Articles Posted in Driver License Restoration

A Michigan implied consent hearing is an administrative proceeding before a Secretary of State administrative law judge, entirely separate from and independent of the criminal OWI case. The officer who made the arrest must appear and prove four specific elements under the civil preponderance standard, not the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard that applies in criminal court. If the officer fails to appear, or establish any one of those four elements, the license suspension is dismissed entirely, as if the refusal never happened.

What Is a Michigan Implied Consent Hearing and Why Does It Exist?

Michigan implied consent hearing at the Secretary of State administrative officeMichigan’s implied consent law rests on a legal fiction: by accepting a Michigan driver’s license, a person is deemed to have consented in advance to a chemical test if lawfully arrested for OWI. But that fictional consent cannot operate as a legitimate exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement until it comes into actual existence. It does so only when the officer reads the prescribed chemical test rights advisement following a lawful arrest, and the driver is given a genuine opportunity to either reaffirm that consent by submitting to the test or withdraw it by refusing. Until that advisement is given, there is no actual consent, only the legal fiction of it, and a fiction alone cannot satisfy the Fourth Amendment.

Expect to pay between four and seven thousand dollars for a Michigan driver license restoration lawyer. However, the cost of your license restoration lawyer will depend on a variety of factors. First among them is likely to be their years of experience, with a close second being their location.

Lawyers with more years of experience tend to charge higher fees because they have more expertise and therefore a better track record than lawyers who have less experience. Also, lawyers in Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, and other remote areas tend to charge less. In part this is because they are not specialists. These lawyers often handle many different areas of law. But, as the saying goes, they are “masters of none.”

Biggest Mistakes Made By People Without License Restoration Lawyers

If you are convicted of DUI in Michigan, then your driver’s license will either be restricted, suspended, or revoked. The exact driver license sanction will depend on the nature of your DUI conviction and your prior record. Driver license sanctions for DUI range anywhere from a 90-day restricted license to a 5-year hard revocation. These sanctions are not imposed until after you are convicted. A conviction occurs when you either plead guilty to an intoxicated or impaired driving or are found guilty by a judge or jury.

The specific driver license sanction depends on the nature of your conviction, the number of prior offenses you have, and when those prior offenses occurred.  The following is a brief explanation of these driver license sanctions:

First Offense Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI)

At the Barone Defense we help people who have lost their license due to multiple drunk driving convictions, and we continue to help people get their driving privileges back even during the Governor’s shelter in place order.  According to Ryan Ramsayer, the Firm’s driver license restoration expert:

This is a difficult and stressful penalty that can affect people’s lives for year after year. However, driver license revocation in Michigan doesn’t have to be a life sentence.

When Should I Try to Get my License Back?

Reinstate License Online Michigan | Lawyers to Help Get License Back

If your license was revoked due to multiple OWI convictions, then a license revocation lawyer will help maximize the chances of getting your license back. It is possible to do it yourself, but this is not recommended.

Don’t let your prior bad experience with lawyers keep you from hiring one this time.If you want your driver license reinstated, your best chance involves hiring a Michigan license reinstatement lawyer. Here’s why: