Can You Get a DUI for Just Sitting in Your Car Drunk in Maryland?

Believe it or not, you CAN be charged with DUI in Maryland if you are found sitting in your car while intoxicated. While this may sound counter-intuitive, everything hinges on the statutory language, "actual physical control." In Maryland, according to the statute, a person can be charged with driving under the influence (DUI) for driving or attempting to drive intoxicated, which includes simply being in "actual physical control" of the vehicle.

Now, you may be wondering, what does "actual physical control" of the vehicle mean. In deciding whether someone is in "actual physical control," the Court will consider whether the engine is running, whether you are in the driver's seat, whether you are asleep or awake, where the ignition key is located, whether the headlights are on, and whether you are in a roadway or legally parked. So, for example, if you are found by police just sitting in the driver's seat of your car, with the keys in the ignition, Courts have found that that constitutes "actual physical control" of a vehicle and a person can be found guilty of a DUI.

If you've been charged with DUI in Maryland, contact the criminal defense attorneys at Portner & Shure today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515.

Open Container Law in Maryland: Does it Apply to Passengers in Vehicles?

Many of us are probably aware of open container laws in Maryland. I think we all generally know that it is illegal to have open containers of alcohol outside on the street in public. However, many people probably do not know that it is also illegal to have open containers in vehicles, regardless of whether you are driver, front seat passenger, or back seat passenger. An occupant of a motor vehicle may NOT possess an open container that contains any amount of an alcoholic beverage.

If you are in a vehicle and stopped by police and the officer sees that you have an open bottle of beer or wine, or even just a plastic cup filled with an alcoholic beverage, they will give you a citation for violating Maryland's open container law. This type of attention from police officers will often lead to suspicions of drunk driving and could result in a DUI charge for the driver if any alcohol is detected on them.

There are obvious exceptions to the open container law for special vehicles, such as buses, taxis, limousines, and RVs.

Just remember to never drink and drive and never have open containers of alcohol anywhere in your vehicle. If you are charged with an alcohol-related offense in Maryland, call Portner & Shure for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515.

Three Things to Know if You Are Charged with DUI in Frederick

If you are charged with DUI in Frederick, Maryland, here are three things to remember:

1. If it is your first offense for driving under the influence, the first thing to take care of is your driver's license. When you are arrested for a DUI in Maryland, the police officer will confiscate your license (unless it is an out-of-state license) and give you a temporary paper license that is only valid for 45 days. 
2. If you were offered the breathalyzer test, but refused, OR you took the test and blew over 0.15, you are limited to just TWO options. For a refusal, you may elect to take the suspension for 270 days OR elect to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for one year. For a result over 0.15, you may elect to take the suspension for 180 days OR elect to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for one year. HOWEVER, if you took the breath test and your results were under 0.15, you may elect either of the two options above (180 day suspension), or request a MVA hearing to get a restricted license. A restricted license allows to continue to driving past the 45 day period, but you are limited to driving to/from work or school.
3. When it is time for court, assuming this is your first DUI, there was no contributing accident, you completed alcohol treatment prior to trial, and your breath test results were under 0.15, a probation before judgment (PBJ) is a likely outcome. A PBJ means that there will be no conviction on your record.

If you've been arrested for DUI in Frederick, call the Top-10 DUI lawyers at Portner & Shure for a free consultation today: (301) 854-9000, (410), 995-1515.

What does it mean to have a bench warrant in Maryland?

A common question we receive from potential clients is: "What is a bench warrant and what do I have to do to make it go away?"

In Maryland, you are made aware of the fact that you have an active bench warrant, that means that the police can arrest you on sight if they stop you and run your name in their system to see that you have an active warrant for your arrest. The most common reason that a bench warrant is issued by a judge is because a defendant has missed a required appearance in court. If you have a court date scheduled for a certain day and you do not appear, as soon as the judge calls your case and sees that you are not present, he/she will sign a bench warrant. This action then enters your name in the sheriff's database for all police officers to see. Therefore, if you are stopped by police for any reason and they run your name in their system, they will automatically see the active warrant and will arrest you. Many people think they can stay out of trouble with the police and choose to risk being arrested by doing nothing about their warrant. We do not recommend that, especially as police officers continue to use more advanced technology, such as the license plate readers that allow officers to scan hundreds of license plates in a minute.

If you have missed a court date and have an active bench warrant, don't just ignore it and risk being arrested. Make sure you hire an attorney as soon as possible and they can draft a motion to quash the warrant to help get you a new court date so that you can resolve your matter in court.

If you have an active arrest warrant in Maryland, call Portner & Shure for a free consultation and let us quash that warrant and help you resolve your matter and put it behind you. (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515

Do You Have to Get a New Driver’s License if you Move to a New State?

People often forget that when you move to a new state, you MUST update your driver's license to the new state, or else your other license will be suspended. In Maryland, you have 60 days for a noncommercial driver's license to update to a Maryland license and 30 days for a commercial license. If caught with an out-of-state license past that time period, you will face a suspension on your license.

Sometimes people with out-of-state license with a suspension on their record will move to a new state in an attempt to get a new license without a suspension. When updating to a Maryland license, MVA will not give you a Maryland license until the suspension on your out-of-state license is resolved. In addition, when updating to a Maryland license, MVA forces you to surrender your out-of-state license.

A new change in Maryland regarding licenses is that you will no longer obtain your physical license at MVA. Instead, your new Maryland license will be mailed to you. The new Maryland driver's license is considered the most secure license in the country, and for that reason, MVA will no longer hand out licenses at any location.

If you've been charged with a traffic offense in Maryland related to a driver's license issue, call Portner & Shure today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515.

Charged with DUI in Maryland—Your Ability to Drive Will Be Significantly Affected

In Maryland, when you are arrested for DUI, the police officer will confiscate your driver's license (unless you have an out-of-state license) and provide you with a temporary paper license. This paper license must remain in your vehicle while driving or else you can be charged with driving without a license. The temporary license is only valid for 45 days, and on that 46th day if you have not taken any action, your ability to drive is suspended for a certain period of time depending on various facts of your case (i.e. results of the breath test, refusal of the breath test).  If you take the breath test and the results are under 0.15, you will have three options regarding your driver's license: (1) you may request a MVA hearing to get a restricted license that would still allow you to drive for things such as school or work; (2) you may install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for a one year period and that would allow you to drive freely; or (3) take the suspension, which varies depending on the facts of your case (180 days-2 years).  However, if you refuse the breath test or take the test with results over 0.15, you are only limited to option (2) and (3)--install the interlock device or take the suspension.

When arrested for a DUI in Maryland, time is a very important factor when it comes to your ability to drive after the arrest. If you are able to request a MVA hearing, you should do so within 10 days of your arrest because that guarantees that your hearing will be scheduled before the 46th day when your suspension will take place. If you do not request a MVA hearing within the first 10 days, you must request one within 30 days of the arrest, or else you lose your chance to get a restricted license.

If you've been arrested for a DUI in Maryland, don't put your driving ability at risk and make sure to hire a top 10 DUI law firm in Maryland to help you throughout the criminal and administrative processes. Call us today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000; (410) 995-1515.

Maryland's New Mobile Breath Test Truck Means More DUI Arrests

      We all should be familiar with the stricter DUI penalties in place in Maryland as of October 1, 2016. Police throughout Maryland are doing whatever it takes to catch as many drunk drivers as possible to keep roads and highways safe. Over the past few years, there have been far too many fatal accidents caused by drunk drivers and police want to put an end to that. We have just made it through the busiest time of the year for DUI arrests with holiday parties and New Years.

      Maryland State Police recently unveiled a Mobile Breath Test Truck that they can set up at DUI checkpoints to make the DUI arrest process much quicker. This is bad news for drunk drivers on the roads because this means that police can process a drunk driver much faster than they used to. In a typical DUI arrest, a police officer will pull you over, smell alcohol on your breath, ask you to submit to a preliminary breath test and/or perform field sobriety tests. Based on results of these tests, the police officer will then arrest you for DUI. Next, the officer will have to transport you to the police station to administer the official breathalyzer test. The results of that test are used in your case. This process took a significant amount of time to transport an offender from the scene of the arrest to the station. With the mobile breath test truck, officers can now perform the official breathalyzer test at the scene of the arrest and continue to make additional arrests.

     
       You should always think twice about drinking and driving, but there is even more reason now to call an Uber or Lyft instead of taking the risk to drive. Police are now more likely to catch you driving drunk on the roads than before.

If you are caught drinking and driving in Maryland, call Portner & Shure for a free consultation. The consequences are significant with Maryland's new laws, so don't risk your ability to drive and hire a Top 10 DUI law firm to represent you. Call us today: (301) 854-9000; (410) 995-1515.