Hi, I’m Attorney Jeffrey Randa, and welcome to another installment of Two Minute Legal. This is another in-car video.
Today, I want to very quickly talk about why it’s so important that your substance abuse counselor be experienced in preparing Michigan Secretary of State substance use evaluations.
In the context of a license appeal, the Secretary of State expects very specific things to be included within the evaluation, and there are plenty of other things it simply does not care about.
These expectations cannot be learned just by looking at the form.
In fact, as I point out in my articles, anybody could look at that form and think, “Gee, I could do that.” But in reality, they can’t.
The only way to learn the nuances and expectations of the Secretary of State is either by making mistakes or through direct experience working with a driver’s license restoration lawyer like me.
My firm and I work very closely with our evaluator. We even bring her to hearings so she can observe how the substance use evaluations she prepares are used by the hearing officers who ultimately decide these appeals.
Whatever else, you’re paying a lot of money for a substance use evaluation.
And the last thing you want is for your several hundred dollars to become the tuition for someone else to learn how to do it right.
It’s far better that your money be invested in the experience of someone who has already learned those lessons and will do it right for you the first time.