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If you have been charged with driving under the influence, you need all the help you can get – which is where the services of a Maryland DUI attorney can help mitigate the damage.

Are you aware of your rights under the law if charged with driving under the influence?

If This Is Your First Offense . . .

Under new Maryland drunk driving laws that took effect on 1 October 2009, if you are convicted of drunk driving for the first time and your blood alcohol content (BAC) level was over .08, you could be sentenced to a jail term of up to a year and fined as much as $1000. If you were transporting a minor at the time of the offense, these penalties can be doubled. In addition, your driving privileges will be suspended for a minimum of six months.

Subsequent Offenses

Fines and jail sentences increase substantially after the first conviction. After a third conviction, the offender faces a $3000 fine, three years in jail and loss of driving privileges for a minimum of eighteen months. If however, the offender was transporting a minor at the time, jail terms and fines are increased by one-third (so, $4000 and four years). The greater penalties also apply if injury or death is involved – in addition to any criminal or civil penalties.

Stricter Standards

Minors and commercial drivers are held to much stricter standards when it comes to driving and alcohol.

In the state of Maryland, it is illegal for persons under the age of 21 years to possess or consume alcoholic beverages. Therefore, a minor can be charged and convicted for drunk driving if any amount of alcohol is found in the system; a BAC level of .02 carries a $500 fine. In addition, the individual faces minor-in-possession charges.

Because of their responsibility for public safety, commercial drivers are also subject to lower BAC limits; .04 is sufficient to warrant conviction on a drunk driving charge.

Other Things to Know

Although the Constitution states that one is innocent of a crime until proven guilty in a court of law, Maryland’s Implied Consent law provides for what amounts to a legal exception when it comes to drunk driving offenses. If stopped on suspicion of drunk driving, you have the right to refuse to submit to testing (blood, breath or urine); however, your driving privileges are automatically revoked for a period of four months for the first refusal and one year for subsequent refusals.

Contacting a Lawyer

DUI and DWI cases are handled on the county level, and procedures vary from one county to the next. It is therefore important to get counsel from a legal professional who is familiar with the courts of the county in question.

A DUI lawyer may be able to get your driving privileges restored under certain conditions; for example, you may be allowed to drive to and from work if you install an interlock (a device that disables a car’s ignition if alcohol is present in the driver’s system). You may also avoid jail time for a first offense by enrolling in an alcohol treatment program.

Here’s a fact: almost one-third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. involve alcohol. Before new laws went into effect in the state of Maryland, DUI penalties were relatively mild compared to the rest of the nation. Now, offenders face license suspension for up to a year, harsher fines – and even jail time if one furnishes alcohol to a minor.

Drivers under the age of twenty-one who are charged with DUI also face possession charges.

The Legal System In Maryland

Under Maryland state law, DUI cases are handled by county courts under a two-tier system. If the offender had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of less than .08, it is considered an “A” offense. If you are charged with DUI, you have the right to what is known as an administrative per se (APS) before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). This judge has a fair amount of discretion when if comes to suspension of driving privileges; s/he can dismiss the suspension altogether, or make exceptions for driving to a place of employment.

The second tier involves a BAC level of over .08. This is actually called “driving while intoxicated” (DWI), and is classified as a “B” offense.

If it is your first offense within a ten-year period, you may be eligible for what is known as probation before judgment (PBJ). If you agree to a year of probation and attend an alcohol abuse education and rehabilitation program, your record will be cleared.

Refusal to Take a Blood Alcohol Test

You have the right to refuse a blood alcohol test, but if you do refuse, you may lose your driving privileges for four months – or up to a year if it your second offense within ten years. In addition, you may face criminal penalties if someone was injured as well as substantial fines if a minor was in the vehicle at the time you were stopped.

Again however, this may be appealed before an Administrative Law Judge, who may modify the suspension, allowing the offender to drive to work, school or alcohol treatment on the condition that an “alcohol interlock” – a device that requires the driver to blow into a breath analyzer before an automotive engine can be started – is installed in the vehicle.

Penalties

If you are convicted of either DUI or DWI, new laws provide for fines of up to $3000 and jail sentences of up to three years in addition to loss of driving privileges. Much of this depends on the circumstances surrounding the offense. Second and third offenses as well as those involving a minor, carry larger fines and longer sentences.

The bottom line for drivers? Make sure you consult a Maryland DUI Lawyer if you are charged with a DUI/DWI offense.