In the past, Administrative Reviews (mail-in reviews) were available to Michigan residents who were driving on restricted licenses. The petitioner would not have been required to attend a live hearing. With the recent changes, Administrative Reviews are no longer available to Michigan residents driving on restricted licenses. Instead, they must now appear for a drivers license reinstatement Michigan hearing in front of a hearing officer. This, in turn, will mean increased scrutiny by hearing officers at driver license reinstatement Michigan license hearings. The new requirement that petitioners appear and testify at a hearing gives the hearing officer an opportunity to “appear under the hood,” so to speak. This stands in contrast to reviewing documents submitted by mail where no drivers license restoration Michigan hearing was held. The increased scrutiny will certainly result in some petitioners losing their request for full driving privileges. Given the fact that hearings are now required, it makes sense that these petitioners will seek legal counsel for representation at the hearings.
