Articles Posted in DWI and DUI

Maryland State Police troopers were extremely busy over the July 4^th holiday, and recently reported the arrest of nearly 100 drivers over the long weekend.  From Friday the 1^st through Monday the 4^th 95 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drunk or drugged driving and cited with numerous other traffic violations.  The State Police conducted DUI saturation patrols on Route 50 in Anne Arundel County and the lower Eastern Shore, and also worked patrols on I-695 in Baltimore County, I-70 in Howard County and I-495 in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.  Troopers and officers from various departments such as the MDTA Police issued 1,396 citations on interstates 695 and 70, and an additional 852 along Route 50 in Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties.  Ocean City Police officers and Deputy Sheriffs from Wicomico and Worcester Counties also likely arrested several impaired drivers over the weekend, and drunk driving arrests will continue to add up over the summer.

The sheer number of citations issued over the weekend seems extremely high, but keep in mind that each time a person is arrested for DUI in Maryland they almost always receive at least 3 citations.  Police typically charge DUI and DWI as well as DUI Per Se if the driver took a breath test and blew over .08.  In addition, there is often a traffic infraction that justifies the original stop, such as speeding, failing to stay right of the center and/or failure to obey a traffic control device.  A driver will typically be issued a traffic infraction along with the impaired driving tickets.  Also, it is almost common practice for the Maryland State Police to charge a person with reckless driving and negligent driving when they arrest a person for drunk driving.  If you are charged with DUI in Maryland, it is not beneficial to prepay the traffic citations associated with the case, as they will ultimately be set for trial along with the impaired driving citations.  Paying the citations will result in points being assessed by the MVA, and could also cost hundreds of dollars.  In most cases the non-jailable traffic citations end up being dismissed by the State’s Attorney’s Office pursuant to a plea on one of the more serious citations.  A driver cannot be sentenced on more than one impaired driving ticket, so do not be alarmed when you see two or more similar citations.

The Blog will continue to follow trends regarding DUI arrests in Maryland over the course of the summer, and may post a follow up article as the various police departments release information about stops and arrests.  If you have been charged with a traffic violation, contact Maryland DUI lawyer Benjamin Herbst anytime for a free consultation.  Benjamin has successfully represented hundreds of clients charged with impaired driving, and he has extensive experience representing out-of-state defendants and repeat offenders, as well as federal DUIs and individuals charged with DUI while transporting a minor.  Benjamin has won numerous jury trials and has argued for the dismissal of evidence based on illegal stops.  Anyone who is arrested for impaired driving may also face MVA license suspensions ranging from 6 months to a year, which are separate from what happens in the court case.  Benjamin can help on this end as well and has successfully handled numerous MVA hearings at the Office of Administrative Hearings or OAH in Hunt Valley.  Recently, Benjamin successfully argued that the State Police had not provided sufficient evidence that his client was in control of a motor vehicle when arrested for DUI, which led to the restoration of his client’s full driving privileges.  Contact Benjamin anytime to discuss which defenses may be available in your case at 410-207-2598.  The Herbst Firm represents clients in all Maryland jurisdictions including the federal courts in Greenbelt and Baltimore, and also accepts criminal defense and DUI cases in Florida.

A Washington County man was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 5 years of probation after entering a plea to one count of manslaughter by vehicle in a grossly negligent manner.  The 30-year-old defendant was originally charged in the District Court with numerous traffic citations such as DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended/revoked license.  He was also charged with four criminal offenses included the criminal negligence and homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.  All of the citations and criminal charges were transferred to the Circuit Court after the State’s Attorney’s Office filed a criminal information about two months after the incident.

Under the Maryland Criminal Code, a charge of manslaughter by vehicle is defined as causing the death of another by driving or operating a vessel in a grossly negligent manner.  There is no requirement that the State prove the defendant was under the influence, though it almost always involves an element of drug or alcohol impairment.  The charge is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison upon conviction, but the max becomes 15 years if the defendant has a prior conviction for a drug or alcohol related driving offense.  This penalty is significantly higher than the 5-year max for a conviction of homicide by motor vehicle or vessel while under the influence and the 3-year maximum sentence for manslaughter by criminal negligence.  It is no surprise that the State was firm on extending a plea offer that involved the gross negligence penalty, especially considering the defendant had a least two prior drunk driving cases and was driving on a revoked license.  The first took place back in 2013 when the defendant received probation before judgment for DUI.  Just three years later the defendant was convicted of DUI and received a jail sentence.

While a 10-year prison sentence may seem harsh for a crime that only carries a maximum penalty of 15 years, the defendant essentially pled guilty to a third DUI, which resulted the death of a young man.  According to comments made by the State and the judge at sentencing the family of the victim was in agreement with the sentence, which means the defendant likely would have received more time had the case proceeded to trial and resulted in a conviction for the top count.  Assuming the defendant did not have any additional criminal convictions, his guidelines were probably in the range of 5-10 years of active incarceration.  This means he received the top of the guidelines, though in cases like this the guidelines are not as influential on the state’s recommendation and ultimately the judge’s decision.  DUI manslaughter cases, and cases involving gross negligence or criminal negligence are some of the toughest cases to defend, prosecute and judge due to their tragic nature, but it appears all sides came to an agreement in this case.

Impaired driving laws are constantly evolving in almost every state, and Maryland is no exception.  It seems that each year the legislature makes a firm commitment to steadily increase the potential punishments for drunk driving.  While many of these initiatives do not end up becoming law, they do garner a degree of attention from the media.  This in turn gets the message out to the public and provides a layer of deterrence, which is one of the main goals of lawmakers and anti DUI lobbyists.  In order to keep up, we feel it is important to provide our readers with an overview of the state drunk driving laws every couple of years.

The potential punishments for a first offense DUI and DWI have changed little in recent time.  In Maryland a person who is arrested for impaired driving will almost always be charged with both DUI and DWI.  While it is rarely brought up in court unless the case goes to jury trial, DWI is considered a lesser offense and as a result has a lower maximum penalty of 60 days in jail, a $500 fine and 8 points if there is a conviction.  Defendants who are charged with drunk driving and are seeking a plea deal should always inquire about the possibility of pleading to DWI in exchange for a dismissal of the DUI counts.  A defendant who submits to a breath test and is over the legal limit will likely not have this option, but it still does not hurt to try.  The maximum penalty for DUI and DUI per se is 1 year in jail, a $1,000 fine and 12 points upon conviction.  The per se count is charged as a result of a breath test that is over the legal limit of .08.

A defendant who is charged as a repeat offender faces far stricter penalties, as the maximum jail sentence for DUI with one prior conviction is 2 years, and for DWI is 1 year in jail.  The fines and license suspension times also increase and there is also the possibility of mandatory jail time if the prior offense occurred within 5 years of the current offense.  The punishments for a second offense have not changed in the past few years, but the legislature has addressed punishing those who have two or more prior convictions for DUI, DWI or other impaired driving offense in a different state.  Anyone with two prior convictions faces up to 5 years in prison upon being charged with either DWI or DUI.  Probation before judgment or PBJ does not count as a conviction under this provision.  A defendant with 3 prior convictions for drunk or impaired driving faces up to 10 years in prison upon being charged with a 4^th DUI or DWI.  The 10-year maximum penalty also applies to anyone with a criminal conviction for homicide by vehicle or vessel while impaired or under the influence.  A defendant who has been convicted of causing life-threatening injury by motor vehicle or vessel while impaired or under the influence also faces up to 10 years in prison if subsequently charged with DUI or DWI.

A Baltimore City Police officer was recently arrested and charged with drunk driving after he was found sleeping on the street outside of a convenience store.  According to the incident report the officer was found lying in a pool of his own vomit outside of his vehicle on Eastern Ave in Baltimore.  To make matters worse the defendant, who was off-duty at the time, told responding officers that his personal firearm was missing from the scene.  Police searched the vehicle and the area around the vehicle, but were unable to locate the missing handgun.  The officer now faces charges for driving while impaired and driving under the influence of alcohol, and has a trial date set in the North Avenue District Court in February.  It remains to be seen whether the officer will resolve his case at the District Court level, or request a jury trial that would transfer the case downtown to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.  DUI carries a maximum penalty of 1 year in jail, which means the defendant has an absolute right to request a jury trial under Maryland law.  DWI carries a maximum penalty of 60 days incarceration, and thus is not an offense that affords a jury trial right.

Regardless of where the case is heard, the judge will not be pleased to find out that the officer had previously been charged with DUI back in 2018.  According to an incident report the officer, who was again off-duty, was pulled over after police responded to a call regarding individuals brandishing firearms at a club.  Police detected signs of impairment and the officer was administered a breathalyzer test at the station, which resulted in a reading of .10.  While this is clearly enough evidence to prosecute for DUI per se under Maryland law, the case ended up being dismissed by prosecutors in court.  The officer was also never identified as one of the individuals who allegedly brandished a gun, but two of his off-duty colleagues were identified and disciplined as a result of their involvement.  The officer, who currently lives in Howard County, avoided any major disciplinary consequences back in 2018, but he may not be so lucky in the present case.  If he enters a plea or is found guilty at trial the fact that he was so intoxicated that his handgun was lost or taken without his knowledge will certainly be a factor that the judge will consider at sentencing.  It is likely that a sentencing judge would consider this behavior even more reckless than a typical DUI, as it resulted in another illegal firearm being circulated on the streets of Baltimore.

The 28-year old city police officer has been placed on paid leave during the course of an internal investigation that will not be made public.  The results of the case will be public though, and it will be interesting to see how the state and the judge handle the case.  The public will certainly be watching, and so will the Blog.  We will post a follow-up article when the case is resolved, and comment on the outcome.  Benjamin Herbst is a Maryland criminal defense lawyer who specializes in DUI defense and other traffic charges such as leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing and eluding police, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, driving without a license and federal traffic citations received on Maryland parkways or on federal property.  Benjamin also handles all criminal charges including wear, transport or carry of a handgun, and illegal possession of a firearm.  He is available 7-days a week for a free consultation and is licensed in Florida for those who have criminal or traffic cases in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County.  Call Benjamin today at 410-207-2598 or 954-543-0305 to discuss your case and which defenses may be available to you.

A former Washington County Circuit Court judge recently pled guilty to DUI and was sentenced to 30 days in jail at a recent court appearance in Frederick County. The judge is no stranger to appearing as a defendant, as he was also charged with DUI back in 2009. In the 2009 case the judge pled guilty and was sentenced to supervised probation, a sentence that was modified two years later to PBJ. The facts of the 2009 case were quite alarming, as the former judge was driving with a BAC of .18, more than twice the legal limit and considerably higher than the .15 threshold for enhanced penalties. In this case the judge sideswiped another vehicle at an intersection and injured the driver, and there was also a 3-year old passenger in the vehicle that luckily was uninjured. Needless to say when the judge appeared as a defendant for a second time last week he faced an uphill battle to avoid a jail sentence.

The defense likely requested a probation sentence, but this request fell on deaf ears. Instead of probation the former judge was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his month long sentence in the Frederick County Detention Center. An appeal to the circuit court was filed the same day, but the former judge remains in custody and will serve out the rest of his sentence after release was denied at his bail review hearing a week later. The former judge was not granted the benefit of probation before judgment, which means he will receive 12 points on his drivers license. He may face suspension or revocation unless a Frederick County Circuit Court judge decides to grant PBJ at his next court appearance in August, or down the road with a modification of sentence motion.

All district court judgments are subject to appeal in the circuit court, where the case starts over as if nothing ever happened. This de novo appeal process comes with a catch though; if a defendant is sentenced to jail or probation in the district court he or she will have to begin serving that sentence unless the judge specifically states the sentence will be stayed or continued. In cases where the defendant is jailed, there may be the possibility of posting a bail while the appeal is pending if the sentencing judge grants an appeal bond. The other option is to request a bail from the circuit court, which in this case proved unsuccessful.