Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Withdrawl of Guilty Plea after the fact

The procedure would be to file a motion for relief from judgment. (Since you have already been sentenced, you really cannot "withdraw your plea.") I recommend that you consult with an attorney in your area, who might know the judge your case is assigned to and know what might need to be argued to sway that judge's decision.

In my opinion, you're going to have a tough time winning this.

First, your professed ignorance that the recent DWLS conviction would result in an additional driver's license sanction is basically the problem that "ignorance of the law is not a defense". At your plea, the judge is not require to tell you specifically everything that might happen to you as a result of your plea; he only has to tell you about the maximim punishment (jail and $$$) and any mandatory minimum punishment you'd face. He does not have to tell you about other license impact because he doesn't do it (the Secretary of the State does), doesn't know the details of your driver's license history, and cannot tell you with certainty just what SOS will do. It's no different than you wanting to do the same thing for a different reason: "Hey, my insurance rates have gone sky-high because of my conviction! You didn't tell me that that would happen, judge!!"

Second, at your plea, didn't the judge ask you if you knew that your license was suspended on the offense date?? If so, then what's your current beef?

Third, you say that the SOS mailed notice of the suspension to the wrong address? Well, it only has to mail the notice to the driver's last known address ... meaning, the last address where you told SOS you were living. If you moved and didn't tell SOS about the move, then the fault is yours, not SOS's. (FYI: You commit a misdemeanor when you fail to tell SOS about an address change within 30 days after your move.)

You have many hurdles to cross to get the 2nd chance you're seeking. Talk to a lawyer in your area who handles criminal/traffic/license issues. But you may want to use the lawyer to counsel you on what you need to do to eventually convince the SOS to let you have some driving privileges back some day. Your "hardship" claim will fall on deaf ears until you prove that you will abide by our laws ... which includes NOT driving, even if you have the best intentions (like getting to school or a music lesson).