Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In the previous Driver's License Restoration blog article, we reviewed how and why Sobriety is a first and necessary requirement in a License Restoration Appeal. Within the world of License Restorations, the terms "Sobriety" and "Abstinence" are used rather frequently. However, within the Rules governing License Appeals, the term "Sobriety" is not used; instead, the applicable Law refers only to "Abstinence."

Yet mere Abstinence is not enough to win a License Appeal. A person must not only be Abstinent, they must be Sober, as well.

This article will examine how these two terms are related, and the important way in which they differ. It is rather likely that the reader who is really "Sober" already understands the difference quite well, and this piece will do little more than vainly demonstrate to them that I do, also. For the reader who is curious about the key difference between the terms "Abstinence" and "Sobriety," they will either find that they their Abstinence includes Sobriety, or they will find that they are coming up short on the most important component of a Driver's License Appeal.

As a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I must make sure any License candidate I Represent is both Abstinent, and Sober. When my Staff takes a License Appeal call, one of the very first questions they will ask is when the caller last consumed alcohol. While the answer to that question does not really address the issue of Sobriety, a person will need to have been alcohol-free, generally speaking, for a minimum of 1 year, and have been off of Probation or Parole for at LEAST 3 or 4 months in order to file a License Appeal.

Abstinence means just that: abstaining from the use of alcohol. Sobriety, on the other hand, necessarily involves being Abstinent, but also means that a person plans on remaining that way for life. As I explained in the preceding article, there is no room in the concept of "Sobriety" for having the occasional glass of wine, sip of champagne, or bottle of beer. When a person makes the decision to get "Sober," it means completely eliminating alcohol from their life. It means, as the AA people say, avoiding "wet faces and wet places." It means ditching the drinking associates (anyone who gets Sober soon realizes that these "drinking friends" weren't ever real friends, anyway), not going to places or events where the primary focus or purpose is drinking, and otherwise establishing and maintaining a "Sober Lifestyle."

As much as Sobriety involves the complete abstinence from alcohol (and any and all mind or mood-altering substances), it is also a state of mind. Sobriety, for the person in Recovery, brings a boatload of benefits.

Continue reading "Michigan License Appeals and Restoration - Why Being Abstinent from alcohol is not Enough" »

Because I make most of my living as a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, certain topics within this field are professionally important to me. One subject that I need to keep near the top of the pile, for my own sanity, is how and why Sobriety is the very first requirement in undertaking a License Appeal. Hopefully, by doing this, I can ward off those callers to my Office who want to Restore their License even though they haven't yet quit drinking. As we shall see, the entire License Restoration process is about "Sobriety." That concept not only dominates the earliest stages of a License Appeal case, but is front and center right through the very last part of these cases, when and where, hopefully, the Michigan Secretary of State, under the eye of its Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) signs off on a person and lets them back on the road with no further obligation or oversight.

In past articles, I have been candid, although rather polite, about this subject. To avoid writing the same article yet again, I'm going to be a bit more candid direct about Sobriety as a first requirement in a License Appeal. Almost every day, my Office receives at least a call or two from someone who wants to get their Driver's License back, but is not Sober. One of the first questions my Staff or I will have of any caller is when they last consumed alcohol. Generally speaking, a person will need to have been alcohol-free for at least a year in order to begin a License Appeal, assuming they are otherwise eligible.

Yet having been alcohol-free for any period of time is not the same thing as being "Sober." Abstinence is a necessary part of Sobriety, but Sobriety is not necessarily a component of Abstinence. We'll examine this dichotomy further in the next article.

Sobriety is nothing that a person can just "b.s." about. In a License Appeal, the State needs to see proof that a person is a safe bet to NEVER drink again. If it was as simple as just filing a License Appeal and showing up to say "I'm better now; I quit drinking," then I'd be out of business and everyone would win their Driver's License Restoration case the first time around.

Instead, the State sets the bar very high; the Rule governing License Appeals (Specifically, Rule 13) requires that a person prove their case in a Driver's License Restoration by what is called "clear and convincing evidence." The previous link will take the reader to a rather detailed discussion about exactly what that means. It is adequate, for the purposes of this article, to simply observe that "clear and convincing evidence" means proving the case by a landslide. It means winning big, and is rather the opposite of just "squeaking by."

Behind all of this lurks an ugly reality: most people with alcohol or substance abuse problems do not get over them. They never get better. Those who attend AA, for example, can lose sight of this as they step into meeting rooms with 7, or 17, or even 70 people, all talking about Recovery. If they were to trade places with a bartender for a while, however, they'd see the other side of the coin. While exact statistics are not available, it is far from an even split. Most people who develop an alcohol problem never beat it. It is only a minority of individuals who are able to successfully and permanently conquer a drinking problem.

The State, meaning specifically the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD), the body that decides License Appeal cases, knows this. Everyone knows this, if they stop for a moment and actually think about it. Examples surround us; high-school acquaintances that drank excessively as teenagers are seldom found years later as Sober and successful. Those familiar "old drunks" we knew in our younger years didn't live to get very old; they just died off. Beyond the rather elite and small club of individuals who are actually Sober and in Recovery, an alcohol or substance abuse problem is a life-limiting, life-long and life-shortening disease.

Continue reading "Why Being Sober is a First and Necessary Requirement in a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal" »

Part of what "inspires" me to write any given article on this blog is often that a particular subject has come up in my dealings with Clients and/or those who call my Office. Recently, the subject of a "sober lifestyle" has come up in several contexts, and, given its importance and relevance to a License Appeal, I thought we might put this issue on the table for a closer examination.

The whole concept of a "sober lifestyle" is more or less an inherent and necessary, if not overlooked, component of Recovery and Sobriety, much like electricity is a necessary element of watching TV. It's there, but we don't spend much time thinking about it.

However, the State, particularly the Hearing Officers of the Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD), do think about it. They look for it in any License Appeal that they decide.

In other License Restoration articles, I have examined the finer points of the issues involved in a License Appeal. Here, we can simply and summarily point out that the two main issues being evaluated by those Hearing Officers are whether the person filing the License Appeal can prove, by Clear and Convincing Evidence, that:

1. Their alcohol problem is under control, and, (more importantly), that
2. Their alcohol problem is LIKELY to remain under control.

As I noted above, the whole notion of a "sober lifestyle" is, more often than not, just an inherent part of a person's Sobriety. Once a person has maintained Sobriety for any length of time, the whole "sober lifestyle" thing becomes second nature, like brushing your teeth in the morning before you leave for the day. However, that "sober lifestyle" is also one of the strongest predictors of a person's likelihood to remain alcohol-free, or to use the State's terminology, that the person's alcohol problem "is likely to remain under control."

For the reader who has undergone the transformation from drinker to non-drinker, let's rewind a bit, to right before your last drink. On that score, the majority, although not all of those who get Sober, fix their last drink as the date of their last DUI Arrest. It really doesn't matter when it was; just think back to a few weeks before you "put the plug in the jug," to use a familiar phrase.

Continue reading "Why a "Sober Lifestyle" is Important in a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal" »

In the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, my various articles examine every aspect and facet of the License Appeal process in sometimes microscopic and painful detail. There is, of course, a method to my madness. I know that it is precisely that attention to detail that has resulted in my winning 184 out of the last 186 License Appeals I have filed (giving me a win rate of 98.92%), since I began really keeping track back in about June of 2009. It is also this attention to detail that makes me so sure I'll win any License Appeal I take the first time that I offer a Guarantee that if I do not, I will handle any subsequent License Hearing without additional Fees until I get the Client back on the road.

In a few of my articles, I have talked about Sobriety. Sobriety is, in fact, a first requirement in a License Appeal. Yet sometimes, I think beyond being the first requirement, it is also the first thing forgotten, or lost sight of, in a Driver's License Restoration case. This article will not just reexamine what I have already dissected in my other articles about "Sobriety," but will look at what the State needs to hear about on the subject from anyone hoping to win back their License. This will be a longer article.

In another recent article, I pointed out that Rule 13 of the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) governs a Driver's License Restoration Appeal. We went on to boil Rule 13 down to 2 parts:

1. That the person's alcohol problem is under control, and
2. That the person's alcohol problem is likely to remain under control.

Upon further examination, we will see that while being "Sober" necessarily means one is abstinent, being "abstinent" does not, necessarily, mean being "Sober." This might make more sense if we look at an example.

Say Snake the Biker got off Probation for his second DUI about a year ago. If we were to ask him about not drinking, and how that's working out for him, Snake might say something like this:

"I hate it. Dude, I'm a Biker. What kind of Biker can't drink beer?" This sucks. But, I know that if I pick up another DUI, I'll be sent off to Jail or Prison for at least a year, I'll lose my motorcycle repair shop, I won't be in the Club anymore, and I'll lose my house, too. So I just sit here, drinking Coke, and hating this mess."

Snake may be abstinent, but he's far from Sober.

Continue reading "Winning a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal Means Being Sober First" »

[Author's note - On July 13, 2011, we received notice that the DAAD Approved a License for the Client mentioned in this article, meaning we won his Appeal.]

In my Practice as a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I have seen just about every kind of case there is. In the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, I have tried to cover all aspects of this subject. One kind of case that comes up from time to time, and which I handled last week, involves a situation where someone has previously won their License back, only to lose it again because they thereafter picked up another DUI. Admittedly, this doesn't happen too often, but it does occur frequently enough for me to have to watch out for it.

While every case is truly unique, it is paramount for me, as a License Restoration Lawyer, to look deeply at the facts surrounding a License Client's "slip" (aka Relapse) that resulted in this predicament. In that regard, there are certain similarities in all of these cases that can prove enlightening.

In several other articles, I have pointed out that I am only interested in representing someone in a License Appeal who is really and truly Sober. I think there is something that simply "rings true" about someone who has made the decision to permanently give up drinking, remain alcohol-free and live Sober. This is equally true whether or not the person is involved in AA, never went to AA, or just no longer attends AA.

The problem, of course, is that the State will basically say "you convinced us once before that you were sober, that you 'got it,' and that you were committed to remaining sober. We misjudged, gave you a License, and you not only drank again, but you drank and drove. So how can we begin to believe that this time, you really 'get it,' and won't do the same thing all over again?"

This is a tough question. At first blush, it seems that about the only thing a person can do is to emphatically profess the sincerity of their commitment to remain sober.

In a way, that's true, but there is more to it than that.

In a License Appeal I handled last week, my Client, when asked that general question by the Hearing Officer, began to explain that at the time of his prior Hearing, he certainly had made all of the "external" changes anyone might as they try to quit drinking. Those changes included things like going to meetings, keeping alcohol out of his home, and hanging around with non-drinkers (at least initially).

Continue reading "Michigan Driver's License Restoration - Winning Back Your License a 2nd Time" »

In my Practice as a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, I am contacted by loads of people who want to legally get back on the road again. Honestly, if I could simply represent everyone who wants to come in and hire me, I'd need to clone myself twice: I'd need two of me to handle the cases, and a third to just handle the business side of things. The basis of my success in this field, however, has to do with making sure I only accept representation on behalf of those who are not only eligible, but also ready to undergo the scrutiny involved in a License Appeal.

That "scrutiny" involves many things, but first, and foremost, it assesses whether or not the person trying either to get their Michigan Driver's License Restored, or obtain a "Clearance" so that they can get an out-of-state License, is really and truly "sober."

At its simplest, my first inquiry of a prospective Client is about their sobriety. Of course, it is necessary that they have not had a drink for at least a year, at the minimum, but I'm equally interested in finding out if their definition of "sobriety" means remaining abstinent. In other words, I need to know that a prospective Client has not only been alcohol-free for the last year or more, but also plans on remaining alcohol-free permanently.

When I am contacted by someone who hints that they're willing to say whatever I want them to say, or otherwise indicates they've had anything to drink in the last year, I know several things right away:

I know that the person is not ready, by a long shot, to begin the License Appeal process.

I also know that they have not read enough of the articles in the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, wherein I make very clear that I'm only interested in taking up the case for those who have honestly made a commitment to remain sober.

Finally, I know that the person, whatever else, has not "hit bottom," or had enough, or whatever term one uses to describe that point where a person has simply gotten sick and tired of being sick and tired, and knows they have to eliminate alcohol from their lives.

Continue reading "Sobriety as a First Requirement in a Driver's License Appeal" »

Sobriety. Few words in the English language can contain so many different, yet related meanings. Depending on the person, the word Sobriety can mean anything from a welcome change of behavior in a family member or friend to the feeling of practically being "born again" in the person who experiences it.

In my line of work as a Driver's License Restoration Lawyer, Sobriety means several things. It is a minimum requirement in order to win a License Appeal. It is the starting point from which my Clients begin to rebuild their lives, and often discover things are better than they ever could have imagined. It is a state of being that cannot be faked, although any number of people try to do just that.

In the rather large collection of articles in the Driver's License Restoration section of my Blog, I examine the License Restoration process in detail, often pointing out that central to any winning License Appeal is the story of a person's Recovery. I have also pointed out that, beyond just looking for Clients to pay my Fee for a License Restoration Appeal, I am looking for people who really, truly have achieved that wonderful state of Sobriety.

The truth is that I've grown used to winning License Appeals. In fact, I'm so confident in my ability to win a License Appeal that I recently added a guarantee in my License cases promising that if I don't win a Client's first License Appeal, the next one is FREE! A necessary component of that success, however, is screening my Clients to make sure they really have gotten Sober.

Merely not drinking is a far cry from real Sobriety. Anyone who is truly Sober knows this, while anyone who isn't is wondering what the big difference is, anyway.

I have had people sit across from me and tell me that they'll say whatever I want them to, but that in reality, no one is going to tell them not to have a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer, every now and then with dinner. I've declined representation in those cases. I have more than enough good work to keep me busy without the need to destroy my reputation by trying to pass off a Sobriety pretender as the real thing.

Continue reading "Sobriety as a Requirement for a Michigan License Appeal" »

Having a keen understanding the concepts and principles of Sobriety and Recovery is necessary in order to be a successful License Restoration Lawyer. Beyond a working knowledge of the 12 steps of AA, or the somewhat simple notion of Abstinence, there lies a whole, vast world of different Recovery strategies people use to get and stay sober. This article will focus on how everyone has their own, unique approach to Sobriety, and how being able to articulate that approach is fundamental to winning a License Appeal.

In the body of my various Driver's License Restoration articles, I have pointed out how the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) has evolved from an agency that pretty much used to only grant Licenses to those actively involved in AA to an agency that has taken on a much broader, more progressive view of the Recovery process. One thing that has not changed a bit, however, is the fact that simply showing up at a Hearing and declaring "I quit drinking" is a sure-fire way to lose a License Appeal.

I have likewise noted that more than half of the Clients for whom I win back a License are NOT actively involved in AA. Of those, about a third to a half have some prior AA contact. A fair number have never been to a 12 step meeting in their life.

As a group, however, my Clients, meaning people who can and will win (or already have won) their License Appeal, are able, by the time we get to our Hearing, to talk about their personal Recovery strategy. Often enough, when I first meet a Client, they need some help in being able to recount, much less describe, the kinds of changes they went through from being a drinker at the time of their last DUI Arrest to being a non-drinker ready to win a License Appeal. Many of them, at least at first, can't do much better than say "I quit drinking." That's where I come in.

In another article about License Restoration, I observed that everyone undertaking a License Appeal has a "Recovery story." It may not be written yet, but as I discussed in that article, the process a person undergoes in changing from a drinker into a non-drinker is a "story" in every sense of the word. My job as the person's Lawyer is to be, amongst other things, a kind of "ghost writer" who helps the person put the words to that story. And make no mistake, those words are important. In order to win a License Appeal, a Recovery story has to hit certain marks. Certain phrases are important. As different as they may be, every Recovery story has certain elements in common.

Some people find and fall in love with AA. AA is still the "golden child" of all Recovery programs. Even if a person never stepped foot into an AA meeting, chances are, if they went through any kind of Counseling or Rehab, they learned certain concepts that have their origin in AA.

Continue reading "Michigan License Restortation Appeals - Everyone's Recovery is Different" »