Reducing this rather complicated subject to a quick start guide is difficult. While it may not be as quick as the term “quick start” might suggest, the following is a very abbreviated overview of the process in my office. I would strongly suggest that anyone interested in the process take the time to read the various sections in the full review of the process.

The process begins with a call to my office. I screen the client to make sure they live in either Macomb, Oakland, Wayne or St. Clair County. I handle cases which must or can be handled in a live hearing, and only those counties are eligible to for a “Detroit” hearing, meaning they are handled in person, not by video, in the Livonia Office of the Secretary of State’s Driver’s Assessment and Appeal Division. I know all of the Hearing Officers there, and know how each conducts the hearing and what they look for. I believe it as important to know the preferences of the Hearing Officers who will be hearing a case as it is to know the law and procedures they follow. This is why I believe in limiting my practice to cases that can be heard in the Metropolitan Detroit, or Livonia office. Regular practice in front of these Hearing Officers is precisely the kind of experience a prospective client should, and will, have if they hire me. My fee, which is $1600 for a Driver’s License Restoration Case, and can be made in payments, is for precisely that experience.

The first order of business is to find out when the interested party was or will be eligible to apply for a License Appeal Hearing. The Secretary of State rules are very specific, and cannot be shortened or modified. A person with 2 alcohol or substance abuse related driving offenses within 7 years must wait one full year from their last to be eligible to apply. A person with 3 or more within 10 years must wait five years from their last to be eligible. We can begin the process shortly before that eligibility date.

A person seeking to get their license back must prove a number of things to the Hearing Officer in order to win their appeal. The most important are:

1. That your alcohol problem is under control,


2. That your alcohol problem is likely to remain under control, and, sometimes,


3. That you are motivated to drive safely and within the law.

The first element basically means that you have quit drinking, and can show that by testimonial letters form your friends and family.

The second element means that your counseling, rehab or AA-type support has enabled you to find the means to make a permanent change and quit drinking forever, as opposed to simply stopping for a while.

The third element, which really only applies to people with drunk-driving injury cases or who have gotten several or recent Driving While License Suspended charges, means that you have to prove that you are committed to following the rules of the road, the law, and will obey any restrictions the Secretary of State is likely to place on your license if you win your case.

Once we have established your eligibility, I’ll ask about the kind of counseling, rehab, or support-group (like AA) you’ve had since your last arrest.

We’ll go over what is the very foundation of an appeal, the Substance Abuse Evaluation. A person applying to get their license reinstated must do so by submitting a Secretary of State document called a Request for Hearing, along with another form, called a Substance Abuse Evaluation. These forms are available online at the Secretary of State’s website and there is a link to them in the full text discussion in this section.

The Substance Abuse Evaluation must be filled out by a licensed Substance Abuse Counselor. The form requires very specific information. Since the information in that document is the most important element in determining the outcome of your case, it is quite fair to say that the Substance Abuse Evaluation is the foundation upon which the rest of your case is built. If it doesn’t hold up, then the whole case collapses, and you are sent away with a denial and have to wait another year to try again. If the Evaluation is good enough, then the rest of your case must also be as good in order to win. That is why I spend so much time preparing my clients before they ever even make an appointment for their evaluation. Usually, we will have spent several hours in the office preparing for this all-important first step. Many times, clients will ask for a referral for the evaluation. I have several places that I refer my clients to. Evaluations range in price from about $150 to $250, and I have found that the best quality evaluations usually come from the places that charge the lowest fees, as opposed to the other way around.

Along with the Secretary of State’s Request for a Hearing form and the Substance Abuse Evaluation form, a person trying to win their license back must also submit up to six letters of support, called testimonial letters. These letters detail the writer’s relationship to the person seeking a license, and the knowledge they have about the person’s having quit drinking and commitment to stay sober. These letters must be specific about what knowledge the writer has that the person applying for a license has quit drinking, has not consumed any alcohol, and how they know that. The letters should come from a cross-section of the person’s life, meaning not just co-workers, or not just family, or not just fellow AA members, but a wide range of family, friends, and acquaintances. In almost all cases, I’ll help the client with theses letters, and have them get me draft copies so that I can review them and make corrections in order to get them right. Very seldom do I get letters that are good enough the first time they are written to be submitted. Knowing what needs to be proven, translating that into a particular person’s case, and producing a good evaluation and good letters is absolutely necessary groundwork in order to make a case a winner. Anything less can be a fatal mistake to your appeal.

Once the Substance Abuse Evaluation and the letters are good enough, they are sent in to the Secretary of State along with the Request for a Hearing. A date for the Hearing is set, and the case is assigned to one of the six Hearing Officers in the Livonia Hearing Office.

After we get the hearing date and assignment to a particular Hearing Officer, we can begin to prepare for your testimony. I will prepare the client for the questions I will be asking, and those they can expect from whichever Hearing Officer will be hearing their case. When a case is properly prepared, this stage is more about reinforcing what we have been doing all along than learning something new. In fact, if you have to learn anything more than the specifics of what your particular Hearing Officer looks for in a hearing, then you probably haven’t been properly prepared to begin with, and your chances of winning are already compromised. Like any contest or game, preparation is everything. Winning results are really just good preparation put into action.

I know that anyone looking for an attorney to help them win their license back has several things on their mind. They want to win their case and not spend any more money than they have to. I keep my prices as reasonable as I can, but I also know that there is a certain amount of work that must be done in any case in order to make it a winner. My fee in these appeals is $1600.00, and can be made in payments as we go along. I do not cut corners to make my price the lowest around, because that means skipping necessary work. If you are looking to get your license back, you owe it to yourself to call me and find out what I can do for you. As you call around, I’m sure you will “get a feel” for those lawyers who have the kind of experience in this area to help you win your case, and I’m sure you’ll be glad you included me in that group.

My consultations are done over the phone, are confidential, and I will never press for you to make an appointment. My phones are always answered by friendly staff members who will make you feel relaxed right from the start, and know what to ask in order to start helping you out from the moment you call.

>> Next: Applying for a Hearing and the Substance Abuse Evaluation