Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Most of my Practice is devoted to being a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Lawyer. In reality, at least 75% of my day-to-day work centers upon Michigan License Reinstatement cases where a person has lost their License for multiple DUI's. I have found that there are probably more misconceptions about the License Appeal process floating around than there is correct information. This article will focus on one of those misconceptions, the myth that a person must be actively involved in AA in order to win a Driver's License Restoration Appeal.

In a few previous articles, I specifically examined how and why a person can win a License Appeal without being involved in AA. Rather than repeat the same thing here, this shorter article will focus more on the simple fact that a person can win License without AA, and not so much how or why that's the case.

I should point out that this isn't just my opinion, either. If a person is genuinely Sober, and I accept their Driver's License Restoration Appeal, I Guarantee that I will win their case the first time, or I will continue to Represent the them before the DAAD without further Legal Fee until they do win back their License. Thankfully, with a win rate of over 98%, I don't go have to go back a second time very often.

Driver's License Restoration Appeals are heard and decided by the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) Hearing Officers. All of my cases scheduled for a live, in-person Hearing at the DAAD's Office in Livonia, where there are 5 Hearing Officers before whom I have appeared countless times. There are 2 other Hearing Office Locations in Grand Rapids and Lansing, and numerousl remote locations that do a "video Hearing" over closed circuit TV.

It used to be the case that winning back a Michigan Driver's License without AA was almost impossible. I am told that there is still some of this bias left in the Grand Rapids and Lansing Hearing Offices; since I never go to either of those locations, I really have no first-hand knowledge about how they do things there. Instead, by having all of my cases heard in the same place, I just know what it takes to win when I handle a case. And more than half of the cases I win are for people not active in AA.

That said, most of those Clients not active in AA at the time I file their License Appeal do have some past AA attendance. While not necessary, even the shortest prior involvement with AA is helpful. The AA program, whether you love it, hate it, or just don't care about it, more or less created and provided the language of Recovery. Just about any and everything a person can learn about Recovery or Sobriety can trace its origins to AA.

Continue reading "Winning a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Case Without Going to AA" »

In Part 1 of this article, we began discussing how a person can win a Drivers' License Restoration case without going to AA. We began by acknowledging the important role AA played in the genesis of the whole notion of "Recovery," and how AA has provided much of the language we use to talk about Recovery and Sobriety.

In this second part, we will pick up by examining how a person can get "Sober" without AA, and how and why the State recognizes that AA is but one of many viable ways to Recover from an alcohol problem. In other words, we'll discuss how and why a person can win a License Appeal without going to AA.

In the first part of this article, I noted that more than half of my Clients are not actively involved in AA. Of that group, probably half, or maybe even a bit more, have at least been to AA a few times. Some went for years, some for months, and a few for at least a couple of meetings. They all have their reasons for leaving the program, from outright dislike to simply feeling strong enough in their own Sobriety to not feel the need for the kind of support offered by AA. It really doesn't matter why a person left. What matters is that, in the end, they made a conscious decision that they didn't need to go to any more meetings to stay Sober.

Whether a person attended 1000 AA meetings, or only attended 1, they undoubtedly heard the "first step." Many of those who attended AA for a while will often say that they simply "got it," and felt comfortable leaving the program. Those who only went to a few meetings often say they already "had it," and that the notion of not drinking again was something they had already accepted, meaning that AA really didn't offer them anything more than they already had.

Some people just hated AA. They found it to be too "religious," or "cult-like." Some people just don't do well in groups. Again, whatever the reason a person never attended or stopped going to AA, the key thing, at least for a License Appeal, is that they recognize that they cannot drink alcohol anymore. And even if they've never heard of AA's first step, their understanding of their situation parallels that of any AA attendee; I have an alcohol problem, and the only way to "fix" it is to completely stop drinking.

In a License Appeal, the State is looking not only for abstinence from alcohol, but a commitment to remain abstinent. This is where AA provides, or at least used to provide, an advantage. AA both implicitly and explicitly makes clear that the ONLY way to "control" an alcohol problem is to never drink again. There is no room for debate. And however much a person may like or dislike the AA program, on this score, it is 100% correct. The ONLY way to "control" an alcohol problem is to NOT drink. Period.

Continue reading "How to Win a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal Without Being Involved in AA - Part 2" »

Can a person win back their Michigan Driver's License without going to AA? This article will address this question, and explain why the answer is not only "yes," but also how and why the majority of the License Appeals I file and win (and since about June of 2009, I have won 189 out of the last 191 cases I have accepted) are for people who are not currently attending AA.

Many of the people with whom I speak tell me that they've heard that "you can't win your License back without being in AA." To be clear: That's DEAD WRONG. I ought to know; I win such cases multiple times per week.

However, many years ago, that statement was much closer to the truth than it is now. If the reader had called my Office in back 1991 or 1992 and inquired about a License Appeal, the very first question I would have had is whether or not they were currently attending AA. If they were not, I would have simply instructed them to start going, and call me back after they had at least a year of attendance under their belt.

The pendulum has swung the other way, and I think this represents a better understanding on the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division's (DAAD) part that AA is a great program, and, in fact the ONLY program, for some, but NOT all people. To be clear about this: The MAJORITY of people for whom I win a License Appeal are NOT currently involved in AA.

This is not a knock against AA. As I noted, AA is a great program for lots of people. In fact, it is the only path to true Sobriety for SOME of them. But, in my opinion, one of its biggest shortcomings is that AA kind of "preaches" that it is, without exception, the ONLY legitimate path to true Sobriety.

Years ago, when I had a Substance Abuse Counselor as a Legal Assistant (she later left and became an Ordained Minister, and then moved on to become a College Professor), she helped me understand the whole notion of "Recovery" and "Sobriety" from a more holistic, panoramic perspective. She explained that there were various "schools of thought" about Recovery. Which one worked best for any particular person was a matter of choice, and fit, and that a "one size fits all" approach is just plain wrong-headed.

Continue reading "How to Win a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal Without Being Involved in AA - Part 1" »

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" »

In part 1 of this article, we began an examination of how active involvement in AA can help a person win a Driver's License Appeal.In this 2nd part, we'll pick up with some more examples of why this is the case.

Within the body of my various License Restoration articles, I have written a lot about how I prepare my Client for a Driver's License Restoration Appeal. All of that preparation is put under the spotlight on the day of their actual License Hearing. During the Hearing, I have a number of jobs to do simultaneously. Amongst them is paying attention to my Client's answers to the Hearing Officer's questions. This helps me determine, what, if any questions I ask my Client when I subsequently re-examine them. In the larger picture, this helps me control the impression that is ultimately made at the Hearing.

A few years ago, I was sitting in a Hearing with a Client who was an active AA participant. This man credited the program with not only bringing him to sobriety, but also saving his life. During the course of the Hearing, he was asked by the Hearing Officer to talk about a step or steps, other than the 1st, that were particularly important to him, and to explain why. I felt a surge of satisfaction run through me, as I knew this guy could step up and hit this one out of the park.

Imagine how that feeling of confidence drained out of me, only to be replaced by a cold panic, as I heard him begin an answer that went something like this:

"A lot of people talk about AA as being a 12 step program, but the truth is that it's more like one big jewel, which is really the 1st step, with 11 facets to it." At this point, I was wishing I could kick him under the table, but in the Hearing Room, there's no way to do that without being seen. I struggled to keep a straight face, all the while feeling like our Appeal was dropping like a rock.

My Client continued: "If you took a guy to just 1 meeting in his life, and he heard the 1st step, and never even knew there were 11 more, and if you really explained that 1st step to him, he might just get it, and get the idea that he can't ever drink again. On the other hand, if you exposed him to steps 2 through 12, no matter how many times he heard it, it wouldn't help him quit drinking. Those steps improve a person's sobriety, but only the 1st step can actually give it."

I felt somewhat relieved that the Client had explained himself this way. Just moments before, I thought we were about to crash and burn. As I looked up, I felt even more relief as I saw the Hearing Officer smile and nod. The end result was that the guy won his Appeal.

Continue reading "How Being Involved in AA can Help win a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Case - Part 2" »

In a my various blog articles about Driver's License Restoration, I have written in some detail about how someone who does not go to AA can still win a License Appeal. I have noted that somewhat more that ½ of the people for whom I win a License Appeal are not involved in AA. To date, I have not addressed how those who are actively involved in AA have an advantage in that regard. This article will focus on a Driver's License Appeal for someone who is active in AA. Because even a relatively brief overview of this subject will take some space, this article will be broken into 2 parts.

The reader should bear in mind, as we begin, that I never encourage anyone who does or has not gone to AA to start doing so. I believe that whatever a person has done to get and remain sober is, at the core, the truth of their "story" of recovery. Winning a License Appeal is all about properly relating that process. Thus, when someone who has become and remained sober asks me if they should start going to, or going back to AA, I always say "no."

Perhaps part of that is because those who are actively involved in AA undergo a number of transformations as part of their growth within the program. One of those transformations involves becoming honest, both to themselves, and with others. The AA credo, "To thine own self be true" mandates a personal honesty that is an anathema to the practicing alcoholic. AA people want to tell their story because its both true, and because one of the ways they learn to get better is by sharing stories.

If winning a License Appeal was as simple as going in and showing that someone has been in AA for some number of years, this would be about the end of our discussion, and I'd be out of business. The reader seeking to learn about the legal issues involved in Driver's License Restoration Appeal should take the time to read most of the articles from the Driver's License Restoration section of this blog, starting from the bottom, and reading up. For purposes of this discussion, the most important issue (and the one that causes more License Appeals to lose than any other) is set forth in DAAD Rule 13 as follows:

The Petitioner, by clear and convincing evidence, must prove the following:

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

In other words, the person needs to prove that they are a safe bet to never drink again.

At first glance, it would seem that just being involved in AA is enough to satisfy that requirement. However, the State knows that any number of people become involved in AA, for varying lengths of time, and then have a "slip," or relapse. The upshot of that is that there are people are going to meetings at any given time who will drink again. In that sense, they may be able to parrot the steps or words of AA, but they clearly don't yet "get it." Lots of people who finally and subsequently embrace sobriety will say they needed that "slip," or relapse, to reinforce those lessons of AA, that, until then, were perhaps understood intellectually, but not as the immutable truths they are. "Getting it" means coming to an understanding, at the core of a person's being, that the principal lesson of AA, that a person can never drink again without picking up where they left off, is unquestionable. Therefore, an important part of what the DAAD tries to discern is if a person going to AA has really "gotten it" or not.

Continue reading "How Being Involved in AA can Help win a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Case - Part 1" »

Within the catalog of my Driver's License Restoration articles, is has been my goal to cover every aspect of these cases, and address those questions which come up regularly. In that vein, I am often asked about the chances of winning a License Restoration Appeal if someone does not go to AA. I can answer that question with a bit of good news: AA is not required. In a recent blog article I began an examination of the difference between going to AA, as opposed to NOT going to AA. This article will continue that examination in more detail, with a brief look at how someone who has never gone to AA can win a License Appeal Hearing.

To be clear, active involvement in AA is helpful. But in my Driver's License Restoration Practice, more than ½ of the people for whom I win a License Appeal are not active in the AA program. It is not necessary. Amongst my license Restoration Clients who are NOT currently active in AA, I'd say that about ½ of them had previously attended the program, even if such attendance was Court ordered. The other ½ have never been to a meeting in their lives.

It is true that back more than 10 years ago, it at least seemed impossible to win a License Appeal without being involved in AA. This lingering impression is why many old-time AA attendees will tell anyone within earshot that the only way to get a License back is to keep coming to meetings. In fact, it was the case in my own office that, about 10 or more years before now, I wouldn't even consider accepting a License Appeal unless the person was actively involved in AA.

Much has changed for the better, and not a minute too soon. In the first instance, it needed to be recognized that imposing an AA requirement on License Restoration Petitioners was contrary to the treatment outlined by many Substance Abuse Counselors, who did not feel, in any particular case, that AA was necessary for a person's recovery. It has always been the case that a qualified Substance Abuse Counselor would evaluate a new Client and develop the Treatment Program they felt best suited the person. In some cases, AA was recommended, and in others, it was not. So how is it that these people who spend all day, every day, treating Alcohol and Drug problems could be so wrong about what a person needs?

They could not. The State had to accept that, whatever it might prefer, diagnosing and treating an alcohol problem, and calculating what, if any, ongoing support a person may or may not need thereafter, is properly the job and role of the Substance Abuse Counseling Professional, and no one else. In other words, if a Substance Abuse Counselor assesses Joe Blow, and says that he needs one-on-one counseling once per week, then that should stand. No one can possibly be in a better position to make that determination over the Counselor, and particularly not the State.

Continue reading "Winning a Michigan License Appeal Without Going to AA" »

In my Driver's License Restoration Practice, all of the people I represent are either current AA attendees, or not. Often, I am asked by those who do not have current, or even past AA attendance, if there's any chance to get a License back without being active in AA. Sometimes, I'm asked if I think it's a good idea for someone who has not gone, either for some time, or never before, to start going to AA. This article will focus on those inquiries.

In the year 2010, I handled over 70 Driver's License Appeals, and I was successful in every one. I won 100% of the cases I took to Hearing. Of those cases, less than half of the People for whom I won were currently involved in AA. In other words, the majority of the cases I take (and win) are for non- AA people.

I think some of the confusion about this stems from a lack of understanding about the Driver's License Restoration process. Many years ago, there was certainly a widely accepted perception, if not reality, that the Michigan Secretary of State, through the Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD), would not grant a License if a person couldn't prove they were going to AA. This misunderstanding is often repeated by those who have tried to win a License and lost, as well as some who are AA regulars. More than one person has told me they remember going to AA for a while and hearing that you'd never get a License if you didn't keep going.

This is simply not true. Lot's of people get cleaned up and remain clean and sober without having to make a lifelong commitment to AA. Unfortunately, AA attendees sometimes lay it on a bit thick, and say that anyone who has a drinking problem, and is not drinking, but also not attending meetings, is a "dry drunk."

AA is a great program. For some, it is the difference between being sober and not. For others it may have been a great place to get some advice and help as they got themselves better, but then they moved on. For still others, it just wasn't a good fit, or anything they needed.

What AA does provide for anyone, and especially anyone trying to get their Michigan Driver's License Restored, is the full spectrum of sobriety strategies. AA people typically have a cliche, or phrase, for just about everything sobriety-related. If you are into AA, you've heard them all.

If you're not into AA, however, for whatever reason, then you will need to learn some of these basic sobriety concepts elsewhere. For many people, these concepts are learned through Counseling or other Outpatient Treatment.

Continue reading "Getting a Michigan Driver's License Restored Without Going to AA" »