 of them, meaning that 3 out of 4 such Appeals Lost. By contrast, I pointed out that in that same year, I conducted over 70 live License Hearings, and won each and every one, meaning that 100% of my Clients got back on the road.

In this second part, we will examine my Office protocol for accepting and handling out-of-state Driver's License Appeals. We left off at the end of the first part of this article by noting that in an Administrative Appeals, (and 3 out of 4 cases being Denied proves this), it is quite likely that the Hearing Officer reviewing the case will have a question, or questions, but with no way to ask them, will be left with no choice but to Deny it. We noted that the State, will say, in essence, "See you next year..."

The benefit to me, as a License Restoration Lawyer, is that once someone tries an Administrative Appeal and loses, they are almost always "all ears" when the chance for next year's Appeal rolls around. About the only question they have of me is how soon they can come in and start the process.

And it is a process. It is a labor-intensive, important process for which there are no shortcuts. My first meeting with a new Client is scheduled for 3 hours, and is pretty much solely dedicated to preparing them to undergo the mandatory Substance Abuse Evaluation. And that's just the first step.

Having handled hundreds of cases for people who live out of state, and for hundreds who still live here, in Michigan, but rather far away from my Office, I have developed a pretty efficient system for having them come in the day of their Substance Abuse Evaluation, meeting with them for about 3 hours, then sending them around the block to have the Evaluation completed.

Normally, I like my Clients to have their Substance Abuse Evaluation completed at a local Clinic a few blocks from my Office. I prefer this Clinic because they do a top-notch job of completing the Evaluation. By "top-notch job," I DO NOT mean that they simply take someone's money and crank out a favorable report. The State can smell that kind of quackery a mile away. The Clinic I like does not rent or sell its integrity, and instead conducts a thorough Evaluation which results in a Clinically accurate diagnosis and prognosis of and for a person's alcohol problem and Recovery. This means that a person must, in fact, be both Sober, and committed to remaining Sober, in order to pass muster. Fakers and scammers need not apply.

Normally, a person will have their Evaluation scheduled about 4 hours after our meeting time, so that we can spend 3 hours together preparing for that first step, then they can go and spend another hour getting it done. After that, they can go home, wherever that may be. We can do the rest of our work via phone and fax and email.

Continue reading "How to Clear up a Michigan Hold on Your Driver's License and Get a License in Another State - Part 2" »

As a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I file (and win) over 100 License Appeals each year. More than half of those Appeals are for people who now live outside of Michigan, but are still unable to get a License in another state because of a Michigan "hold" on their driving Record. Most of these cases involve a person having multiple DUI convictions. It is not necessary that all, or even any of those DUI's took place in Michigan. What matters (as anyone reading this has no doubt already discovered) is that the person had a Michigan Driver's License that was Revoked for 2 or more DUI's within 7 years, or 3 or more within 10 years, wherever they may have occurred.

While I have written rather extensively on this topic within the Driver's License Restoration section of my blog, it seems that unless I regularly keep writing about this particularly important topic, finding those articles about "out-of-state" Michigan Drivers' License Restoration issues requires some digging. As always, I will try to do more than just re-state what I've already said in previous articles. Accordingly, this will be a long, 2-part article that will not only explore the options for out-of-state residents who are being held back by a Michigan "hold" on their Driving Record, but will also examine how I handle these cases and get my out-of-state Clients back on the road.

When a person has left Michigan without having had their Driver's License Restored, meaning they have left with their License still Revoked, they often don't understand that this Revocation will prevent them from obtaining a License in another state. Sometimes, because they intend to live outside of Michigan and have no intention of ever returning (except, perhaps, for a visit), they have ideas of beginning afresh in a new place.

As they soon discover, however, the Michigan "hold" on their Driver's License follows them everywhere.

In fact, most people who find me do so as a consequence of learning that they must "clear" the hold on their Michigan Driving Record. Very few people research this issue before they go to the DMV of their new state. Instead, they come home from that DMV and start trying to figure out how to clear up this mess.

In that regard, it does not matter if a person now lives out of State, lives around the block from my Office in Mt. Clemens, or lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, because in each and every one of those cases, there are 2, and only 2, procedures available to clear up a Michigan Driver's License Revocation. We'll get to those shortly. What's different for those who live out of state is the relief sought by whichever procedure a person uses to try and move forward. Let me explain:

A person who lives in Michigan, and wants their License Restored will file for a "Restoration" of their Michigan Driver's License. In other words, they want their Michigan License back. A person who no longer lives in Michigan, and who wants a License in another state, will seek what is called a "Clearance" of their Michigan Driving Record, which means a release of Michigan's hold, or, to put it another way, a "voiding out" of the previous Revocation that prevents them from obtaining a License in their new state.

Continue reading "How to Clear up a Michigan Hold on Your Driver's License and Get a License in Another State - Part 1" »

In part 1 of this article, we began our examination of Rule 13, the rule governing License Appeals. We began with the premise that the first 3 issues of Rule 13 actually all fold into the first issue. We then examined how the second issue in fact does just that, and how and why, after proving the first issue, number 2 can be considered already proven, or moot.

In this second part, we'll pick up by showing how the third issue, like the second, actually "folds" into the first, and how, just as with that second issue, once a person has proven the first, the third can be considered to have been proven, as well.

To put it another way, there really aren't 3 issues here, there is only 1, kind of stated in 3 different ways. This transforms this seemingly complex Rule into something rather easy to understand

Remember, what we're talking about in terms of the first issue has been boiled down to essentially mean that a person must show that they're alcohol problem "is likely to remain under control," which we then interpreted as meaning that the person is a safe bet to never drink again.

The third issue reads as follows:

(iii) That the risk of the petitioner repeating the act of operating a motor vehicle while impaired by, or under the influence of, alcohol or controlled substances or a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance or repeating any other offense listed in section 303(1)(d), (e), or (f) or (2)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of the act is a low or minimal risk.

We can simplify this and take it to mean the person is a low to minimal risk to drink and drive again.

We must therefore ask, how is it even possible that person's alcohol problem has been proven to be "likely to remain under control," but the person could not likewise be said to be a low to minimal risk to drink and drive again, which is really what issue number 3 (iii) is all about?

And the answer: It is not.

Accordingly, by proving that their alcohol problem is "likely to remain under control," a person will have likewise and simultaneously proven that they are a low to minimal risk to drink and drive again. Issue number 3 (iii), then folds into the first, just like issue number 2 (ii) folds into the first. In effect, is also redundant.

Continue reading "Simplifying a Michigan License Appeal and Understanding DAAD Rule 13 - Part 2" »

As part of my Driver's License Restoration Practice, I have tried, within the License Restoration section of this blog, to explain every aspect and facet of the License Appeal process. Many of those articles examine the varying degrees of complexity involved in a License Appeal, and try to boil these issues down to their more manageable, understandable elements.

Sometimes, what seems simple is not. This article, however, will take the opposite approach, and will focus in on a pair of issues that at first glance seem complex and difficult, yet in reality are rather quite simple. In other words, I hope to show how what may at first seem like some monstrously confusing and difficult passages of legal mumbo-jumbo can actually be reduced to a very simple, easy to understand concept.

To be clear, the two issues with which we are concerned are numbers 2 (ii) and 3 (iii) under Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) Rule 13, the rule that governs License Appeals. For reference, here is the relevant part of Rule 13, in all of its "legalese" glory:

(1) With respect to an appeal hearing that involves a review of a determination of the department which results in a denial or revocation under section 303(1)(d), (e), or (f) or (2)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of the act, all of the following provisions apply:

(a) The hearing officer shall not order that a license be issued to the petitioner unless the petitioner proves, by clear and convincing evidence, all of the following:

(i) That the Petitioner's alcohol or substance abuse problems, if any, are under control, and likely to remain under control.

(ii) That the risk of the Petitioner repeating his or her past abusive behavior is a low to minimal risk.

(iii) That the risk of the petitioner repeating the act of operating a motor vehicle while impaired by, or under the influence of, alcohol or controlled substances or a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance or repeating any other offense listed in section 303(1)(d), (e), or (f) or (2)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of the act is a low or minimal risk.

The whole point of this article is going to be to show how issues 2 (ii) and 3 (iii) "fold into" issue number 1 (i), and require no separate evidence or proof. In other words, we are going to demonstrate that, if a person satisfactorily proves issue number 1 (i), they have likewise and simultaneously proven issues number 2 (ii) and 3 (iii). No further proof is necessary beyond that made for the first issue, and issues number 2 (ii) and 3 (iii) can pretty much be safely ignored. To clarify, within Rule 13 itself, issues number 1 (i), 2 (ii), and 3 (iii) are identified as (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively. To make things easier, we'll just refer to them as issues number 1, 2, and 3 wherever possible.

Continue reading "Simplifying a Michigan License Appeal and Understanding DAAD Rule 13 - Part 1" »

Within my Driver's License Restoration Practice, about ½ of my Clients have either moved out of state, or live pretty far from the southeast Detroit-area where my Office is located. Wherever they now live, many of my Clients have moved away from where they lived at the time of their last DUI. Sometimes they move for work, other times for different reasons, but the point is that they no longer live in what could be considered their "old stomping ground."

This is important, because very often, the move to somewhere different helps support what's known as a "Sober lifestyle." As I have noted in other articles in the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, Sobriety is a first requirement in order to win a License Appeal. The whole process of getting and staying Sober is really at the heart of a Driver's License Appeal.

Yet it is also well known that there is no such thing as a "geographic cure" for an alcohol or substance abuse problem.

In this article, we'll examine how, in a License Appeal, a move to somewhere new, while not any kind of "cure," in and of itself, can be helpful and persuasive evidence of a person's establishing and maintaining a Sober lifestyle.

Anyone who has been through any kind of IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) Counseling, or who has attended AA for any length of time has heard the general proposition that there is no such thing as "geographic cure" for an alcohol problem. This really means that a person cannot just move away from where they drink, or from their drinking friends, and do nothing more than expect to get better. The urge to drink will soon be too strong to resist, and without any other kind of plan, that person will, sooner or later, wind up back in the saddle, only somewhere different.

And while this generalization may be true, it tends to be at odds with the way the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Appeal and Assessment Division (DAAD) sees a person's Recovery behavior. The State does, in a very real way, look at all of the changes a person has made as part of their commitment to not drink again, and moving away from bad influences, or, as the AA people say, from "wet faces and wet places," can be a helpful part of that.

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Appeals and the Geographic Cure for an Alcohol Problem" »

Almost all of the articles in the Driver's License Restoration section of my blog examine some aspect or aspects of the License Appeal process. It seems that lately, however, and perhaps because of the sheer number of those articles, some people are less inclined to read through enough of them before calling my Office with any License-related problem. As a result, I thought that perhaps I should outline the kind of cases that fall within the scope of what I do, and those fall outside.

To begin with, ALL of the cases I handle in my License Restoration Practice involve a person having had their MICHIGAN Driver's License Revoked for multiple DUI's, or some combination of DUI's and/or Substance Abuse-related convictions. Many of my Clients now live outside of Michigan, but the central difficulty they have is that their MICHIGAN License has been Revoked. In some cases, they may have, for a time, been able to get a valid License elsewhere, but at some point, they butt up against the Michigan Revocation while trying to renew or get a License in another state. They are told, quite correctly, that they'll need to clear up Michigan's "hold" on their License in order to get a valid License in that other state.

I point this out because any number of people call my Office about a License problem NOT related to Michigan. As a duly licensed Michigan Lawyer, I can only advise, much less represent anyone, as it relates to matters of Michigan Law. This means the core issue in any License case I handle will be a Michigan Driver's License Revocation, even if the person no longer lives here, and simply wants to obtain a Driver's License in another state. I've had people call from other states who have never had a Michigan License and whose legal issues are entirely governed by the laws of another state. I cannot help in those cases. I can only help when there is a Michigan License issue involved.

Another question that comes up frequently is whether or not I can advise someone on how to go about the License Appeal process on their own. Under Michigan Law, a person can file for what's called an Administrative Appeal, which is basically a request for a Michigan License or Clearance by mail. I DO NOT handle such cases, nor do I advise anyone regarding them. There are two reasons for this:

First, and perhaps most importantly, Administrative Appeals are sure losers. According to the Michigan Secretary of State, in the fiscal year 2010, it received 875 Administrative License Appeals. Of those, 650 (74%) were DENIED. That's a 3 out of 4 chance of LOSING!

By contrast, in the year 2010, I handled over 70 live, in-person Hearings, and won each and every one, giving me a 100% win rate. Beyond that, I guarantee that I will win any Appeal I accept, or the next is free.

Continue reading "Driver's License Restoration - Michigan Issues only, Please..." »

In part 1 of this article, we began examining the overall process of Driver's License Restoration, beginning with determining if a person is both "legally" and "really" eligible. We then examined what can rather accurately be described as very foundation of a License Appeal, the Substance Abuse Evaluation.

We'll pick up with the other component that must be completed and submitted along with the Request for Hearing and the Substance Abuse Evaluation, the Letters of Support.

If the Evaluation is the foundation of a License Appeal, then the Letters of Support are its walls. In my Office, I provide sample copies of Letters to my Clients so that they can get an idea of what the Letters are supposed to say, and, as important, what they shouldn't get into. Quite frankly, this isn't nearly as much work as it sounds, because I pretty much tell the Client to get something, anything, down on paper, and send it to me so that I can edit it. Normally, instead of bothering 3 to 6 people to actually write a first draft of a letter, only to have me red-pen all kinds of changes to it so that they can thereafter re-do it, I have the Client write the first draft so that once it has been edited properly, it can be presented to the person who will be signing it and they simply type it up, sign it, and give it back.

After the Letters have been finalized and the Evaluation double-checked and cleared, everything is filed in Lansing. It takes about 4 weeks to get Notice of the Hearing date. The actual Hearing itself occurs abut 2 weeks after that, meaning that it takes about 6 weeks from the date the paperwork is filed until the day someone is sitting in a Hearing Room. I have all of my cases set for a live Hearing in the Livonia Office of the DAAD. Even for those Clients who live out of state, or live in Michigan but far away for the Metro-Detroit area, I have all of my cases heard in the Livonia Office. For what it's worth, there are 3 places where the Hearings are conducted: Livonia, Lansing and Grand Rapids. Throughout the state there are plenty of Secretary of State Branch Offices that will host a "video Hearing" where a Hearing Officer in one of these 3 locations will conduct the proceeding via closed-circuit TV, but I firmly believe in doing a live, in-person Hearing, and then only in front of those Hearing Officers with whom I have years and years of experience.

Because my Office is located in Mt. Clemens, I have the ability to have some of my Hearings done by video just down the road at the Secretary of State Branch Office on Metro Parkway (16 Mile Rd.) and Gratiot. This is only about 4 minutes from my Office, yet I would never even consider it, choosing instead to drive for about an hour to Livonia to have the case heard in person. I certainly don't do this because I like driving so much; I do it because I know it's better, and the results bear that out.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Process in Michigan - Part 2" »

The process of winning back a Michigan Driver's License after a Revocation for multiple DUI's is a succession of steps. Each step is not only important in its own right, but a deficiency at any point in this process stops a person from going forward, and leaves them stranded right where they had the problem. In the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, I have covered just about every aspect of every step in the License Restoration process. In this article we'll take a step back and re-examine the process more as a whole, rather than by individual parts.

At its simplest, the process starts by filing the Appeal, and ends with a decision by the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD). If you think about some of the board games you might have played as a youngster, whatever the rules, the goal was to move from the starting space to the ending space. Getting there, however, was fraught with all kinds of challenges, including missed turns, or a spin or a roll that sent you backward, rather than forward. The License Appeal process can generally be thought of the same way.

In order to even get in the game, a person must be eligible to file a License Appeal. This means one of two things: If a person lost their License for 2 DUI's within 7 years, then they will have to wait a full year before their eligible to Appeal. In practice, this means more like 2 years. If a person was Revoked for 3 DUI's within 10 years, then they have to wait at least 5 years before they can file an Appeal.

While this sounds clear and simple enough, there are loads of things that can mess up the works. As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer who now handles close to 100 License Appeals per year, I have seen just about every situation one could imagine, from the normal to the ultra bizarre. In the usual case, a person will tough out the period of mandatory Revocation and then be eligible to file the Appeal. However, things can go wrong and push that eligibility date farther into the future. These "things" can range from the Court not promptly or properly reporting the last conviction to the Secretary of State to a person's getting caught driving while the License is Revoked. Whatever the background, a person must wait until their eligibility date in order to file a License Appeal.

Being legally eligible doesn't make a person "really" eligible, however. In order to be "really" eligible to start the Driver's License Restoration process, a person must also have made the commitment to get and stay Sober. Sobriety is a must. In other articles I have talked about Sobriety as a perquisite to a License Appeal. And while a person must truly be Sober, and committed to remain Sober in order to really be eligible to win back their License, the definition of Sobriety is much broader than some believe.

Continue reading "The Driver's License Restoration Process in Michigan - Part 1" »

Of all the articles I have written about Driver's License Restoration, I have yet to really describe what happens at the actual License Appeal Hearing. This article will examine what goes on behind the closed doors of the Hearing Room.

First off, it should be pointed out that the main reason this subject is finally coming up in the 78th Restoration article I have written is because almost all of what is so important about these Appeals happens before the Hearing itself. It may sound clichéd, but these cases are won in the preparation. And while preparation alone can't win a License Appeal, a case cannot be salvaged if absolutely all of the evidence submitted is not up to the mark. In other words, nothing that happens at the Hearing can fix a fatal flaw in the evidence previously submitted, meaning the Substance Abuse Evaluation and the Letters of Support.

The Hearing is more of an opportunity to confirm that the person portrayed in the evidence submitted is as good in real life as they seem on paper. As I tell my Clients beforehand, our preparation has been flawless, so if you can simply go in, and be that person, you'll win.

Yet for all of the preparation one can put into a License Appeal, the idea that "this is it" really hits home once the door of the Hearing Room has been closed.

I have all my cases Heard in the Livonia Office of the DAAD. This office is the default location for all Metro-Detroit residents, but as an Attorney, I can request that any Hearing, no matter where the Client is from, be scheduled there.

Hearings are set for every hour, from 9 to 11 am, and 1 to 4 pm. The Notice sent by mail will indicate the Hearing time, followed by the word "sharp." This means that a Hearing set for 10 am will be Noticed up at "10 am Sharp." There are no Hearings scheduled on the half-hour.

The Hearings do not last for more than the allotted hour, and often last far less than that. I often try to put my Clients at ease, as we prepare for their upcoming Hearing, by telling them that our time preparing will far exceed the time we actually spend in the Hearing.

At the DAAD Hearing Office, there is a window at which the Client and the Lawyer check in. If one arrives before the other, each will check in separately.

Continue reading "What Happens in a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal Hearing?" »

The Driver's License Restoration process is just that: a process. I have covered pretty much every step of that process within the various articles of the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog. Equally important as each, or any, of the steps in a License Appeal is how the case is proven. By "how," I mean the legal "standard of proof" that must be met in order to win.

Think about this for a moment: When you hear the phrase "win a License Appeal," what comes to mind? Winning, of course, but what else? Doing enough to win, right? Proving whatever it is that needs to be proven. But exactly what does that mean?

In a Driver's License Restoration Appeal, the standard of proof that must be met for a person to actually win is called "clear and convincing evidence." While this sounds complicated, it is really rather straightforward, and can be best understood by seeing how it falls between the standard of proof required to win a lawsuit and that required to convict someone of a crime.

Now, imagine those famous scales of Justice. Pretty much everyone understands that if one person is suing another, in order to win the lawsuit, the person doing the suing must "tip the scales." This legal standard of proof is called "preponderance of the evidence," and is often described as "50.01% to 49.99%"

Likewise, we generally understand that, in a Criminal case, the Prosecutor has to prove a person's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." That means the scales tilt as far down on one side as they'll go, sending the opposite site as high up as it will go. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a much higher standard of proof than "preponderance of the evidence."

Where does "clear and convincing evidence" fit in? It almost sounds like it would fit nicely about halfway between "preponderance of the evidence" and "beyond a reasonable doubt," doesn't it? And while that's not exactly accurate, it isn't far off the mark, either.

Continue reading "Driver's License Restoration in Michigan - How the Case is Actually Proven" »

My Practice as a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer brings in many calls from people who want to get back on the road. In the last 2 years or so, I have won 168 out of the 170 License Appeals I have filed, giving me a win rate of 98.4%. I guarantee that I will win any Appeal I accept the first time, or the next is free.

One question that has come up quite a bit lately, from a number of callers, is whether or not I will accept their case. They want to know if I think they meet the "standards" I have set to take an Appeal. This is interesting, and a bit ironic, because, as it turns out, almost none of the people who ask this question have anything to worry about.

Recently, I have gone to some lengths to point out, in my various blog articles about Driver's License Restoration, that I am only interested in representing people who are really and truly Sober.

I have likewise made clear that anyone who tells me that they can or will say whatever I want them to, but still believes they can have a glass of wine with dinner, or a beer every once in awhile, no matter what anyone says, can forget about having me handle their case. I'm not interested. I want to win Licenses back for people who have really made the commitment to not drink again.

What's ironic is that those who have made that commitment seem to be those who tend to ready many, if not all of my License Restoration articles. As a result, they know I have that "Sobriety" threshold for accepting new cases. These people, as it turns out, are almost always the ones who have made that commitment to ongoing sobriety. It seems that those who have the most concern about whether I'll take their case or not have the least to be concerned about.

Other people perhaps scan the titles of my more than 70 License Restoration articles, read a little bit here and there, and conclude, from the sheer number of my writings on this topic, that I know my stuff (and I do), and therefore, I am the guy they should hire. By not reading enough of what I have written, however, they have missed something important.

Continue reading "Michigan License Restoration - Are You Ready to Win?" »

Within the numerous articles in the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, I have attempted to answer many of the questions I am asked about this subject, explain the process in detail, and micro-analyze some of the more important parts of that process. This rather long article will be a bit different in that, while it is an attempt to answer a question I am sometimes asked, it will answer questions about me, and why anyone looking to retain a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer should hire me.

This question typically comes up as people ask why they should pay $3000 for my services when there are other Lawyers who will "do" a License Restoration case for less. Of course, there are also Lawyers who charge more than I do, but this article isn't about them.

This is a fair and honest question, and it deserves an equally honest answer.

To begin, it is important to note that for all the endorsements I am about ready to heap upon myself, I back them up with a guarantee that I will win any License Appeal that I accept, or the next Hearing is free. Given that, in the last 2 years or so, I have won 168 out of the 170 License Appeals I have filed (that's a win rate of about 98.4%), I have every reason to back up my words.

I start with this because every Lawyer out there boasts about having "experience." Experience is great, but it needs to be winning experience to be worth anything. A boxer with a 36-39 record has the same experience as one with a 73-2 record, but wouldn't you rather bet your money on the guy with the 73-2 record?

Next, I think it is important to assess the Lawyer's experience and understanding of the License Restoration process. Anyone can write a web page or two and give some generalizations about their "experience" and the License Restoration process, but if you're about to invest your money in a License Appeal knowing that, if you lose, you cannot Appeal again for another whole year, then you need to make sure that any Lawyer you're considering will get you back on the road the first time. All the money saved in going "low bidder" will only be a huge regret if you get stuck bumming rides for the next 12 months.

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Restoration Lawyer - Why Should You Hire Me?" »

In part 1 of this article, we began our examination of the ignition interlock requirement for those who win a Michigan Drivers' License Restoration Appeal. In this second part, we'll examine the 1-year requirement for the ignition interlock device, and what happens if a person has a positive, or multiple positive alcohol tests while under the "supervision" of the device.

Beyond the requirement that a person install an ignition interlock unit in whatever vehicle they drive, they must keep that unit in the vehicle for a minimum of 1 year. At the end of that year, they may file for another Hearing before the Secretary of State's DAAD, and seek permission to have the unit removed. This is a departure from before when, after a year had passed, a person could simply remove the unit.

Technically speaking, a person could file for a Hearing to just remove the ignition interlock, but at the time a person becomes eligible to file an Appeal to remove the unit, they also become eligible to Appeal for full Restoration of driving privileges. It goes without saying, then, that everyone files for full Restoration AND to have the interlock unit removed.

This second Appeal is no different than the first, and requires an updated Substance Abuse Evaluation, new Letters of Support, and a whole, full-blown Hearing.

If, however, a person has what's called a "major violation" while on the interlock, (meaning a rolling violation where the driver does not, within 5 minutes, provide a sample with a BAC of under .04, or the driver has 3 or more minor violations within a "monitoring period) then the interlock company sends notice to the DAAD and the person is bought in for a "show cause" Hearing, at which time the Secretary of State positions itself to Revoke their License all over again, unless the person can "show cause" why that should not happen. As noted before, the DAAD isn't very sympathetic to explanations about positive breath test results.

As I have noted in various other articles I have written, after over 20 years of doing this, I've pretty much seen it all. A few years back I had a case where my Client, who was on a Restricted License with an interlock device, got into an argument with his girlfriend. It must have been a real humdinger, because she went to a nearby party store, bought a beer, chugged it down, and then sat in his car and tried to start it with fresh alcohol on her breath. The machine, of course, went crazy.

Continue reading "License Restoration in Michigan - the Ignition Interlock Requirement - Part 2" »

In this blog, it has been my goal to cover every aspect of Driver's License Restoration. I have approached this by writing 2 kinds of articles: The more general, or "overview" type, and those that cover a particular aspect of the License Restoration process in great detail. This article will likely fall into that first category, being more general in nature.

Most of the time I spend with License Restoration Clients involves preparing them for the Substance Abuse Evaluation, which takes about 3 hours in my Office at the time of our first meeting, and then preparing them for the actual Hearing. In truth, very little of my time is spent on what happens after we win our License Appeal and the person gets back on the road.

I don't really consider this any kind of oversight. My job is to win License Appeals, and I guarantee any Client that I will do just that, or their next round is FREE. Once a License Appeal has been won, the Secretary of State, for all of its shortcomings, is pretty good at explaining the steps involved in getting behind the wheel again.

There have, however, been a few changes in recent years regarding what can and must be done once a person has won a Driver's License Restoration case, and many of these involve the rules regarding the ignition interlock device that must be installed by any Michigan resident who wins a Driver's License Restoration Appeal.

Chief amongst those changes has been the rule, or rules, concerning the ignition interlock.

Most everyone knows that if they win their Appeal, they'll be required to install something in their car. Beyond that however, most people are unsure of what, for how long, and under what condition they must use it.

The ignition interlock unit is a kind of breath-tester that requires the person to give a breath sample before the car will even start. Beyond that, the machine goes "off" from time to time and requires the driver to continue to give breath samples as the vehicle is being operated.

A condition of any License Ordered as a result of a License Appeal is that the person ONLY drives a vehicle equipped with the device. To be clear, NONE of this applies to out-of-state cases where a person is seeking a "Clearance." Instead, it only, but always, applies to any case where a Michigan resident is seeking some kind of Restoration of his or her Michigan driving privileges.

Continue reading "License Restoration in Michigan - the Ignition Interlock Requirement - Part 1" »

As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, one of the first things I do in any case is determine a Client's eligibility date to file a License Appeal. Sometimes, this takes on a life of its own, as any number of people "think" that they're eligible, but don't have any verification of that. This article will focus on how I make that determination, and what I need to do that.

To be fair, any number of people who call me are well past any eligibility date to file a License Appeal, and there's really no issue with that. Also, lots of people have already obtained a copy of their Driving Record, and have confirmed that fact.

The single best thing I can examine is that Driving Record, like a Doctor will examine a Patient's x-ray before determining what course of action to take. Having examined perhaps thousands of these Records, I can make short work of interpreting the information contained therein. In a matter of a minute or two, I can tell a person if they are eligible, or not, to file a License Appeal, or if there is something they can do to make them eligible.

To bypass any difficulties, if a person can get a copy of their Driving Record, and get it to my Office (we accept them by fax, mail, in-person drop off, or e-mail/scan), I can instantly make a determination.

An example of where things aren't so clear came up just the other day. I was contacted by a person who had moved out of Michigan, and went to get a License in his new State. Of course, he was told that he could not obtain a License until he "cleared" his Michigan hold. Next, he contacted me.

It turns out this person has had 3 DUI's in the last 6 or 7 years; 1 in Michigan in 2010, and 2 out-of-state, before that. Now, under Michigan Law, he should be Revoked for at least 5 years for having 3 DUI's within 10 years. Yet he indicated that when he called the Michigan Secretary of State, he was told he became eligible to file a License Appeal earlier this year.

Something is wrong with that. And the last thing I want to do is take someone's hard-earned money, file an Appeal, and be informed, at the Hearing, that there was a mistake. Even if 1 of those out-of-state DUI"s doesn't show up on his record right now, he is going to be asked, at the Hearing, how many DUI's he's had. Even if he lied (and he never suggested he would, nor would I let him...), and won that Appeal, if (and more likely, when) that 3rd DUI ever did hit his Record, it would cause all kinds of problems, and would likely get him back in front of another Hearing Officer. That Hearing Officer would know the guy lied at his last Hearing, and they'd take everything else he said with the knowledge that he has already lied under oath. He'd be doomed.

Continue reading "Reviewing a Driving Record to Determine License Restoration Eligibility" »

Sometimes, in the course of doing whatever we do for a living, we lose sight of the fact that not everyone understands all the little details involved in our line of work. In my capacity as a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, the issue of a person's eligibility to file a License Appeal is an inquiry I make multiple times every day. One look at a Driving Record, or a few quick answers from a caller, and I can tell in a heartbeat when the person will be eligible to file a License Appeal. This article will attempt to explain the timing issues of License Appeal eligibility in a clear, straightforward manner.

In the Driver's License Restoration section of this Blog, I have tried to cover the License Appeal process from every possible angle. The issue of eligibility isn't really about the process as much as when that process can begin.

The primary rules regarding License Revocations are actually pretty simple: If a person has 2 alcohol-related (DUI) and/or substance-abuse related convictions within 7 years, then their Driver's License will be Revoked for a minimum of 1 year.

If a person has 3 or more such convictions within 10 years, then their Driver's License will be Revoked for a minimum of 5 years.

That sounds rather simple, but, it should come as no surprise that it's more complicated than that.

First of all, when we speak of a person being Revoked for a "minimum" of either 1 or 5 years, we principally mean that the person will be ineligible to even start the Driver's License Appeal process until that "minimum" time period has passed. To put it another way, if a person has 2 DUI's within 7 years, their License will be Revoked for a minimum of 1 year. If they wait for 5, or 10, or even 25 years, they cannot just thereafter go to the Secretary of State and have their License Reinstated. The Secretary of State will inform them that they must go through the License Appeal process, and only if they win that Appeal will they be able to be re-licensed. If they lose, then they'll have to wait another year to Appeal again.

Thus, a "minimum" of 1 year means just that; there is no way they'll be able to be re-licensed for at least that long. It could be longer.

Continue reading "Michigan License Appeals - When can I File?" »

As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I have probably put out more information on this very subject than can be found, cumulatively, anywhere else. I have proudly proclaimed that in 2010, I won 100% of the more than 70 cases I filed. I have pointed out that, overall, my win percentage is in the high 90's. I have, in short, tried to convince a potential Client that I'm good at what I do, and I have a proven track record of succeeding at it.

Then I had one of the "a-ha" moments. If I'm really, nearly as good at this as I expect you to believe, why would I ask you to risk your money without a bit more than just my self-description of success? What could I do to put MY money (as opposed to yours) where MY mouth is?

The answer hit me like a ton of bricks. How about backing up my claims with a guarantee? After all, if I'm as good as I claim, it really wouldn't be much of a risk for me to prove that, would it?

So here is my guarantee in Driver's License Restoration cases:

If I take your case, and I do not win your first License Appeal, the next one is absolutely FREE.

For all that talk about how much time I spend with my Clients (usually 3 hours at our first meeting) and how well my staff and I inspect everything to make sure I submit a rock-solid Appeal, why not back it up?

Now, before we go popping the corks on the non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice here, you've got to know there will be some limitations and exclusions.

My guarantee of a free second Appeal if the first one is not successful will not cover any case where the Client goes into some kind of "meltdown" at the Hearing, and starts revealing things that I should have been told beforehand. If, for example,a person begins this process, claiming Sobriety for a year, or two, or however many, but then shows up at the Hearing and admits to having had a sip of champagne last New Year, or having smoked a joint a few months before, that's not covered. Likewise, suddenly revealing a previously undisclosed drug use pattern, or any such thing as would have been relevant in our extensive discussions about Sobriety and Recovery, will void this guarantee.

In other words, my Guarantee is limited to my services. It protects the Client in case I somehow miss something.

So, in the interests of self-promoting, I can now boast not only having, far and away, the most information about License Restoration to be found anywhere, but being the first Lawyer I've ever heard of to guarantee the quality and outcome of a License Appeal.

The more analytical reader who stops and does the math must surely conclude, as I did before ever making this offer, that my potential exposure amounts to less than 5% additional work. That is, if I really do win well over 90% of the License Appeals I file (and I do), and I'm accurate in calculating that figure to actually be in the high 90's, then, at most, I'd be making less than 5% additional work for myself.

That math, however, essentially translates into a 100% guarantee for the Client.

So what are you waiting for, a ride to come and see me?

Let's get you back on the road, legally.

Amongst my many articles about Driver's License Restoration, I have not spent much time examining the required Letters of Support that must be submitted in every case. In truth, I have been reluctant to tackle this subject because I have thought that too much of what I could say about it is part of the "proprietary blend" of ingredients that is my stock-in-trade. In other words, I'm not about to give out the specifics of how I do this, any more than Coca-Cola is going to give the specifics of the "Natural Flavors" that are the basis of the Coke flavor. This is how I help my Clients win License Appeals. This is what I get paid to do.

After thinking about it for a while, however, I have concluded that there is plenty enough to be said about the Letters of Support without giving away any trade secrets.

First, its important to note that the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) requires, in every License Appeal, at least 3, but not more than 6 Letters of Support. This is a procedural requirement, not a suggestion.

The Letters of Support must be submitted with the Original Request for a Hearing. In my Practice, almost all of my Clients will be in a position to submit finalized Letters at the time the Request for Hearing is made. In some cases, there might be a Letter or two that cannot be obtained or finalized by the time the Request for Hearing, Substance Abuse Evaluation and at least 3 Letters of Support are filed. If I don't submit them with the original Filing (sent to Lansing), I'll have the Client get them to me for review, and, if and when they're good enough for submission, will take them to the actual Hearing, where I'll present them to the Hearing Officer as we review the evidence and he or she asks if there is any additional evidence to be submitted.

And that's a very important point. Any Lawyer worth his or her Fee will be reviewing, and helping revise the Letters of Support long before anyone even THINKS about submitting them. Not that long ago, I was sitting in the waiting room at the DAAD Hearing Office, and my Client and I watched some Lawyer come in, take a few Letters from his Client, and being to review them. We sat in shock as he told the Client something like "I wish [the letter writer] would have said something about..."

What good were those Letters going to do? Why weren't those Letters of Support reviewed, and, perhaps more importantly, revised, beforehand?

I generally have revisions to almost every Letter of Support I review. Certainly, more than 90% of the Letters I review are sent back with proposed corrections. And this is after I've explained to the Client, at our first meeting (which lasts anywhere from 2 and ½ to 3 hours), in considerable detail, what the Letters must (and must not) say, and given them sample Letters to use as a starting point.

Continue reading "Driver's License Restoration in Michigan - The Letters of Support" »

Part of my role as a Driver's License Restoration Attorney is to help my Clients frame the story of their recovery. In a previous article, I called this the "Magic Element" in a License Restoration case. In this article, I want to take a detour from the informational type article I usually write, and instead discuss what I love about being a License Restoration Lawyer, and why I'm so enthusiastic about this subject. In that regard, the reader looking to learn about the License Restoration process should read my entire section about this subject, beginning from the bottom of the section, and reading their way to the top. This article is not the place to start that inquiry.

Its easy to understand how someone could feel a rewarding sense of job satisfaction if they were, say, a rock star, or an artist of some kind. What about the person who becomes a foot doctor (Podiatrist), or a CPA? Sure, they probably make good money, but how much intrinsic satisfaction can the person regularly derive from their day-to-day work?

Within the parameters of the Legal profession, there isn't a lot of room for job satisfaction, either. Divorce Lawyers take their Clients at about the worst time in their lives. How much joy can someone get out of being part of a break-up? Estate Attorneys would be hard-pressed to get excited about the last Will they wrote up. Criminal Attorneys most often spend their time helping people clean up an extraordinarily unpleasant situation. I know about that, because its part of what I do.

In License Restorations, however, I am afforded the rare opportunity to help someone get back something they value. I am able to truly look at my work, and the efforts of my Client, and feel satisfaction about producing something good for someone who really deserves it. This is where my earlier reference to the Client's "story" comes into the picture. It's the development of that story, properly told, which results in the person finally being re-licensed. When a person's story is about recovery, its just natural to feel good about helping them get the rewards of all their efforts. Doing something good for someone who has worked for it, and deserves it, really is intrinsically rewarding.

This really all begins at the earliest stage of my relationship with a License Restoration Client. As a matter of protocol, anyone coming to meet with me for the first time has already been determined to be eligible, or soon enough be eligible, for a License Restoration. My first appointment with a new Client lasts about 3 hours, during which I essentially prepare them for the required Substance Abuse Evaluation. In doing so, we examine the transformation the person has undergone from the day of their last drink (often the day of their last DUI Arrest) to the present. My job is to help coax out of the person those sometimes forgotten lessons and stops on the road to Sobriety. Let me explain:

Continue reading "Winning Back a Michigan Driver's License - The Magic of Success" »

In part 1 of this article, we began as brief an overview as I can provide of the License Restoration process. I noted that I have over 40 rather detailed articles about every aspect Driver's License Restoration on this blog, so this is an attempt, admittedly difficult for me, to provide a synopsis, rather than an expose of this subject. I am a License Restoration Lawyer by trade. My day to day work involves Representing people who need to win these Appeals and get back on the road. Still, I can see that the time has come to provide something of a summary of the process. Perhaps this will make understanding each of my more detailed articles a bit easier.

We left off by noting that the standard by which these Appeals are decided is pretty tough.

If a person loses a regular License Appeal, they have to wait a full year to try again. They can file a Circuit Court Appeal of the Hearing Officer's decision, but those Appeals are uniformly a waste of time and money.

A person who files an Administrative Appeal and who loses can, within a number of days, request an in-person Hearing. The problem with that is that whatever errors or problems caused them to lose the first time are now a matter of Record. Thus, a bad Substance Abuse Evaluation, or inadequate Letters of Support cannot be "fixed" until the following year. Those documents are re-evaluated as part of the in-person Hearing Appeal of the Administrative Review.

The 2 issues which must always be proven by "clear and convincing evidence" in every Appeal are:

1. That the Petitioner's alcohol (or substance abuse) problem is under control, and

2. That the Petitioner's alcohol (or substance abuse) problem is likely to remain under control.

In some cases, usually where the person filing a License Appeal has been caught Driving since their License was Revoked, a 3rd issue must be addressed at the Hearing:

3. That the Petitioner is motivated to drive safely, and within the Law.

Obviously, the Secretary of State has a legitimate concern about someone following whatever restrictions are placed upon their License when their prior conduct demonstrates that they'll just go ahead and drive when they have no License to do so. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer will need to be convinced that the person will follow whatever rules are set for them, and not just disregard them and do as they please. Again, this rule only becomes relevant when a person has demonstrated, by prior behavior, that they tend to disregard things, like NOT having a License, and driving anyway.

Of the first 2 issues, it is almost always the 2nd that causes an Appeal to fail. The 1st issue basically requires that the person prove a sobriety date, which almost always must be at least 1 year prior to their Hearing.

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Restoration - An Overview of a License Appeal - Part 2" »

In my numerous articles about Restoring a Michigan Driver's License, I have quite literally picked the process apart, thrusting each stage under the microscope for detailed inspection. If you want details down to the molecule, I've covered it.

This article, separated into 2 parts, will focus on a much briefer overview of the whole process from my point of view as a License Restoration Attorney. If my more than 40 previous articles demonstrate anything, its that these Appeals are detail-oriented, and I a detail kind of guy. Thus, it goes against my inclination to try and "summarize" a process which, by its very nature, is loaded with details. Still, I recognize that not everyone is interested in reading the Encyclopedia a la Jeff about License Restorations. That said, here goes:

The term "License Restoration" applies when someone has had their License "Revoked." Almost all Revocations I deal with involve 2 or more DUI's. Sometimes, there's a Drug-related Driving Offense in there, but all of my License Appeals begin with 2 or more DUI's, or combination of DUI"s and Substance-Abuse Related Driving Convictions.

After a specific period of time (either 1 year for any combination of 2 DUI and/or Substance-Abuse Related Convictions within 7 years, or 5 years after a combination of any 3 such related Convictions within 10 years) a person becomes eligible to file an Appeal in front of the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD). This is the body that either grants, or denies these Appeals.

The Process is formally begun by filing a Request for Hearing and Substance Abuse Evaluation, along with notarized Letters of Support with the DAAD main Office in Lansing. In practice, the process is begun well before that, when the person actually makes an appointment with a Licensed and Credentialed Substance Abuse Counselor to have that Evaluation completed. Taking even 1 more step back, when I Represent someone, the process begins when they meet with me, for about 3 hours, to prepare to undergo that Substance Abuse Evaluation.

The Substance Abuse Evaluation, once completed, must have 2 qualities in order to help an Appeal. If it is lacking either of these qualities, it will GUARANTEE that the Appeal is Denied:

1. It must be "Sufficient," or Legally Adequate, and

2. It must be "Favorable," or helpful to the person Appealing.

A minimum of 3, but not more than 6 notarized Letters of Support must also be submitted along with the Request for Hearing and the Substance Abuse Evaluation. THe content of these Letters is extremely important.

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Restoration - An Overview of a License Appeal - Part 1" »