Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Maryland Pol Pleads Guilty to DUI

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:05:00 +0000

Kumar Barve, the majority leader in the Maryland House of Delegates, pleaded guilty to a first offense DUI. News reports here and here. He was sentenced in Montgomery County District Court.

Reports indicated he blew a .10 on a breath test, slightly above the legal limit of .08% BAC. Police reports suggested that he crossed a double yellow line, failed a "walk and turn" so-called field sobriety test. Officers also indictated that he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot, his face flushed, and his speech was slurred, as they typically do in DUI arrests.
He received a standard sentence of a probation before judgement, which essentially means that the guilty finding will be recinded if he meets all the conditions of his probation. And he will be eligible to have the charges expunged in the future.
Other conditions of his probation include not drinking alcohol for 1 year, attending MADD meetings, and completing a 26 week alcohol awareness class.
Delegate Barve took full responsibility for his actions, and no one was harmed. We wish him the best, and understand that this is a mistake that anyone could make.
All in all, he got a reasonable, standard result for someone under the circumstances. A good DUI defense lawyer would be able to get a similar result for anyone under these circumstances who chose to plead guilty. There is no evidence at all that he received any judicial favoritism in this outcome.
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If you are charged with drunk driving/DUI/DWI in Maryland, please contact us for your free defense consultation. We can help you fight the charges and defend your license, or work to make sure you get the best and fairest deal under Maryland DUI laws. There is no obligation for our advice.

Increased Penalties for Speeding/Reckless Driving?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Michael Dresser at the Baltimore Sun thinks that people who speed are as bad as sex offenders.

That is certainly bad enough, but he also believes that Maryland should adopt Virginia's extremely tough reckless driving laws, and charge anyone speeding 20mph over the limit as a criminal. Currently, reckless driving in Maryland is typically a civil charge, though it can lead to a suspended license.

The fact is, tougher reckless driving laws do little to prevent so called "dangerous driving". The primary goal of most aggressive/reckless driving crackdown laws is revenue for the state. These laws are extremely profitable, and cost drivers thousands of dollars in fees, fines, lost work time due to court dates, increased insurance costs.

And there is absolutely no evidence that they make the roads safer.

Virginia tried to push the envelope even further when then enacted "abusive driver fees", a shameless effort that state officials admitted was merely to extract even more revenue from hapless citizens. That law was repealed after less than a year due to citizen outcry.

Maryland doesn't need to follow this same path in severely punishing relatively minor driving offenses.

For advice on a driving citation, traffic ticket or other criminal charge in Maryland, please contact us.

Non resident penalties for buying drugs in Baltimore?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:45:00 +0000

The Baltimore City Council is proposing a $1000 fine for non-city residents who purchase illegal drugs within the city. The fine would be in addition to any criminal charges.

This unusual penalty is an effort to pay for the drug enforcement costs due to county & out-of-town drug users who travel to Baltimore to participate in the city's significant drug trade marketplace. Police officers would issue the additional citation when confirming the residence of the person arrested for drug possession/drug purchasing.

Attorneys note that there may be significant constitutional issues with this ordinance. It may be illegal to treat residents and non-residents differently for the same criminal charge. It is also not likely to effectively fight the drug trade.

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If you are charged with drug possession in Maryland, please contact us for a criminal defense legal case evaluation.

More Scanning and Surveillance Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:49:00 +0000

The city of Gaithersburg, MD is considering a proposal to add street surveillance cameras and automatic license plate scanner technologies to monitor and identify ongoing criminal activity, and identify cars with drivers with suspended licenses or outstanding criminal arrest warrants. Both of these high tech policing methods are widely employed in Baltimore, and in other Maryland cities and across the country.

The license plate scanners are video cameras connected to police cars that are able to scan the license plates of any cars, either while the police cruiser is driving down the road, or while other cars pass by. The tags are instantly cross checked with police, criminal court and MVA records to identify cars and drivers with issues such as stolen cars/stolen plates, criminal warrants for the driver, or revoked or suspended driver's licenses.

Even a warrant that is decades old, from another state, could somehow show up in a database and cause you serious problems today.

If one of these situations is flagged, the police officer is instantly alerted and instructed to pull over the vehicle to investigate.

It's a simple fact that it is becoming increasingly impossible to avoid any mistakes of the past without serious risk of harm. The wise course of action is to find out if you can solve the problem now, without being arrested and losing any leverage you may have in negotiating with the courts about a past problem. If you are already charged and in jail, the prosecutors may not be willing to work out a reasonable deal.

However, in many cases, we can make old warrants go away with minimal problems, if we get to them beforehand. Please contact our Maryland criminal defense law offices to find out what we can to do to help.

Insurance Fraud Penalties Issued to Maryland Man

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:48:00 +0000

A former officer for the Maryland Transit Association was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in an insurance fraud scheme. He destroyed his SUV and that of some friends in order to get out from under the loan payments due to tight financial conditions.

Often criminal fraud charges in Maryland result from desperate financial situations and momentary panic. If you committed an act of fraud , exercising bad judgment in a weak or stupid moment, we understand how this can happen. You do need to face that these charges are serious.

But that doesn't mean you deserve the maximum penalty allowed by law for a stupid mistake. Please contact us to find out how we can help you work out a reasonable deal, and get on with your life.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and fair treatment under the law. But you will not be treated fairly without an attorney on your side to protect you.

Proposals to Increase DNA Database

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:28:00 +0000

The Maryland House of Delegates is proposing a new DNA collection law pushed by Governor O'Malley. Under the proposed law, Maryland police and law enforcement agencies would routinely collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a criminal charge in Maryland. The result would be an expanded database of DNA from which to search in future cases, but civil libertarians argue that it is a violation of the rights of a person who has not been convicted of a crime.

Similar laws are in place in 12 states, including Virginia, and are being actively considered in 22 other states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Members of the Maryland legislatures Black Caucus are against the proposal, saying that it unfairly targets African-Americans, who are arrested at a much higher rate than whites. Supporters of the bill suggest that it is no more of a violation than collecting fingerprint samples during the booking process, but DNA is arguably much more personal, and contains sensitive and detailed information about a person's medical history and background.

Maryland State Senate Increases Fines for Giving Alcohol to Minors

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:27:00 +0000

The Maryland State Senate approved a measure to increase fines for adults providing alcohol to minors, but rejected the House proposal that would have made doing so a misdemeanor criminal charge.

If the proposal becomes law, maximum civil penalties will increase from $1000 to $2500 for a first offense act of providing alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age of 21, and fines for 2nd or subsequent offenses will rise from $1500 to $5000.

Keeping the offense as a civil penalty was controversial, as lawmakers were clearly torn by the difficulties in balancing the dangers of alcohol use by minors with the practical realities of enforcement and prosecution. One factor in stopping the criminal enhancement was that the criminal charge of "Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor" is still an option for prosecution of serious cases.

Effectiveness of Maryland's DUI roadblock & sobriety checkpoint plan disputed

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:32:00 +0000

In a letter to the editor published in Southern Maryland Online, a representative from the American Beverage Institute cites studies that show that roving patrols are far more effective in arresting drunk drivers than organized, visible roadblocks.

It is a reasonable assumption that roadblocks are not a particularly effective use of the limited enforcement resources of the police department. Big, showy roadblocks may make people believe that they are helping reduce drunk driving more than standard, quality police work, and now the evidence supports that belief.

It is always helpful when individuals and groups come together to honestly and objectively assess the best ways to prevent drunk driving. Too often, the neo-prohibitionist groups like MADD are the only voice in the discussion.
By the way, the American Beverage Institute is an industry group that represents bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and is an important voice in fighting drunk drivers at the source.

Surprising Maryland Criminal Offenses

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:37:00 +0000

You can be charged with a crime in Maryland if you purchase more than 2 packs of cigarettes from out of state and transport them home, as a Maryland resident, according to this report.

Cigarettes are much cheaper in Virginia and North Carolina, due to the fact that the average tax is $2 per pack here, while it is only about $1.20 in Virginia. So even if you literally walk across the border, and bring back 3 packs of cigarettes, you are a criminal.

Maryland rejects special license plates for multiple DUI offenders

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Maryland lawmakers rejected a proposed bill to mandate special license plates for drivers with multiple DUI / Drunk driving convictions. The proposed legislation would have required that a person with 3 or more drunk driving/DWI or impaired driving charges get a special license plate with the letters DUI on it, and pay an additional $500 fee for the special tags.

The legislators rejected this "scarlet letter" approach, citing no evidence that these shaming techniques result in reduced offenses or increased safety for the public. Even MADD did not think it was a worthwhile idea, so it is probably safe to assume they are right.

DUI Roadblock Checkpoints Announced in Talbot County

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Matson) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Police in Talbot County Maryland announced they are setting up DUI roadblocks this weekend. The locations are undisclosed, but the fact that roadblocks will be in affect is designed to deter drunk drivers. It is also a requirement for the DUI roadblock to be legal that they be announced in advance, to make them constitutional under Maryland law.