Sobriety Requirements to win a Michigan Driver's License Reinstatement before the DLAD
The Michigan Secretary of State requires six months of sobriety, technically, but the DLAD requires one year of absolute sobriety before granting a restricted license in reality
To be candid, many people try to fabricate sobriety during the course of applying for their Michigan driver's license restoration hearing. At the same time, an honest person who admits to consuming a single sip of champagne on New Year's Eve within 12 months of the license restoration hearing is automatically DENIED. This even includes someone who admits to consuming only nonalcoholic beer.
If you are still drinking...
If you continue to consume alcohol but apply to restore your Michigan driving privileges, you may face harsher ramifications down the road. You are required to present proof that you are completely sober to the Michigan drivers license appeal division hearing officer, and you will be required to testify under oath that you are completely abstinent from all alcoholic beverages. Abstinence is defined as "to refrain completely from consuming any amount of any type of alcoholic beverage, including, but not limited to, nonalcoholic beer, or controlled substance, except a controlled substance . . . prescribed by a licensed health professional."
Perjury? Heck, they will use it against you...
If you testify falsely under oath that you have completely refrained from consuming any alcohol, the Michigan DLAD hearing officers will use this against you for years. These credibility issues can make a Michigan driver's license restoration process a nightmare. And the bigger issue is this: If you are still drinking, can you pass an interlock breath test for the next year, every day?
You CANNOT tell us that you are consuming alcohol, unless you want us to plan for a future hearing:
IMPORTANT:If you tell us that you are consuming alcohol and hope that we will turn a blind eye, be forewarned: We cannot ethically represent you. We are not permitted by the ethical rules governing Michigan attorneys to permit perjured testimony. Although we can assist a person who is not completely sober in establishing a track record of sobriety, and we can represent someone who repeatedly lies to us, we cannot ethically permit perjured testimony.
If that doesn't make any sense, we are more than happy to talk to you to explain. These are technical rules that we are required to follow. We do not want to turn away your business, of course, and we want to get you back on the road towards a new life and new opportunities. But... we also want to see to it that you succeed. It may sound stupid, but we actually care about our clients.
