What is the Difference between a Suspension and a Revocation?
If your license is suspended, it will be taken away for a specific time span but will be returned when you have already paid the fee and the period is over. On the other hand, revocation is the permanent loss of your driver’s license and the privilege of being able to operate a motor. After the minimum period of revocation, (one year or five years) you may re-apply for a license and try to prove that you will be a safe driver in the future.
License Appeal Hearings
Drivers who are aggrieved by a final decision of the Sectary of State may request a Drivers License Appeal hearing. As authorized by MCL 257.332, Administrative Law Examiners conduct hearing all throughout the state. In accordance with the Administrative Rule 257.304, a number of hearings are conveyed through video conference equipment. The hearings for the greater metro-Detroit area are typically held in person, at the Livonia, Michigan branch.
These Hearing Officers preside over the following:
• Appeals from branch office application denials.
• Driver Assessment actions.
• Implied-consent hearings.
• Appeals for license reinstatement following a revocation for being a habitual offender with multiple substance-abuse convictions.
• Appeals for license reinstatement following a revocation for being a habitual criminal involving a motor vehicle.
• Appeals for license reinstatement following a conviction of murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide with a motor vehicle.
• Appeals for license reinstatement following a conviction of causing the death or serious injury of another person while intoxicated or impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.
What do I need to show to get my license back?
You need to provide documentation and testimony to prove by “clear and convincing” evidence that your alcohol problem is under control and likely to remain under control. Justification that drinking and driving again will be minimal or low and you’d be able to show that you’ve got the potential and motivation to drive cautiously and in accordance with the law. You must prove abstinence from alcohol for at least one full year.
Take into account that hearing officers have a huge amount of judgment when it comes to deciding your case. Without having us or other good attorney you may do some risky things that may result to increased length of your license revocation.
How can Garmo & Kiste, PLC help you to get your drivers license back?
Having an attorney present at your driver’s restoration hearing will always increase your chances of success. However, for our attorneys, helping to get your license back is not just about being present at the hearing. Garmo & Kiste, PLC is involved in every aspect of the appeal process, maximizing your chances of having your driver’s license returned.
Key Evidence
Our lawyers will help you gather and sculpt key evidence for your hearing such as- substance abuse evaluations, substance abuse treatment records, AA sign-in sheets, and letters of sobriety from your family, friends, and co-workers. In addition to submitting a substance abuse evaluation, we will help you get and select your 4-6 community support letters used by the State to verify your abstinence from alcohol.
The same exact sobriety date must be explicitly stated in all letters, they must be notarized and must include specific information regarding your history concerning alcohol, past and present. The letters should come from a cross-section of the persons’ life. You should consider asking your friends, family members, fellow AA members, teachers, or co-workers to write letters for you.
Our lawyers will help you make the best choices concerning which evidence to submit and which witnesses to call. Our lawyers will help you prepare all paperwork and filings concerning your Michigan restoration of driver’s license case. You must bring documentation of participation in a support group, such as AA. You must have an attendance sheet and signatures from c0-members as well to support your DAAD hearing.
Preparation
Our lawyers will help you make sure you are prepared to testify by conducting a practice run of the hearing in our offices, in order to review and polish your anticipated testimony. Hearing officers look for consistent involvement in AA (i.e. at least twice a week) for at least one year, or at a very minimum some involvement in a structured and consistent substance abuse counseling. AA has 12 steps thus you must be aware of it and know the AA prayer and get to know the Big Book. Our lawyers will be there at the hearing, and will ask you the questions necessary to establish your case, question witnesses to elicit favorable testimony, submit key evidence to the hearing officer, and argue on your behalf.
Hire the dedicated license restoration attorneys of Garmo & Kiste, PLC. Your legal matter is important to us, we strive to give you the proper legal advice and personal attention you should demand and deserve.
If I win, will I get my license back?
After the License hearing appeal, a written Order will be received by the petitioner through mail. After conducting a hearing and reviewing the documentation provided concerning your matter, the hearing officer assigned to judge your case has three options. First and foremost, they can deny you of reinstatement outright. Second, you may be granted with a restricted license that is with or without a breath alcohol ignition interlock device. Or third, they provide you a full restoration. What type of license is issued is completely dependent on the discretion of the hearing officer based on the evidence presented, and is all the more reason to work with an attorney in preparing your case. The order will specify the reasons(s) why a licensing action was upheld, amended, or denied. We are here to be of assistance to you. Payment plans are available, and as always you are under no obligation to retain our services, and our advice during the consultation is free.
What Happens if I Lose at the Hearing?
If you are the victim of an adverse determination by one of the Sectary of State’s Hearing Officer you have three options. 1. You could wait for one year until you’d be worthy for a new hearing. Your second option is to file a petition for a rehearing. To appeal to the Circuit Court in the country where you are currently residing or if ever an Implied-consent appeal case, in the country of arrest. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these options, for more information about Driver License Restoration and to retain Garmo & Kiste, PLC – call us at (248) 398-7100 for a free consultation.