Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Being a Michigan Driver’s License Restoration Lawyer generally means that I Restore the Driver’s License for someone who has had it Revoked for multiple DUI convictions. In many cases, the person has moved out of Michigan and cannot obtain (or renew) an out-of-state License. Whether the person lives in Michigan or not, I can help if the person cannot get a License because of 2 or more Drunk Driving convictions. Of course, it is also necessary that the person has quit drinking, as well. Sobriety is not optional.
The formal description of this kind of legal work is called “License Restoration.” Technically, I Restore a Driver’s License that has been Revoked as a consequence of multiple DUI’s. This is a fairly narrow and specialized field. Essentially, if you lost your License after 2 or more DUI cases, have quit drinking, and need to get back on the road, I’m they guy.
Unfortunately, way too many people see the words “Driver’s License” and “Restoration” and think I’m the general “fix-it” guy for any kind of License problem. While there are some situations that I fix above and beyond multiple DUI Revocations, there are 2 situations that I never touch:
1. If your License has been Suspended because you owe money to either the State or a Court, I cannot help. Your License is being held until you pay the money you owe. It’s that simple. Some people will email me, asking for advice, or if there is anything I can do. Here is the complete extent of what I can advise: pay the money. If you don’t have it, set up a payment plan. If you can’t do that for whatever reason, then get the money. If you can’t get the money, then you’re out of luck. Even if there was something I could do (and there isn’t), how would someone with no money pay for it, anyway?
There are countless reasons why a person can wind up owing money to a Court, or to the State. Believe me, I’ve had the longest emails detailing every conceivable screw up and mistake justifying why a person doesn’t owe what they supposedly do. While I know it can seem unfair, I can’t help. I only handle Revocations for multiple DUI’s, or Suspensions from Drug cases or Breath Test Refusals. If the basis for your not having a License has anything to do with owing money, you’ll have to work that out on your own. Thus, if your License has been taken, or is being held because you owe money, the ONLY thing you can do to get it back is pay the money.
2. If your License has been taken away for multiple DUI’s, but you have not quit drinking, I cannot help you. I GUARANTEE that I’ll win any License Restoration case I take, but a necessary prerequisite to my taking a case is that a person has really quit drinking. This is not a “technical” thing, either; if you still drink, however infrequently you may claim, or you still think that you can have a drink every once in a while, then you haven’t truly quit drinking. Winning a License Appeal requires proving Sobriety (this has nothing to do with AA, and most of my Clients don’t go to AA), and that means demonstrating that you have made the transition from drinker to non-drinker and intend to remain alcohol-free.
In all honesty, I’m a bit surprised at the number of people who contact my Office about a Driver’s License Restoration and admit to still drinking. While I know that the overall percentage of people who really get Sober is discouragingly low (I actually study this stuff, and am actually enrolled in formal, University post-graduate level addiction education), and I also know that not everyone reads through all that I have written on the subject (my website has more information about License Restoration than any other, and this Blog has over 180 highly detailed articles about every facet of Michigan Driver’s License Restoration – more than every other source combined), it frustrates me that anyone could miss how clearly I define Sobriety as a requirement to take a License Appeal case. If you look at my win Guarantee, you’ll see that it is predicated on your having quit drinking.
Yet every single day, my Office receives numerous calls from people who freely tell us that they think they can still drink. In a License Appeal, Sobriety is not optional. It is the whole point of the process. And while I’m ranting about that, doesn’t it seem that every Lawyer should require that someone be Sober before they take their case? I suppose that’s why no other Lawyer offers my win Guarantee. If the standard to accept a case is as low as just taking a person’s money, then that explains why I stand alone not only in requiring Sobriety, but also providing a Guarantee, as well.
And on that score, it’s not enough to call my Office and say that you think you can say whatever I want you to, or whatever the State needs you to in order to win a License Appeal. The only thing I want my License Clients to “say” is the truth. If a person has “put the plug in the jug,” and really put drinking behind them, then I’ll win their License back. If someone still harbors the belief that they can control their drinking, despite multiple DUI’s, then I’m not the man for that job. Honestly, any Lawyer that would get involved in such a case is questionable to even hold a Law License. I don’t try and scam the system. I win fair and square, and I only want Clients who are interested in that kind of help.
If you have quit drinking, then I can get you back on the road. Sometimes a person may not be legally eligible to file their License Appeal, or, as is sometimes the case, may have to wait a bit after their legal eligibility date (like when a person is still on Probation) before they can actually win their case, but I’ll be glad to explain that. If you have made the life-changing and dramatic transformation from drinker to non-drinker, then I will guide you through the “million little rules” that govern License Appeals, and will guarantee that, at the end of the process, you will slip a valid License back into your wallet.