What Is a Drug or Alcohol Evaluation

What is a Drug or Alcohol Evaluation?

A diagnostic evaluation of your alcohol or drug use history by a certified chemical dependency professional also known as an evaluator.  

Why do I Have a Drug or Alcohol Evaluation Requirement?

There are a few reasons why someone would need to get a Drug or Alcohol evaluation.  

The court may require an alcohol or drug evaluation as part of your probationary release of a current case.  

The Department of Licensing requires an evaluation to reinstate your license, after a DUI conviction.

Your attorney may ask you to complete an alcohol or drug evaluation in order to help with negotiations with the prosecutor for your pending D.U.I. case.

The Evaluation Interview

The certified evaluator will ask you a multitude of questions to help assess your current alcohol or drug use.  

They will review your:

• Legal history
• Blood alcohol content or evidence of drug use at the time of the arrest.  
• Case history including: age, marital status, education, any previous military service, job status, mental and medical health.  
• Current use of any prescribed or over the counter medications.  

You will be required to submit a urine sample for a toxicology screening for drugs and alcohol.

Evaluation Completion

After the Evaluation Interview the Evaluator will gather required documents to complete the evaluation report.  

Most agencies require the police report from the incident, your criminal background history, and a copy of your motor vehicle driving record.  You will need to sign the treatment agencies release of information so they may submit it to the Attorney.

The diagnostic evaluation with suggested treatment measures are compiled from the personal interview and the data from the various reports. 

Various Treatment Recommendations.  

Treatment recommendations are made by the professional. The Evaluator will recommend the best course of action to take regarding your current legal issue for the court to review. 

These may include intensive inpatient treatment, outpatient care, an 8 hour alcohol drug information school(A.D.I.S.) or a Victims Panel.  And are specific to the individual case.

We know that this can be a life changing event but it isn’t the end of the world.  

There are many ways an experienced attorney can fight for you.

 
 
 
 
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 Kylin Landry 
 
 
 
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Gotten many tickets dropped or the charge reduced to a non moving violation.  Yes it would be great if they all could be dropped but at the end of the day my insurance is still affordable. Anyone leaving bad reviews about the Merrill's not getting a charge totally dismissed did not listen or read well enough when entering the contact as they make it very clear that both are a possibility.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Doza m 
 
 
 
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Took care of it just like Rick said he would. Will definitely use him again in the future if needed.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Bri Adams 
 
 
 
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Rick Merrill was very responsive and easy to work with, handled my case perfectly and got me the result I was after. Definitely recommend him for any of your needs.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Roman Empire 
 
 
 
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Kind and professional people. Will definitely be coming back!
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Abraham Tewldeberham 
 
 
 
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I want to start off by saying they have helped my family out tremendously. Their professionalism, efficiency and outstanding communication skills made our case a whole lot easier to understand and deal with.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Sylvia Magnusson 
 
 
 
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Very Nice team to work with. Professional and compassionate. Will definitely recommend to anyone in need.
  
 
  
 
 
 
   
 
 
 

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 Shajn Bakhit 
 
October 9, 2026
 
 
  
I highly recommend Merrill Law! I had a traffic ticket with multiple charges totaling over $700, and they were able to get all of the charges dismissed! I am beyond grateful for their help and the amazing outcome. They were professional, helpful, and made the whole process much less stressful. I truly appreciate everything they did for me. Thank you so much, Merrill Law! Definitely a 5-star experience!
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Jose Baez 
 
September 26, 2026
 
 
  
Excellent firm to work with got my speeding ticket dismissed highly recommend
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Nikhil Kalia 
 
September 16, 2026
 
 
  
Highly recommended never visited everything done on call thank you
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Mohammed Muktadir 
 
September 11, 2026
 
 
  
They were very straight forward and easy to communicate with. I had a pending deferral speeding ticket which i did my community service hours for and did the 4 hour arive at 25 class to get dismissed. But while I was doing that, I got a second speeding ticket and I was worried it will void my deferred ticket. But they got it dismissed. Thank you very much.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Shannon Jackson 
 
September 6, 2026
 
 
  
He’s like Santa for speeding tickets.

Anytime someone says they got a ticket, I always tell them “I got a guy”
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Nathan Turner 
 
September 6, 2026
 
 
  
My son got his first speeding ticket. We called these guys and sent them a photo of the ticket. They took care of everything and got the ticket dismissed. Lucky kid. Hope he learned his lesson...
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Kymberly Hoyle 
 
September 3, 2026
 
 
  
I have gone through Merrill Law 3 times now for speeding violations and expired tabs and they are efficient and super easy to work with every time. Reece is fantastic and communicative. I highly recommend them as they have saved me a lot of money in the end.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Jamie Lee Fada 
 
September 3, 2026
 
 
  
I have used Merrill Law several times from speeding tickets to HOV violations. Everyone has been dismissed. I can't reccomend them enough.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Laura Taylor 
 
August 18, 2026
 
 
  
Going to Merrill Law was one of the best decisions I could have made. From start to finish, their team was kind, professional, helpful, and excellent at communicating throughout the process. I truly appreciated their support and would highly recommend Merrill Law to anyone in need of their services.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Xavier Hecker 
 
August 17, 2026
 
 
  
Second speeding ticket in a row dropped, and I never had to step foot in a court room.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Matthew Matyuk 
 
August 15, 2026
 
 
  
Great experience, big thanks, ticket dismissal went smoothly.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Jordan Cabral 
 
August 14, 2026
 
 
  
Huge thank you to Reece Merrill for helping me resolve an issue with the Department of licensing. He was so quick to help me fix what seemed to be an overlook on the DOL’s part. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs legal help big or small.
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 edgar guzman 
 
August 12, 2026
 
 
  
This place is amazing. They had a super simple process, provided clear instructions, and were able to get a speeding ticket dismissed, FAST!
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Nancy Roach 
 
August 12, 2026
 
 
  
Merrill law saved the day, I will highly recommend. All I had to do was stop in and tell them I needed help they did EVERYTING else!!
  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Jasmine Bahena 
 
August 4, 2026
 
 
  
I had a great experience with Merrill law and would recommend them to anyone!