REINSTATEMENT HEARINGS – ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE
Have your driving privileges been revoked as a result of a DUI or multiple DUI arrests? For most people, there is hope in getting your drivers license fully reinstated.
In Illinois, driving an automobile has been firmly established to be a privilege and not a right. The Secretary of State is required to revoke the license of anyone convicted of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (DUI) or caught and prosecuted for Driving Under the Influence in a State other than Illinois. Relief must be granted pursuant to either an Informal or Formal Administrative Hearing at the Illinois Secretary of State.
Prior to scheduling a reinstatement hearing in Illinois, each driver must at minimum, provide the following to the hearing officer:
- A Uniform Drug and Alcohol Evaluation, or an updated evaluation prepared by your original State Licensed Evaluator that is less than six months old at the time of hearing;
- A Treatment Needs Assessment
- Documented proof of successful completion of a DUI Risk Education Course.
RISK CLASSIFICATION LEVEL
Additional documentation will be required depending on your risk classification level. If you have been classified higher than Moderate Risk or have multiple DUI’s in your driving history, or have any questions about the hearing process, please contact our office to schedule an appointment for a free consultation. In order to avoid a delay in the review of your documents, please refer to the checklist below and gather all pertinent documents before contacting us.
SECRETARY OF STATE HEARING CHECKLIST
In order to avoid a delay in the review of your documents, please refer to this checklist and gather all pertinent documents before contacting us.
Attending a hearing without proper preparation, guidance or representation, opens you up to a denial of a restricted driving permit or the reinstatement of your driving privileges. The Law Office of Tatiana D. Czaplicki, PC is qualified to help you prepare for your reinstatement hearing in Illinois. We will review your history of substance abuse and any steps that have been made to address it. You will be thoroughly prepared for the administrative hearing, including several practice runs, and if necessary, additional substance abuse treatment that the court system may not have required will be suggested. Our office works with a variety of DUI Counseling Centers throughout the Chicago land area and is happy to provide a referral.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT A HEARING
At your hearing, a Secretary of State Hearing Officer, who is most often indifferent to any hardship that your past actions have caused you and/or your family, will cross examine you and you will be required to describe your entire drinking history. Everything you say has to be both believable and consistent with what you previously disclosed to your alcohol evaluator during your treatment program. All in all, you will be asked more than one hundred questions by both your attorney and the hearing officer. If you are not well prepared, and if you do not answer consistently with your treatment documentation, you will likely be denied the reinstatement of your driving privileges. Each denial makes it more and more difficult to obtain restricted driving relief or full reinstatement of your driving privileges.
Representing yourself at your hearing most certainly opens you up to denial, but with an experienced attorney’s assistance, the odds are in your favor. Let us help you prepare for your hearing and arm you with the confidence you need to succeed in your efforts – from your initial consultation and document review, through to mock hearings and ultimately, your hearing date. We are prepared to be with you every step of the way.
With so much at stake, why take the chance of denial?
Contact us today to schedule your appointment for a free case evaluation.
EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL, EASY TO WORK WITH
I hired Tatiana for my Secretary of State driver’s license reinstatement hearings and couldn’t be more pleased with her services. Tatiana has gone above and beyond what is expected of an attorney. She is extremely professional, easy to work with, and also very affordable. She really is an attorney who works for you, which is very hard to find these days. I HIGHLY recommend Tatiana for anyone looking for an attorney specializing in Illinois Secretary of State hearings.
Colin