1. THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING PROCESS IS SERIOUS. Often, prospective clients contact our office after they have attended a previous hearing without an attorney and have been denied their driving privileges. During the consultation, many people comment that they were surprised by how serious the process was, and, had they know prior to attending the hearing, they would hired an attorney to represent them.
It is a very common mistake of revoked drivers to believe that "reinstatement eligibility" means that you will automatically have your drivers license reinstated if you have completed all of the technical requirements to attend a hearing. This is understandable, but not accurate. The Secretary of State treats these hearings very seriously, and therefore, you will need to approach them with the same level of seriousness and preparation in order to have a reasonable opportunity of success at your hearing.
2. THE FIRST HEARING IS NOT AN "AUTOMATIC DENIAL." Although there are no guarantees that you will not be denied at your hearing, you should not be influenced by the commonly circulated myth that the Secretary of State automatically denies applicants when they make their first application for a drivers license following a DUI-related revocation. Many of our clients receive driving relief on their first hearing.
The origins of this myth are unclear. Many applicants are poorly advised by friends who have been through this process or by other uninformed sources who claim to have insight about administrative hearing policies and procedures. The important thing to know is that every case is different and that your should consult with an attorney who has experience with Secretary of State hearings to receive accurate advice prior to your first hearing.
3. YOU SHOULD NOT "GAMBLE" WITH YOUR CHANCE OF SUCCESS. As a result of the "automatic denial" myth, many applicants consider trying their first hearing without an attorney, and then, if they are denied, hiring a qualified attorney for their second hearing. This is a self-defeating tactic since the Secretary of State retains records of your statements and the documents that you submitted at the first hearing, thereby creating credibility issues for your second hearing if you attempt to correct any inaccuracies or document errors that exist from your first hearing.
It is always best to start the hearing process with a strong foundation. When attending your first hearing, you should have trained legal counsel review your documents to ensure that they meet Secretary of State standards to avoid being haunted by any errors in your initial evaluation or treatment records at future hearings. Although you will have the opportunity to address the reasons for denial at your second hearing, it is always best to avoid these problems by ensuring that your records and testimony are accurate from the start.
4. YOU SHOULD ENLIST THE SERVICES OF QUALIFIED LEGAL COUNSEL FOR YOUR HEARING. When hiring any professional, you should feel confident that they are qualified in the field of practice for which you requesting their assistance. We feel that attorneys bear no exception to this rule.
Our office is focused on representing revoked drivers at Illinois Secretary of State hearings. As a result, we are familiar with the procedures of the Secretary of State, the governing law for formal and informal hearings, and the topics that you will need to address at your hearing. Before engaging the assistance of an attorney for your hearing, you should ask detailed questions during your consultation to determine their level of experience and skill in this area of practice. For detailed guidance on this issue, please refer to "Top Ten Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring an Attorney" on our site.
5. YOU NEED TO HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR ATTORNEY FOR THE HEARING. During the pre-hearing process, you should not only have frequent contact with your attorney, but you should also feel comfortable discussing the issues of your case with them.
Secretary of State hearings deal with very personal issues surrounding the applicant's past and current lifestyle. While preparing for your hearing, your attorney will need to investigate your case. During the investigation phase, they may ask you very direct questions regarding your treatment, your prior alcohol abuse and/or dependency, the lifestyle factors that surrounded your past DUI arrests, and they may inquire about your current lifestyle to determine if you are prepared to undergo the hearing process. As a result, you want to ensure that you have hired an attorney with whom you feel comfortable discussing such issues.
6. IN ORDER TO ATTEND A HEARING, YOU WILL NEED A CURRENT DRUG/ALCOHOL EVALUATION THAT MEETS SECRETARY OF STATE STANDARDS. In order to proceed with your hearing, the Secretary of State will require you to submit a drug/alcohol evaluation from a DASA-licensed provider. Under the Secretary of State rules, the evaluation needs to be completed within the preceding six months of your hearing date.
Generally, this means that you will need to have a new evaluation prior to your hearing, since your initial evaluation for the Court will most likely be outdated. When obtaining a new evaluation, you will want to ensure that your evaluator has experience in preparing documents for Secretary of State hearings. The Secretary of State requires that the evaluator report certain information that may differ from the standards imposed by the court, such as reporting a chronological use history.
Our office can provide you with referrals to evaluators who are licensed to provide such evaluations and who have experience with the Secretary of State standards for evaluations. For a full list of evaluators who are licensed to provide drug/alcohol evaluations, you can also contact the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse at 800.843.6154 or visit their website at http://www.dhs.state.il.us/oasa/licensedsitesreport.asp.
7. PRIOR TO PROCEEDING WITH YOUR HEARING, YOU WILL NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS IN YOUR DRUG/ALCOHOL EVALUATION. The Secretary of State requires that all hearing applicants submit proof that they have completed the treatment that was recommended in their evaluation or present a treatment waiver from a qualified provider.
When preparing for a Secretary of State hearing, it is crucial that your treatment documents are reviewed by either an informal hearing officer or your attorney to ensure that they comply with the Secretary of State standards. The Secretary of State requires that the treatment documents meet several technical requirements before the Secretary of State will accept the documents at a hearing.
8. YOU WILL NEED TO THOROUGHLY EXPLAIN THE LESSONS THAT YOU LEARNED IN YOUR DRUG/ALCOHOL TREATMENT AT YOUR HEARING. Prior to granting any driving relief, the Secretary of State will require you to demonstrate that your alcohol/drug treatment was effective. In order to determine the effectiveness of your treatment, you will be required to answer many questions at your hearing about the lessons you learned during your treatment. It is important that any applicant understand that their hearing is not limited to presenting conforming treatment documents, but also, that the applicant must demonstrate a working knowledge of the principles contained in those documents at the hearing.
9. YOU ARE NOT THERE TO RELITIGATE YOUR GUILT OR INNOCENCE ON YOUR PAST DUIS AT THE HEARING. Whether or not you are guilty or innocent of a DUI charge is determined in the court system. If you have plead guilty, or been found guilty of a past DUI in court, the Secretary of State will lend great credibility to that decision. The focus of your Secretary of State hearing is to determine whether or not you have met your burden to be given driving privileges, not to relitigate the DUI charge that caused the revocation.
10. THE SECRETARY OF STATE HEARING PROCESS REQUIRES COMMITMENT. Once your license has been revoked due to multiple DUIs, there are no "quick fixes" in the Secretary of State realm. The process is lengthy, time-consuming, and requires the active participation of both counsel and the applicant. Prior to initiating this process, an applicant needs to understand that the Secretary of State does not render instant decisions - it can take up to ninety days to receive a decision back from a formal hearing. If an applicant is denied at a formal hearing, they cannot sit for their next hearing until four months have elapsed from their most recent hearing date. Applicants should account for these potential waiting times so that they can minimize the overall impact that these delays have on their life.
Our office has experience in representing revoked drivers at license reinstatement hearings. Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free consultation relating to your license revocation. You can reach our office via telephone at 312.461.0400 or via email by filling out our contact form.
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE IS NOT TO BE USED OR CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE.
THE APPLICABLE LAW MAY VARY DEPENDING UPON THE SPECIFIC FACTS OF YOUR CASE.
YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY TO DETERMINE THE LAW THAT IS APPLICABLE TO YOUR CASE.
