Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In the previous article about Driver's License Restoration eligibility, we learned that 2 DUI's within 7 years requires a License Revocation of at least 1 year, and that 3 within 10 years results in a License Revocation of at least 5 years. In this article, we'll examine how picking up any Driving convictions, including Driving While License Suspended/Revoked/Denied (DWLS/DWLR), will extend that period of Revocation, and for how long.

Many years ago, The Michigan Secretary of State used to impose what was then called a "Mandatory like additional" period of Suspension or Revocation if someone was caught driving during a period of valid Suspension or Revocation. Since those days are long gone, and the lingering cases from that period growing fewer, we won't waste a lot of time revisiting ancient history. The major upshot of the Laws that existed prior to 1999 was that a person who got caught driving during a period of Revocation due to multiple DUI's would get another identical period of Revocation slapped upon them.

This meant that a person with 3 DUI's within 10 years, whose License was Revoked for a minimum of 5 years, and who got caught driving during that period would have another 5 years of Revocation imposed upon them.

If they wound up with 10 years to wait before they could apply for a License Appeal, and got caught driving during that time, then they'd get another 10 years of Revocation added. If, after that, they got caught driving during that 20 year Revocation period, they'd get another 20 years.

Recently, I received a Driving Record from someone who, because of those old Laws, is Revoked until the year 2034.

The good news for this shrinking class of people is that they can go to Court and have those pre-1999 Revocations set aside and become eligible to file a License Appeal. There are, of course, certain requirements and conditions that must be met in order to do this, but if they've not been caught driving within the last 5 years of so, then the way can be cleared in order to file a License Appeal.

More common, however, is the situation where a person has been Revoked for a 2nd, 3rd or subsequent DUI after 1999, and then gets caught driving during that 1 or 5 year Revocation period.

Continue reading "How a Revoked License Charge will Affect a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal" »

In the 1st part of this article, we did an overview of DWLS 2nd charges, and saw how where a case is being handled can affect it's outcome. In that regard, we've said a lot, but only learned a little. Let's now turn to the reality of DLWR 2nd and Subsequent charges and how they're handled in Court. As we have noted, the vast majority of DWLR cases originate from multiple DUI's.

A person facing a "true" DWLR 2nd, meaning they only have 1 prior DWLR conviction on their Record, will still have to explain themselves to a Judge. Even if they were caught driving to work, the Judge will point out that they absolutely knew they were not allowed to drive, but chose to do so anyway. What do you say to that?

Before you answer that question, let's add in that many Judges will also point out to the person that all the excuses and promises in the world hold little meaning to them, because this person undoubtedly said those things last time. You know, "been there, done that."

This is were the value of a good Lawyer comes in. Beyond droning on about how old you're client is, and where they work, and how they just want to get on with their life (which is about the most useless waste of words I ever hear come out of a Defense Lawyer's mouth - who doesn't want to "get on" with their life?), a good Lawyer will point out to the Judge that the Client understands that, no matter what happens in Court, they have effectively "shot themselves in the foot." Remember, with each subsequent Offense, a Judge has to figure that whatever sentence the person got last time, it wasn't enough. In order to keep the Judge from "ramping up" the consequences, the Lawyer has to point out to the Judge that there are other consequences to the person's actions, outside of Court, that will automatically be "ramped up" anyway.

What I mean is that the Lawyer needs to point out that the Client is going to get nailed, financially, by the Secretary of State for additional Driver Responsibility Fees. And here's a catch: Even if a DWLR 2nd Offense is reduced to a 1st Offense, the Secretary of State simply counts the number of prior Offenses within 7 years. Thus, a person with 2 DWLR 1st Offense convictions within 5 years is going to pay the same Driver Responsibility Fees as a person who has both a DWLR 1st and a DWLR 2nd Offense. For DRF purposes, such a Plea Bargain has no effect.

Continue reading "Driving While License Revoked in Michigan - 2nd (or Subsequent) Offense - Part 2" »

In the previous articles in this series, we examined the charge of Driving While License Revoked (DWLR) 1st Offense. We learned that, although part of the exact same Law, DWLR is still a different crime than Driving While License Suspended (DWLS), and the majority of DWLR cases arise because the Driver has accumulated multiple DUI's. This article will focus on DWLR 2nd and Subsequent (meaning, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.) Offense. Like the other articles in this series, this one will be broken into 2 parts, the first part being more of an overview of DWLR 2nd Offenses, and the second looking more at how 2nd and Subsequent Offenses are actually handled in Court, and the other consequences they cause. From here on out, we'll simply refer to DWLR 2nd or Subsequent Offense as DWLR 2nd Offense. It will be clear when were talking about 3rd, 4th and additional subsequent offenses.

At first glance, one might think that DWLR 2nd Offense is just a more serious crime than DWLR 1st Offense, and that's partly true. As I frequently point out in these Blog articles, my observations are limited to the Courts of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties. Thus, what I say here may not be accurate in the Courts of other Counties.

Unlike so many "doom and gloom" observations about how bad things are or can be with any given charge, a DWLR 2nd Offense charge does not have to be the end of the world. Of course, if this charge is made out as part of another DUI arrest, it can't get much worse. On it's own, however, a true 2nd Offense is really quite survivable. That's not to say there aren't consequences. As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I can point out that right out of the gate, anyone getting a DWLR 2nd charge has set themselves back at least a whole year as far as any License Appeal goes.

And while that's certainly a valid concern, for anyone facing a DWLR 2nd Offense charge, a more immediate consideration is staying out of Jail. Just like DWLS 2nd Offenses, DWLR 2nd Offenses are Misdemeanors punishable by up to 1 year in the County Jail. As far as Misdemeanor's go, a 1-year Misdemeanor is the most serious of all Misdemeanor charges.

When a person hires a Lawyer to help them in one of these cases, they usually have 2 big concerns: staying out of Jail, and avoiding Probation from Hell. Depending on where the case is being heard, how this works out can be very different from Court to Court.

Continue reading "Driving While License Revoked in Michigan - 2nd (or Subsequent) Offense - Part 1" »