The Michigan Secretary of State’s Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD) will NOT grant driving privileges to anyone who files a Michigan License Restoration Appeal while they are on Probation or Parole. Within the various articles in the Driver’s License Restoration Section of my Blog, I examine how and why this is the case in much closer detail than in this abbreviated section.
For purposes of inquiry however, the reader should understand that the DAAD views anyone on Probation or Parole as being unable to prove that any abstinence from alcohol that they have is completely voluntary because they person is forbidden, as a condition of that Probation or Parole, from consuming alcohol.
In other words, it is a standard condition of every Probation or Parole that a person refrains from drinking. Sometimes they are tested, other times not, but if they are found to have consumed alcohol, their Probation or Parole can be violated, and they can face punitive consequences, including further incarceration.
To the person who has really gotten Sober, this almost feels like a slap in the face, because they want to say, “I could easily get away with drinking if I wanted to, but I don’t want to, and that’s why I’m not drinking, not because I’m afraid of getting into trouble.”
I understand that. However, the state doesn’t buy it. They call abstinence from alcohol while a person is on Probation or Parole “living in a controlled environment.” The Michigan Court of Appeals has weighed in on the subject, and has sided with the DAAD.
Therefore, a person must wait until they are off Probation or Parole in order to win a Michigan Driver’s License Restoration case.
No doubt, anyone reading wants to know “how long?” The answer is a classic, coming from a Lawyer…
It depends.
I can tell when a person has had enough voluntary Sobriety to go in front of one of the DAAD Hearing Officers in an actual License Appeal Hearing. I have a well honed instinct about this, as I should, given that I Guarantee I’ll win any case I take.
There are, of course, exceptions. I have won cases where a person was still on Probation (never Parole) at the time of their License Hearing. Such cases are rare, and concluding that someone is one of those few and far between “exceptions” requires a careful analysis of his or her situation.
Our consultations are free and our cases are handled on a “flat-fee” basis with upfront fees!