Source: http://www.michigancriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/2013/01/the-michigan-drivers-license-r-4.html
Timestamp: 2014-08-29 10:18:01
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The Michigan Driver's License Restoration (and Clearance) Process - Part 5 - Preparing for the Hearing - Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
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In the last installment (Part 4), we essentially concluded the paperwork part of a Michigan Driver's License Restoration Appeal or Clearance case, having gone from determining eligibility (Part 1), completing the Substance Abuse Evaluation (Part 2) and the Letters of Support (Part 3) to preparing and double-checking all the documentation, making sure that it adequately relates a person's Recovery Story, insuring it's complete and ready to file, and then filing it (Part 4). In this installment, we will look at the importance of preparing for the actual Hearing. I call this "prepping." In the Part 4, I noted that it takes about 6 weeks after the paperwork is filed with the Michigan Secretary of State's Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD), until notice of the Hearing date is received. Usually, the Hearing date is about 2 weeks from the time the notice is received. Over the course of the last 22-plus years, I have refined how I do things, and have found that the best time to do a "prep session" for a License Appeal Hearing is as close to the actual time of the Hearing as possible. Almost all of the time, this means the night before the Hearing, and by telephone.
I have pointed out in numerous other articles that I have all of my cases set for a live, in-person Hearing at the Livonia branch of the DAAD Hearing Office. I do this no matter where a person lives. To underscore how strongly I believe in a live, in-person Hearing, the reader should know that the Secretary of State has a large Branch Office about 4 minutes from my Office, where there is a video terminal at which I could have any or all of my Hearings scheduled. By comparison, the drive to Livonia is nearly an hour from my Office, yet I wouldn't ever consider doing a video Hearing, even if a Client offered to double my Fee for doing it. I don't think twice about driving for nearly an extra hour (two if you count the return trip); it's just what you do if you want to do this right.
By having all of my cases assigned for a Hearing in Livonia, I get to go in front of the same 5 Hearing Officers all the time. I know what they look for in a case. I know how each conducts a Hearing. What is so very important to one Hearing Officer, is, in some cases, beyond irrelevant to another. And amongst them, several will conduct a Hearing one way, and ask a certain set of questions if a person claims to still atte