Articles Posted in DWI and DUI

Holiday DUI patrols have been operational in Maryland for years, but until recently many of these enhanced law enforcement efforts have taken place on the Eastern Shore during the summer months. Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends along with July 4^th have traditionally drawn the most attention of various police departments including the State Police. These law enforcement agencies run DUI checkpoints and deploy extra patrol officers during the nighttime hours in an effort to deter drunk driving and enforce the laws when the message doesn’t register. When a special holiday task force is operational it typically produces a greater number of arrests that a normal weekend, but this is expected as more law enforcement resources are in use. Before we begin a cost benefit analysis of drunk driving task forces, we’ll stop and say the purpose of this post is simply to point out that they are becoming more common throughout the state and coming to a county near you this holiday season.

Various law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County are about to begin their fifth weekend of the local DUI holiday task force, which has already produced close to 200 drunk driving arrests. This particular task force is made up of officers from the state and county police and the local police departments of Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park. Officers from the Maryland National Capital Park Police are also participating in the task force on the stretches of Montgomery County highway that are within the jurisdiction of federal law enforcement such as the Clara Barton Parkway. These agencies are not limiting their activity to standard proactive road patrols, rather they are also running sobriety checkpoints and compliance checks of local business that sell alcohol. Additionally law enforcement has also taken a more aggressive stance in issuing citations to adults that have allowed minors to consume alcohol on their property. Under Alex and Calvin’s law (section 10-119 of the criminal law code) adults who host parties where alcohol is served to minors face fines of up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for a second or subsequent offense. These citations are not considered criminal, but failure to pay could result in a criminal contempt charge that carries jail time. Additionally a conviction for one of these civil citations could become part of the permanent court record, which could lead to adverse consequences for the defendant.

Drunk driving has been an especially contentious issue in Montgomery County for the last few years, and for good reason. In 2015 a young law enforcement officer was killed by a repeat DUI offender, which led to the state enacting a law requiring installation of the interlock device for offenders. The engine interlock device is viewed as one of the most effective means to curtail impaired driving by lawmakers, prosecutors and judges alike. The device also spares defendants the possibility of losing their ability to drive, which in Maryland can be crippling due to the shortcomings of public transportation. The obvious downsides of the device are the high cost, frequent malfunctioning and embarrassing look, but most would agree that it’s worth it to be able to drive legally. The Montgomery County task force will continue to operate until January 5, 2019 and the Blog may post a follow up article after the final data on the program is released. If you or a loved one has been charged or arrested for any traffic offense in Maryland feel free to contact DUI lawyer Benjamin Herbst anytime for a free consultation. Benjamin specializes in representing out of state defendants, repeat offenders and drivers charged with federal DUI by the Park Police and other federal law enforcement agencies.

The DUI laws in Maryland change almost every year, which makes it difficult for the average person to know what to expect in the days and weeks following an arrest.  This is especially true for out of state drivers from states such as Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware and others.  Two of the biggest questions after being arrested for DUI are going to jail and losing your license, so for this post we’ll focus on those two issues.

Will I go to jail if I’m arrested for DUI in Maryland?  First of all, the following paragraphs apply only to those defendants that intend to plead guilty.  If you believe you were wrongfully arrested you should certainly consider taking your case to trial (we always recommend a jury trial for DUI).  While no lawyer will ever be able to guarantee or predict a specific outcome it is extremely rare for a first offender to serve jail time for a first DWI or DUI.  This is true in all jurisdictions, including the federal courts that handle citations issued on certain federally maintained roads like the BW Parkway (295) and the Clara Barton Parkway, or on military bases like Fort Meade and Andrews. Unfortunately there are exceptions to this no jail for a first offense rule for cases involving injury accidents, extremely high BAC levels or not cooperating with police.

As for repeat offenders, the prospect of jail time increases depending on the number of priors and the time that has elapsed since the priors.  A defendant with one prior DUI that happened more than 5 years ago could certainly make a good case for a probation sentence, while a third time offender will have a more difficult time accomplishing this goal.   Maryland law imposes a mandatory 5-day sentence for a second DUI conviction within 5 years and a mandatory 10-day sentence for third conviction within 5 years of the last.  The best way to avoid jail time regardless of if you are a repeat offender is to be proactive, and show the judge this will never happen again.  We advise each of our clients to immediately seek out an alcohol education program, set up an evaluation and comply with any treatment recommendations.  You may not need counseling, but it will absolutely help in court and the judge will probably order it anyway.  After finishing the program be sure to obtain a certificate that you can present in court, and be ready to speak about your experience and answer any questions about what you learned.  An attorney can and should assist you in finding the right program.

A Maryland State Police trooper arresting a driver for DUI on a Friday night in Baltimore County is hardly a newsworthy occurrence.  But when the same trooper arrests the same driver for the same offense just two hours after the first traffic stop it has to make your head turn.  The first arrest happened just after midnight on Route 40 in Rosedale, an area northeast of Baltimore City.  This stretch of highway is a hot area for late night police patrols, and officers are especially keen to impaired driving.  On this particular night a trooper observed a woman driving 67 in a posted 50 mph zone on Route 40 and allegedly passing another car on the shoulder.  A traffic stop ensued and the officer arrested the 33-year old female driver for suspicion of DUI.  The Baltimore woman was also issued a host of other citations including negligent driving, reckless driving, open container and driving off the roadway while passing another vehicle.  As is typical for most DUI cases the woman was processed at the police station and released a couple hours after the initial stop.  What is not typical is that the woman decided to return to her car and drive home that same night.

The state trooper working that evening likely had an idea that the woman he arrested was not finished driving for the night.  According to reports he observed her get back in her vehicle that was parked on a side street off 40.  Police could have had the vehicle towed but they did her a favor and left it parked, which in hindsight was not favor at all.  The trooper followed the woman for a short distance and then initiated another traffic stop at 1:58 a.m., less than 2 hours after and 2 miles away from the first stop.  The same signs of impairment were observed and the woman was again arrested and taken to the police station.  This time she received additional citations for driving within 12 hours after an arrest for DUI or DWI and willfully disobeying a lawful order of a police officer.  Driving within 12 hours of a drunk driving arrest is a jailable offense that carries a maximum penalty of 60 days, and while it’s not that common, it is definitely an offense that a judge will not take lightly.

The woman will be summoned to appear for trial sometime in the next couple months at the district court in Essex. She may chose to resolve her cases in district court or request a jury trial and have the case transferred to Towson. In this type of situation the defendant and her attorney will likely be better served by trying to have the cases consolidated to the same trial date, which the clerk’s office will likely do considering the arresting officer is the same.  Assuming the cases are set for trial on the same day a good defense strategy would be to try to enter into a plea agreement on one of the cases in exchange for the State dismissing the other.  If the State agrees to drop one of the cases it may turn out to be the first case, as it would be reasonable to expect the prosecution to be firm on the charge of driving within 12 hours after a DUI arrest.

Just as the summer beach season began, Worcester County was honored for producing the highest conviction rate among all Maryland counties for DUI and DWI. The announcement came at a recent gathering for state prosecutors at an Ocean City hotel, which also hosts the annual bar convention.  The average conviction rate for drunk driving statewide is about 78 percent, and Worcester County bested this number by a cool 13 percentage points to come in at 91 percent, meaning nine out of ten DUI arrests resulted in a conviction last year in the state’s eastern most county.  Worcester is no stranger to a high drunk driving conviction rate, as the county has been tops in the state for 5 of the last 6 years.  The State’s Attorney’s Office and the numerous police departments that patrol the county highways deserve much of the credit for the courtroom success, but there are other factors contributing to the unusually high conviction rate.

Worcester County is home to Maryland’s only beachfront resort, and thousands flock to Ocean City each summer to enjoy the sun, sand and plentiful nightlife.  While Ocean City will never be confused with South Beach, it is one of the most popular summer destinations in the region and attracts out of state tourists from Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Northern Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware. Many of these tourists come for mellow family vacations involving mini golf and boardwalk fries, but even more come to party.  There is a lot of drinking each night in Ocean City, and unfortunately a lot of driving as well.  Police are on high alert for drunk driving all summer long, and anyone pulled over driving at night in the area will immediately become a suspect.  This is especially true for teenagers and young adults, and also those with out of state license plates.  More drunk driving investigations does not always mean more convictions, but when it comes to younger defendants and out of state residents to odds increase for a conviction.

Out of state defendants are less likely to be versed in Maryland laws and more likely to try to resolve their case on the first trial date.  Ocean City and Snow Hill are not exactly centrally located, thus out of state defendants are less inclined to request a jury trial and appear at numerous court hearings. Drunk driving trials are almost a foregone conclusion unless the cases is tried in front of a jury, as a judge will typically believe an officer who makes a determination that a driver is impaired.  On the other hand, jurors are definitely more skeptical and require evidence in order to come back with a guilty verdict.  It’s one thing to fight your case till the very end when the courthouse is around the corner, but it’s a different animal when court is a five-hour drive away.

The two main concerns for anyone that is arrested for DUI are typically going to jail and losing the ability to drive legally. We touched on the likelihood for jail sentences in a previous post, so in this post we will stick to a discussion about the potential for dealing with a suspended license. It is important to understand that there are two different events that can result in a suspended license, and one generally has nothing to do with the other. The first event is the initial traffic stop where the officer will ask you to take a breathalyzer test to determine blood alcohol content or BAC. If you refuse to submit to the test then your license will automatically be suspended for 270 days for a first refusal and 2 years for a second or subsequent refusal. The suspension is administrative, and is initiated after the arresting officer submits an order of suspension to the driver, and forwards copies to the MVA. The suspensions were increased to these numbers in October of 2016 after the passage of the Drunk Driving Reduction Act.

The suspension for a refusal will actually go into effect after 45 days from the order of suspension, and you will be able to legally drive during this time. The paper order of suspension will serve as the temporary driver’s license. During these first 45 days defendants have three choices to make. First, they can elect to install the engine interlock device (also known as blow and go) in their car and then obtain a restricted license from the MVA. The restricted license will state that the driver is only allowed to drive a vehicle with the device, and for a refusal must be maintained for a minimum of one year. You can only obtain this type of restricted license after you present the MVA with a certificate of installation from the company that installed the interlock device in your car.

If you refuse the breathalyzer you also have the option of requesting a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. The hearing will take place at an MVA branch office or the OAH in Hunt Valley, Baltimore County. When dealing with a refusal case, a hearing officer may only uphold the suspension or reverse the suspension. They will not issue a restricted, work only license. The only realistic ways to win an administrative hearing are to prove that you didn’t refuse, or that the cop had no legal basis to request the test in the first place, and most hearings end up with the driver walking out disappointed, so think twice before requesting one. The third option for a driver that refuses the test is to accept the 9-month suspension. If the police did not confiscate your license you must turn it into the MVA or sign a form stating you lost it in order to get credit for serving the suspension.

Three State Police Troopers were injured last week in two separate drunk driving related accidents. Both accidents occurred in Prince George’s County and in an even greater coincidence both took place on Route 4. Also known as Pennsylvania Avenue, Route 4 runs from Washington D.C. to Calvert County, and passes through Upper Marlboro and Dunkirk. With easy access to and from 495 it is a highway that has witnessed more than its share of drug and alcohol related traffic incidents. State and local law enforcement officers frequently patrol this stretch of road, and have a heightened awareness for DUI on nights and weekends. These two recent accidents should only serve to increase the police presence in the coming months.

The first accident last week occurred around 3:30 a.m. as a trooper was attending to a disabled vehicle. While the trooper was stopped on the side of the highway an SUV driven by a 37 year old man from Upper Marlboro collided into his police cruiser. The impact then sent the cruiser lunging forward into a pedestrian who was standing beside a guardrail. Both the trooper and the pedestrian were taken to the hospital, while the SUV driver was arrested on multiple traffic citations and taken into custody by another trooper from the Forestville Barrack. The man now faces charges of DUI, DWI, reckless and negligent driving, failure to control speed to avoid a collision and willfully disobeying the direction of a police officer. He is currently awaiting a trial date in the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County not far from the scene of the accident.

The second accident occurred just a few days later after two troopers in separate police cruisers were responding to a call about a suspected impaired driver traveling the wrong way on the highway. In efforts to locate the impaired driver one of the troopers accidentally rear-ended the other, sending the lead car across the median and down an embankment. Both troopers were taken to the hospital, with one being air lifted to shock trauma in Baltimore. An officer from the Natural Resources Police later arrested the suspect that the troopers were trying to locate. This suspect did not contribute directly to an accident so will likely only face standard DUI and DWI charges, but you can bet that the prosecutor will call attention to the fact that two troopers were injured in the pursuit.