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Baltimore DUI Lawyers

1. Sellers, Gerald: Personal Injury * Automobile negligence * Slip and fall * Product liability Workers' Compensation Criminal Defense * Misdemeanors * Felonies Traffic and DWI Medical Malpractice Wills and Trusts * Power of attorney * Living wills * Estate administration Property Law * Deed transfers * Life estates General Litigation Domestic Law * Child support * Separation agreement * Uncontested divorce
2. Wray McCurdy: Before juries begin the deliberation process, courts provide instructions regarding applicable law or procedure. In criminal trials, courts generally instruct jurors regarding the phrase "beyond a reasonable doubt." This instruction is given primarily because the Constitution has been interpreted to require that each element of a crime be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt." Although this phrase is well known and used in courts across the nation, many courts have adopted accompanying language that varies the overall meaning. Such modifications are considered proper so long as the constitutional protections afforded criminal defendants are satisfied.
3. Michael Ramsey: Statements made at any stage of a criminal prosecution can be critical to your successful defense.  You need a skilled criminal defense attorney as early as possible.
4. Jason Kobin: Punishment for drunk driving has become increasingly severe in the past twenty years. In earlier days, people convicted of drunk driving often faced little real punishment if they had not injured anyone or destroyed any property. However, modern laws typically provide for significant jail or prison time and large fines for all offenders. First-time offenders may be given a "break", such as a suspended sentence conditioned on treatment for substance abuse or attendance at drunk-driving school. The penalty for second or subsequent offenses, however, often includes mandatory minimum jail or prison sentences that cannot be suspended or waived, and stiff fines. The punishment also usually includes revocation of driving privileges for a certain period of time, but it is important to note that the most severe restrictions on the offenders' driving privileges usually come from the state's administrative regulations, which are not considered part of the criminal sentence. In fact, many defendants have unsuccessfully attempted to argue that a suspension or revocation of their drivers' licenses by the administrative agency in addition to the criminal sentence is double punishment that is barred by the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution.
5. Marc Atas: The consequences of a criminal conviction can be devastating. These charges must be vigorously defended.
6. Leslie Gladstone: Your defense is about asserting and protecting your constitutional rights.
7. Michael Mastracci: If you are convicted of a major offense, then you may be subject to a jail sentence. Driving While Intoxicated is one example of an incarcerable offense. If you are charged with an offense of that nature, then you must appear in court. Unlike minor offenses, you do not have a choice of paying a fine or going to court. If you have been charged with a major offense, you will receive a summons in the mail that will include the date, time and location of the trial. Be sure that you go to the correct courtroom at the time indicated on the summons.
8. >Lynda Dee: In Maryland, a person may not drive, or even attempt to drive, while being either intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or drugs or alcohol and drugs. Being behind the wheel with the keys in the ignition even if the motor vehicle is not running may be determined to be attempting to drive.
9. Brian Brown: With the recent public outcry against DWI, states have taken a strict, hard-line position towards offenders. More than ever, competent, experienced representation is needed. Believe it or not, your license to drive could be suspended without a hearing if you fail to act immediately after being stopped and charged with DWI or DUI.
10. Kahn, Smith & Collins: A law enforcement officer may stop and detain you if he or she reasonably suspects that you are operating your automobile while under the influence of alcohol. This suspicion or "probable cause" most often consists of the officer's direct observations of your driving. Should a police officer observe you violate any traffic law, for example, crossing lane markers, running a red light or speeding, you can expect to be detained. It is at this initial roadside encounter that the officer's observations may form the basis for probable cause. Nearly all drunk driving cases begin with the arresting officer noting "blood-shot eyes" or "a strong odor of alcohol."
11. Cohen & Dwin: You've been arrested for drinking and driving in Maryland. You took the breath test and your license is confiscated. You're given a flimsy piece of paper that acts as your temporary license until you get some kind of hearing where they'll probably take your license away for real. But don't they care? You still have to work, and there's no public transportation anywhere near your job site. Now your wondering if you should have refused the breath test. And all of this is before you go to court!
12. Bruce Robinson: n Maryland once you are stopped for suspicion of DWI several legal rights attach to protect you freedom but responsibilities also attach. For example, the officer will endeavor to give you several field sobriety tests including a preliminary breath test. While you are under no legal obligation to engage any of these tests, many drivers choose to attempt them. The problem with the field sobriety tests is that they are foreign tests, usually done on the side of the road, at night in the dark, while the driver is nervous and anxious. The officer tells the driver what she is supposed to do, the officer is supposed to demonstrate the test and then the officer watches the driver attempt to carry out the test taking copious notes every time the driver does something she is not supposed to do. Before you know it, the driver is arrested, handcuffed, placed in the back of the police cruiser and whisked off to the police barracks for a formal breathalyzer test which will be used in court to prosecute the case.