Winning if you go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Having been a Michigan Driver’s License Restoration Lawyer for over 20 years, I have seen firsthand how being involved in Alcoholics Anonymous can help a person win a Michigan License Appeal. Many years ago, it seemed that it was impossible to win back a Michigan Driver’s License without being in AA. That has changed, and more than half of the people for whom I win back Driver’s Licenses are NOT involved in AA.
Still, AA is considered the “golden standard” of Recovery and Sobriety. Anyone in AA knows why. AA people share a lot of knowledge about getting and remaining Sober. They not only understand the need to not drink, they have tools to make sure they don’t.
AA prepares them too battle the enemy – alcohol. It teaches that alcoholism is “cunning, baffling and powerful.” It helps its followers segment their commitment to Sobriety “one day at a time.” It reminds them that, while they may not have gotten into trouble every time they drank, every time they got into trouble, they had been drinking. They learn what it really means to be “powerless” over alcohol. They come to understand the importance of taking a fearless and searching moral inventory, sharing the results of that inventory, and then continuing to take inventory. They make things better by making amends, and promptly admitting when they are wrong. They learn how to practice Recovery, which is, after all, a process.
Some Clients are really involved in AA. They have sponsors, and they might even be a sponsor to someone else. Other people go, but aren’t so gung-ho about it. They might not work the steps as much as they just show up and participate. They might spend most, if not all of their time just talking in a way that seems like they’re always on the first step.
Given that the most important issue in a Michigan Driver’s License Restoration Appeal is that a person’s alcohol problem is “likely to remain under control,” meaning that they are not likely to drink again, AA provides the strongest foundation one can have to prove likely future Sobriety.
Whether a person is really into AA, or they just go for a kind of “maintenance,” there is no denying that their involvement with the program, and their time at the tables can be beneficial to not only their Recovery, but their ability to get back on the road.