Rockville DUI Attorney: Drunk Driver Hits Police Officer

          
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Last Thursday night, 24 year old Officer Noah Leotta of the Montgomery County Police Department was in the midst of a traffic stop on Rockville Pike near Edmonston Drive as part of a Holiday Alcohol Task Force.  All of a sudden, Officer Leotta was struck and severely injured by a drunk driver who hit the police vehicle and then hit the officer with extreme force.  The drunk driver who hit Officer Leotta remained at the scene after the horrific accident.  He has been charged with DUI among other more serious charges as well.  Officer Leotta was a University of Maryland Graduate and has been a police officer for less than 5 years.  He usually is assigned to patrol the Wheaton area of Montgomery County, however, with the holiday season in full swing, he was reassigned to the alcohol task force.  Montgomery County Police Captain has said that Officer Leotta’s passion was “policing,” and specifically, “enforcing driving under the influence laws.”

            

The dangers of drinking and driving cannot be stated enough.  There are so many drunk driving occurrences on the roads, and those numbers increase during the holiday season with holiday parties and other events going on.  Police across the state always step up their DUI patrols in December up through New Year’s, which accounts for the most drunk driving related citations and arrests.

            

Drivers should always be cautious when driving by police officers conducting traffic stops on the sides of roads.  Police are urging drivers to give extra space to police who are conducting traffic stops and asking drivers to move over one lane to avoid any kind of accident involving a police officer being hit on the shoulder. 

Remember that if you are attending a holiday party this month, there are numerous options for people to get transportation without driving drunk.  However, if you make the irresponsible decision to drink and drive and you are pulled over and charged with DUI or DWI in Maryland and would like a free legal consultation or if you would like more information on DUI or DWI please feel free to contact our office at (301) 854-9000 and schedule an appointment at our office in Rockville or throughout our many Maryland offices.

Almost 80 Drunk Drivers Arrested Over the Weekend in Maryland

         Over the weekend, Maryland State Police arrested 77 drivers suspected of drunk driving.  Police had not increased drunk driving patrols like they sometimes do on weekends, so it is likely that several other drivers were driving under the influence and did not get caught.  The summer-like weather could be to blame for the increase in drunk drivers on Maryland roadways.  When the weather is warm, more people tend to go out and drink and then decide they are ok to drive home.  Three of the seventy-seven arrested were involved in separate accidents with state vehicles.

            Just outside Washington, D.C., a driver under the influence of a controlled substance crashed on the side of the beltway near the Wisconsin Avenue exit.  Also in that area, another drunk driver caused a crash wither several vehicles on I-270 and fled the scene.

            In Washington County, a man under the influence of alcohol crashed his ATV into a police car parked in a driveway.

            In Montgomery County, a Maryland State Trooper pulled over a driver under the influence of alcohol with the assistance of another trooper.  During that arrest, another drunk driver crashed his vehicle into the trooper’s car.  Luckily, no major injuries were reported.

            Finally, another drunk driver went off the road and hit a State Highway Administration truck with all of its emergency lights on.  This accident caused a fire and the SHA worker was struck in the collision.  Luckily, his injuries were not serious and medical treatment was refused.

            Portner & Shure wants to remind drivers again to not drink and drive.  No reason to put your own life and the lives of others at risk of serious injury or death.  With warmer weather here to stay, drivers need to remember to make smart decisions and call a taxi, Uber, or Lyft if you have been drinking.

             If you have been arrested for a DUI/DWI it is important that you consult an experienced Maryland DUI attorney immediately because DUI is a criminal offense and carries potentially severe penalties.  An experienced attorney can guide you through the court process and find any possible defenses that can either mitigate the penalties in the case, or in some instances, lead to an acquittal or dismissal. 

             If you or a family member has been charged with DUI or DWI in Maryland and would like a free legal consultation or if you would like more information on DUI or DWI please feel free to contact our office at (301) 854-9000 and schedule an appointment at our office in Columbia or throughout Maryland, or visit us on the web at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Criminal-Defense/DWI-DUI/

What You Need to Know About MVA Administrative Hearings in Maryland

In most cases involving first offenders, Portner & Shure advises clients pulled over for DUI/DWI in Maryland to consent to take a test (usually a Breathalyzer test) to measure the alcohol concentration in their system.  If you refuse the Breathalyzer test, or if you take the test and your alcohol concentration is 0.15 or more, there are severe consequences for your driving privileges, including not being able to request an administrative hearing with the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA).

In situations when you consent to take the test and your alcohol concentration is less than 0.08, you are not subject to a suspension of your driver’s license, and no administrative hearing is necessary.  However, if your alcohol concentration is at least 0.08 but less than 0.15, your driver’s license will be suspended for 45 days for a first offense and 90 days for a second or subsequent offense.  In this situation, you have the right to request an administrative hearing.  You can request this hearing at any time within 30 days of the Order of Suspension to show cause why your driver’s license or privilege should not be suspended.  More importantly, you must request a hearing within 10 days of the date of the Order of Suspension to insure that your privilege to drive is not suspended prior to your hearing.  The request must be made in writing and must include a check or money order for $150.00, which is the required filing fee. 

If you have been charged with DUI/DWI in Maryland, it is vital that you hire an experienced DUI/DWI attorney who can challenge the administrative consequences, such as a driver’s license suspension, and work to achieve a favorable result.  In some instances, your attorney can get a modification of your license suspension or even challenge the state’s entire case against you by arguing that the alcohol measuring device was not properly calibrated.

If you or a family member has been charged with DUI or DWI in Maryland and would like a free legal consultation or if you would like more information on DUI or DWI please feel free to contact our office at (301) 854-9000 or visit us on the web at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Criminal-Defense/DWI-DUI/

Why Choose Portner & Shure as your DUI Attorney?

If you have been arrested for a DUI/DWI it is important that you consult an experienced Maryland DUI attorney immediately because DUI is a criminal offense and carries potentially severe penalties.  An experienced attorney can guide you through the court process and find any possible defenses that can either mitigate the penalties in the case, or in some instances, lead to an acquittal or dismissal.

Mr. Portner has a proven track record of successfully defending clients charged with DUI in Maryland.  He knows the severe penalties and all the possible negative effects of having a DUI conviction on your criminal record.  Some of the direct and indirect consequences include jail time, substantial monetary fines, demotion at your job, losing your job, losing security clearance at your job, being deported if in the United States illegally or using a temporary visa.  Mr. Portner has been defending DUI clients for over 20 years.  Portner & Shure has several five-star reviews on Yelp and Avvo, with clients stating their appreciation to Mr. Portner for working tirelessly on their case.  With such severe life-changing penalties possible as a result of a DUI charge, it only makes sense to choose an experienced and knowledgeable DUI attorney to defend you.

For example, Mr. Portner achieved an extremely favorable result for his Chinese-speaking client who was charged with an aggravated DUI when he crashed his car into a guardrail on Route 29 in Howard County, Maryland.  The client’s car was totaled with $28,000 and the client fractured his thumb in the accident.  When police arrived at the scene, the client agreed to perform various field sobriety tests and to a breath test in which he blew a 0.11.  The client was born in China, went to Montgomery College for three years, is a United States citizen, and has had no problems with the law before this incident.  Mr. Portner emphasized the fact that this was the client’s first offense and he had made one terrible mistake.  The Court and the State’s Attorney’s office both agreed with Mr. Portner in that it would be too onerous with the language barrier to sentence the client to supervised probation and that this was the right case for a probation before judgment.  The client was sentenced to unsupervised probation, a rarity in a case akin to this one; however, it was clear that the client had been punished enough by the injuries he sustained and damages to the car.