Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
One of the more common things we hear when people call us about restoring their driver’s license is a clear sense of frustration about the need to go through the whole appeal process. In this article, I want to address the mindset of those who think and say things like “this isn’t fair” and/or “I don’t deserve this.” While those feelings are always understandable (and sometimes accurate, as well), it will be far more helpful to provide a simple explanation of the how the law functions in order to clarify what can (and can’t) be done, and when, to get someone’s license back.
As a preliminary matter, the reader should note that we are a Michigan driver’s license restoration law firm, and we only make money by taking cases, not by turning them away. I point this out because, while some of the Secretary of State’s rules governing license appeals may legitimately seem to drive some unfair results, my team and I don’t make those rules; we have to work within them. Sometimes, when we explain to a person why we can’t take his or her case because of how things work, their frustration will boil over, and they’ll say something like “this is bull$hit!”
The problem with that kind of thinking is that it overlooks the fact that anyone who has had his or her license revoked for multiple DUI’s needs to bear in mind that they didn’t wind up in this situation by accident. Plenty of people try to explain that, despite their own record of DUI’s, they know somebody who has driven drunk way more, but not been caught, or someone who supposedly lied their way through the license appeal process and won, but still drinks. Even if those things are true, they’re not arguments that will help win your license back. In fact, that kind of talk will get you denied faster than anything.
The kind of analysis we’re talking about here is only applicable in 1st offense DUI cases. Under Michigan law, anyone convicted of a 2nd or 3rd offense DUI will legally categorized as a habitual alcohol offender, and will, as a consequence, be presumed to have some kind of drinking problem. Beyond those legal implications, and as a practical matter, pretty much the whole world, including everyone in the court system, simply assumes that any repeat DUI offender at least has some kind of risky relationship to alcohol, even if that person rarely drinks.
Because the way Michigan law works, if you’ve had your license revoked for racking up multiple DUI’s, then you are presumed to have a drinking problem. If you disagree with that, then you’re stuck in a holding pattern, because the license appeal rules require that you prove, by what is specified as “clear and convincing evidence” (we have to get technical here) that you have honestly quit drinking, and are a safe bet to never drink again. Put another way, you have to prove that you are sober, and have both the ability and the commitment to remain sober for life.
It’s normal for a person to get mad about being caught up in a DUI. This this can include anger at one’s self, but also with the police, and the whole legal system, as well. When an otherwise law-abiding person gets put in handcuffs, placed in the back a police car, and then taken to jail, it’s humiliating. Suddenly, someone who would never hurt anyone or steal a penny feels like he or she is being treated like a common criminal. It’s only natural to think something like, “instead of arresting me, maybe the police should have been out looking for burglars or rapists or car thieves or whatever…”
That said, the reader may expect this article to try and dissuade him or her from trying a “do-it-yourself” license appeal, but it won’t. Although there are plenty of reasons why a person would be far better served by hiring our firm right out of the gate, the simple fact is that we’re always going to be here, and there really aren’t that many reasons why a person inclined to try handling his or her own case shouldn’t do just that. In other words, if you want to take a shot at doing your own license appeal, then, by all means, go for it!
Let’s begin with a conclusion, and work from there: A DUI is nothing to laugh at, but it’s also NOT the end of your world, either. When handled properly, a 1st offense DUI charge can be made into more of an expense, and an inconvenience, rather than anything else. Of course, the court wants to make sure it’s a memorable inconvenience, but the real intention of the law is really to teach someone a lesson to not drive drunk again without ruining his or her life. As DUI lawyers, my team and I believe we have a moral obligation to make this clear and calm people’s fears, rather than play on them.
Perhaps the biggest mistake people make is thinking they can just say the right things to win a driver’s license restoration or clearance appeal. While a person must really be sober and present evidence to support his or her claims, the whole point of the legal process is for the Michigan Secretary of State to verify if they are true, or not. The hearing officers who decide these cases know that people will try every trick in the book, and they expect to hear everything, all the way from gentle BS to outright fabrications. An important part of the hearing officer’s job is to put everything a person submits, both in his or her documents and through testimony, to the test.
Over the course of more than 3 decades, NOT ONE of the hundreds and hundreds of indecent and aggravated indecent exposure clients we have represented has ever gone to jail. As we’ll see, though, keeping a client out of jail is relatively easy because it is not the biggest threat he faces in an IE case (note that we’ll use the term “IE” to refer to either or both indecent and aggravated indecent exposure throughout this piece). Instead, the most significant risk a person faces is being required to enroll in and complete a long and difficult program of counseling for the treatment of sexual deviancies and criminal sexual offenders.
From the moment a person is pulled over, or has that first police contact, everything they deal with thereafter seems to be DUI-related. It’s almost like he or she has become the filler in a Michigan DUI burrito, and are all “wrapped up” in it. We’ll get into more specifics later, but for anyone facing a 1st offense DUI charge, this is likely to last at least 15 months, from point of his or her arrest until every the very last day of his or her probation. During that time, a person can experience a whole range of feelings, including anger, resentment (“I don’t deserve this!”) all the way to simple fatigue, and wonder if life will ever get back to normal.
This isn’t going to be a “hit piece” on the Michigan Secretary of State (SOS), but the simple fact is that the SOS fails to make crystal clear what a person is expected to after a positive test result. To be sure, some guidance is provided: Within every order granting a driver’s license restoration appeal is a section called “Proper Interlock Use,” but as we’ll see, the Secretary of State could be a lot more specific, especially in light of what the hearing officers look for when they are deciding an ignition interlock violation case, or even when reviewing a final report for someone who has filed an appeal for a full license.