What Are the Penalties and Sanctions for DUI/DWI?

The criminal penalties for the charge of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) are one (1) year incarceration, a $1,000.00 fine and twelve (12) points if you are convicted. The criminal penalties for the charge of Driving While Impaired (DWI) are sixty (60) days incarceration, a $500.00 fine and eight (8) points if you are convicted. In order to avoid these serious criminal penalties, the charges must be thoroughly investigated and defended at the criminal Trial.

Additionally, these charges may carry civil sanctions through the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), which include the suspension of your driving privilege or the installation of a vehicle interlock. These civil sanctions may be imposed irrespective of the outcome of the criminal Trial.

If you agreed to take the Breathalyzer Test and you provided a breath sample to the Breath Technician, and the result was a Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Level of .08 grams or more, your Maryland Driver’s License would have been confiscated and you would have been provided a temporary license (DR-15A), which requires immediate action because it expires after forty five (45) days and your privilege to drive in Maryland will be suspended on the forty sixth (46) day.

Under Maryland’s Implied Consent law, when you obtained your Driver’s License, you consented to take a test (Breathalyzer Test) if you should be detained on suspicion of driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol, while impaired by alcohol, while so far impaired by any drug, any combination of drugs, or a combination of one or more drugs and alcohol that you could not drive a vehicle safely, while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, in violation of an alcohol restriction. This allows for the suspension of the license of a driver who refuses to submit to testing for alcohol concentration. However, even though you consented to take the test, you may refuse to take this test. By refusing to take the test, the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) will seek to suspend your driving privilege for a period of time. For a first offense, you face an automatic suspension of one hundred and twenty (120) days. For a subsequent offense, the suspension is one (1) year.

You are entitled to an Administrative Hearing regarding the suspension, which must be requested on a timely basis. At this Hearing, through counsel, you may petition the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to modify the suspension if you agree to have an “interlock” system installed in your car. An interlock system is a mechanical unit, which requires the driver to blow into a device located in the car before the car will start. The device can sense alcohol on the driver’s breath and will not allow the vehicle to start if alcohol is present.

If the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) grants the request for the interlock, your driving privilege will not be suspended. There is an installation fee for the device as well as a monthly rental expense, which ranges from $50.00 to $90.00 per month.

If your BAC was between .08 and .14, for a first offense the suspension period is forty five (45) days. For a second or subsequent offense, the suspension period is ninety (90) days. Through counsel, certain modifications to these Administrative sanctions, such as obtaining a restricted license, which allows you to drive for certain purposes, are possible. The MVA civil sanctions are independent from the results of the Criminal Court proceedings.

Beginning on January 1, 2007, the Legislature changed the law regarding the civil sanctions and based the sanctions on the individual’s Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Level (House Bill 525). For a Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Level of .15 or greater, what some refer to as a “super blow,” there is now a ninety (90) day suspension for a first offense (it was formerly a forty five (45) day suspension period). For a second or subsequent offense, the suspension period is now one hundred and eighty (180) days (it was formerly a ninety (90) day suspension period). For a Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Level of .15 or greater, the person is not eligible to get a modified work restricted license during the period of suspension. The choices are the suspension or electing to have an interlock for a period of one (1) year. An Administrative Hearing is not necessary in order to obtain the interlock. A letter will be sent by the MVA.

In the realm of the Administrative Hearing, as with the criminal trial, there are multiple defenses to be evaluated by experienced counsel, irrespective of the State’s evidence. It is possible, based on the facts of an individual case, to succeed in having the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) take “No Action” in your case so that your driver’s license is returned to you without any suspension.

Call me at 410-446-6644 or complete the Free Attorney Consultation box on this page to discuss your case at no charge and to fully protect your interests.