Driving While Intoxicated - Driving While Under the Influence

The first element that the State must prove in order to convict you of any DWI laws is that you were actually driving or had control of the vehicle. It must be a vehicle as defined under transportation article 11-176 and it must be operated on property that is public or private. Maryland Court of Appeals has determined that being under the influence of the vehicle with the keys in the ignition is not in itself sufficient to support a conviction for drunk driving. The Court noted that there is no intent by the Maryland Legislature to “park while intoxicated” and the Court identified several factors to determine whether or not someone voluntarily pulled the vehicle over and chose not to operate the vehicle:

1. whether or not the vehicle’s engine is running or ignition is on;
2. where and what position the person is found in the vehicle;
3. whether the person is awake or asleep;
4. where the vehicle’s ignition key is located;
5. whether the vehicle’s headlights are on, and
6. whether the vehicle is located in the roadway or illegally parked.

The next basic premise that the State must prove in order to convict you of this crime is that you were “intoxicated”, i.e., have a blood/alcohol level of .08 or more or whether or not you were “under the influence” of alcohol or and/or under the influence of alcohol per se.

Driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol “per se” is defined in the Maryland Transportation Article 11-127.1A as having alcohol concentration at the time of testing of .08 or more as measured by the grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. This is simply a new law made by the legislation of 2001 and became effective September 30, 2001.

Driving or attempting to drive while impaired is defined as a person's consumption of alcohol to the extent that there is a “failure of normal coordination, although not amounting to under the influence”. In other words, this does not rise the level of an A charge.

Driving or attempting to drive while impaired by drugs or alcohol is defined by Maryland Transportation Article 21-902C that prohibits individuals from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

When an officer stops you on the roadway and suspects you of having consumed alcohol that officer will most likely ask you to perform “field sobriety tests”. Usually these are done on the roadway, parking lot or wherever the vehicle is stopped. While you are under no legal obligations to perform any of these tests most people still choose to attempt to perform the tests. The biggest problem with these tests is that they are usually done in an awkward situation and require physical exercises and/or mental concentration under extremely difficult situations. You have a police officer observing your every move and quite frankly under many circumstances people who have never had a drop of alcohol can not perform some of these tests in a satisfactory way. The police officer is supposed to take notes of whatever you do and anything you do can be used against you later on. It is my opinion that under most circumstance you should choose not to take these field sobriety tests. The police officer must perform the field sobriety under national highway traffic safety administration protocols and many of them do not do this properly. This can be brought up later at your trial.

You may also be asked to provide a breath sample on the side of the road which is called a preliminary breath test. You as a driver are not required by law to perform this test and a refusal to take this test can not be used against you in any way at a later time. Subsequently, you will usually be asked to perform another breath test back at the barracks. The police officer is required by law to explain to you all your rights as to whether or not you should take this test under the DR-15 form. Maryland law requires that all drivers be advised of all these specific rights prior to the breathalyzer test being administered. If the police officer fails to advise a driver of these rights the test may not be admissible in any Maryland Court of Law.

If you refuse to submit to the chemical test the State may introduce into evidence the fact that the test was refused. That is not an admission of guilt or innocence.

Anytime you are stopped by a police officer you have the absolute right to speak to your counsel. It is my advice that you contact my office immediately no matter what time of day or night it is so we can discuss the matter accordingly.

One thing is clear that if you are in fact charged with a DWI or DUI it is imperative that you have a competent lawyer to represent you in this matter. I have been handling DWIs for many years, and I would be more than happy to assist you in your endeavor.

Driving While Intoxicated

Although you may not really understand it when you are charged with an alcohol related offense, but the State (Prosecutor’s Office) has the absolute burden to prove each and every aspect of the charge against you.

I have handled thousands of DWIs and I believe it is imperative that you take action immediately by contacting a lawyer. Time is of the essence and can make a radical difference in the outcome of your case.

Traffic

Maryland has codified all traffic offenses in the “Maryland Transportation Code”. These include but are not limited to “driving while suspended”, “driving while revoked:, “driving without insurance”, “hit and run charges”. It also includes multiple other charges such as speeding, moving violations, red lights, reckless driving and negligent driving.

While most people casually believe that driving while suspended or on a revoked license are serious because they carry with it a potential one (1) year jail sentence and fine, in reality some of the other charges must also be handled properly because they can adversely effect your driving license. Some speeding violations carry up to five (5) points as well as other sanctions.

Please don’t hesitate to seek legal counsel. It is imperative that you have a trial lawyer who understands the law and can handle your situation effectively.