Prince George’s County Auto Accident Lawyers: Deadly Collision Caused by Drunk Driver

          Last Thursday, a 20 year old college student tragically died in a head-on collision on Route 202 near Old Largo Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.  The victim was a prominent student leader at Morgan State University studying business.  Police determined that the driver of a Cadillac lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the center line into oncoming traffic.  This led to a violent collision with another vehicle on the other side of the road, instantly killing the other driver.  The driver in the Cadillac only suffered minor injuries.  After investigating the accident further, police determined that alcohol played a role in this crash and the driver of the Cadillac is likely to face DUI charges.

            

          With the holidays around the corner, this is certainly an even more difficult time for the victim’s family and friends.  Driving deaths caused by drunk drivers are the worst type of fatal accident because they can easily be avoided.  In a majority of DUI-related accidents, the drunk driver escapes with minor injuries, while an innocent person loses their life.  You are entitled to compensation in fatal accident cases caused by drunk drivers.  It is very important to hire an experienced law firm to help you through the difficult process and get you the compensation you deserve. Maryland police will be on high alert for drunk drivers this holiday season, especially as we approach New Years.

             

          If you or a family member has been injured or killed in an accident caused by the fault or negligence of a drunk driver and would like to consult an experienced Maryland auto accident attorney for free, contact us at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Greenbelt or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Car-Accidents/Fatal-Car-Accidents.shtml

Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney, Mistrial Declared in Freddie Gray Case

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Judge Barry Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court has declared a mistrial in the Freddie Gray case after the jury in the trial of William Porter deadlocked Wednesday.  Porter is one of six Baltimore City Police officers facing charges after detainee Freddie Gray suffered a spinal cord injury while in police custody in April, which led to his death days later.  Porter was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.  The Baltimore City State’s Attorney chose to try Officer Porter first as he is a material witness in the trials of the other five officers.  If the other trials took place before Officer Porter’s trial, he would be able to plead the fifth and refuse to testify in the trials of the other officers.

The jury was unable to agree on any of the four charges on which they deliberated in Porter’s case.  In Maryland, a verdict in a criminal case must be unanimous.  If even one juror disagrees with the majority’s opinion, the jury will be considered deadlocked and a mistrial will be declared.  The Office of the State’s Attorney will decide whether it will retry Officer Porter or simply move on with the remaining cases.  If the State’s Attorney decides to retry Officer Porter, the other trials may have to be postponed awaiting a resolution.  As of now, the next trial set to go forward is that of Officer Cesar Goodson, scheduled for January 6, 2016.  Officer Goodson was the driver of the van in which Freddie Gray was detained, and he faces the most serious charges of all the officers involved, including second-degree “depraved heart” murder.

Unlike most criminal cases, the charges against the officers involved in the Gray case require proof that the officers failed to do something, in this case, obtain medical attention for Gray, and that the failure to act amounts to a criminal omission.   Proving a crime of omission is notoriously difficult, and many are not surprised that the jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision on the charges facing Officer Porter.  When news of Gray’s death reached the public in April, the City of Baltimore erupted in protests, some of which became violent.  Baltimore’s Police Commissioner has canceled all leave for officers through the end of the week as the city stands on alert pending further developments.

Rockville DUI Lawyer, Police Officer Killed by Drunk Driver

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A Montgomery County Police Officer was killed earlier this month when he was struck by a drunk driver.  Officer Noah Leotta, 24, was struck while performing a traffic stop during holiday alcohol task force enforcement.  Montgomery County Police Chief, Thomas Manger, delivered a powerful speech after Officer Leotta’s death, stating that the residents of Montgomery County had “lost a great cop,” who was “dedicated to public service.” 

This tragedy has sparked a renewed conversation about Maryland’s current laws and penalties for driving under the influence, especially for repeat offenders.  Manger stated that the drunk driver involved in this case had been arrested twice before for drunk driving and had also been previously convicted for drug possession.  Manger decried Maryland’s DUI laws, stating that, “the state of Maryland has some of the weakest penalties for drunk drivers.”  Manger further stated that there would be little chance of justice for victims of drunk drivers “until the state of Maryland starts taking these crimes seriously.”

In Maryland, the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol carries a maximum penalty of 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine.  First time offenders are eligible for probation before judgment, which is not a conviction, and carries no points for drivers’ license purposes.  Maryland law does not provide for any mandatory jail time for first offenders or for subsequent offenders.  Repeat DUI offenders face the same maximum penalties as a first time offender and it is completely within the judge’s discretion to impose jail time, or not.

By contrast, Virginia has enacted especially harsh penalties for individuals convicted of driving under the influence.   If a defendant’s blood alcohol content is .15 or above, Virginia law imposes a mandatory minimum of five days in jail.  A second offense carries a 20 day mandatory minimum in Virginia.  A third offense carries 90 days.  Virginia civil law also provides enhanced protections for injured victims of drunk drivers in the form of eligibility for punitive damages in personal injury cases where the defendant’s BAC was above .15.  Maryland law carries no such protection.

If you, a family member or someone you know has been convicted of DUI or DWI or if you would like more information on drunk driving, please do not hesitate to call us at 410-995-1515 for a free consultation.

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.

Frederick, Maryland DUI: Recent Case Result November 2015

               Recently, Portner & Shure attorney, Christina Ruhl, obtained an excellent result for one of our DUI clients in Maryland.  Our client was charged with three alcohol related offenses—driving under the influence of alcohol per se, driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving while impaired by alcohol.  Our client was also charged with reckless driving, negligent driving, and failure to display lighted lamps.  The maximum penalties for our client’s charges were 1 year in jail and over $1,700.00 in possible fines.  Ms. Ruhl negotiated a plea bargain for the least serious alcohol offense, driving while impaired, and the least serious moving violation, failure to display lighted lamps.  The negligent driving and reckless driving charges were dropped by the prosecutor.  The Judge granted our client a probation before judgment on the DWI offense with 1 year unsupervised probation without any special conditions.  Fines were limited to only $175.00.

Devastating Deadly 3-Car Crash in Pasadena Halloween Night

           Saturday night, around 10:30pm, three cars in the area of Solley Road and Chestnut Springs Lane were involved in a fatal collision.  One car was heading south on Solley Road at an excessive speed, and as the driver made the turn around a sharp curve, they crossed over the center line.  Another car was driving north on Solley Road, and was struck head-on by the first car.  The first car flipped over as a result of the force of the crash.  A third car, which was travelling behind the second car, was sideswiped by the speeding first car and ended up hitting a tree.  The drivers of the first two vehicles were sadly killed instantly on impact.  A total of eight passengers between the three vehicles were seriously injured.  One passenger in the first car and four passengers in the second car were all taken to shock trauma.

           

           During investigations, police detected an odor of alcohol at the scene, but do not yet know the exact role it played in the accident.  It is likely that one of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol, and that, combined with speeding, likely contributed to the accident.  The second and third cars were filled with teenagers, aged 17-21.  If autopsy reports of the two drivers reveal alcohol in their system, it is a shame that two people had to lose their lives and eight others had to suffer extremely serious injuries because one person made the decision to drive drunk.

Drunk driving related deaths are the worst kind of accident-related death because someone makes an irresponsible decision to drive drunk and then an innocent life is taken away because of that.   Losing a loved one in a fatal car accident is devastating for any family, especially when it could have been prevented.  No amount of money will ever replace losing that person.  In a wrongful death case, the law allows for surviving estates to collect a financial recovery when a negligent party is held liable for the cause of the death.  Compensation for damages can include: loss of services, loss of future income, mental anguish, medical expenses, funeral expenses, and punitive damages.

            

            If you or a family member has been injured or killed in an accident caused by the fault or negligence of a drunk driver and would like to consult an experienced Maryland personal injury attorney for free, contact us at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Glen Burnie or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Car-Accidents/Fatal-Car-Accidents.shtml

Right to an Interpreter when Stopped by Police for DUI in Maryland

             When you are pulled over by police for any offense, especially serious offenses such as DUI/DWI, you have every right to ask for an interpreter.  When you are pulled over, a normal reaction is to be nervous and afraid, and if English is not your first language, you might be confused by many words that the police officer uses and on the forms that you are asked to sign.  If you request an interpreter and one is not provided, that is grounds to have the charges against you dismissed.  In fact, just this morning I was in court with a Chinese client who did not understand many of the complex legal terms related to a DUI case.  Police never provided an interpreter until reaching the police station, and at that point there were connection issues with the interpreter on the telephone.  The connection was lost and instead of reestablishing the connection, police gave up and continued with charging the client and marking off the breathalyzer form as a refusal.  The client never had the interpreter translate the meaning of the form and the consequences that come with refusing a breath test.  As a result, I was able to successfully argue that those charges should be dismissed.

              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 Baltimore or throughout Maryland, or visit us on the web at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Criminal-Defense/DWI-DUI/