DON'T LET YOUR MARYLAND DUI
RUIN YOUR LIFE!  

63 Things YOU Need to Know about Your DWI Case
that NO ONE is Telling YOU

FREE MARYLAND DUI EVALUATION

4 things the State's Attorney does not want you to know :

1. He will not know until the trial date if he has all the witnesses available to prove his case.
2. He will not know if he has exculpatory evidence which would prove your innocence until the day of trial, and often, not even then.
3. He has evidentiary problems in proving your blood alcohol level.
4. He's bluffing.

7 of the facts that must be proven before you can be found guilty:

1. Your identity
2. As a driver
3. Of a motor vehicle
4. In the state of Maryland, while
5. Your breath or blood alcohol level was .08 or more (driving under the influence per se) or
6. Your normal coordination was substantially impaired by alcohol (driving under the influence) or
7. Your normal coordination was affected as a result of consuming alcohol (driving while ability impaired).

What you must do immediately to preserve your right to drive:

1. You must retrieve the Officer's Certification and Order of Suspension given to you by the police officer (it also has your temporary license on it)
2. Take the SECOND page, which says "Hearing Request Copy" in red
3. Fill out the back (it's ok to leave the lawyer's name blank)
4. Include a check for $125 made payable to the "Maryland State Treasurer"
5. Go to the Post Office and send it to the Office of Administrative Hearings in Hunt Valley, Maryland (the address is on the form)
6. Send it certified, return receipt requested
7. Within 10 days of your arrest
8. If it is impossible to send it within 10 days of arrest, make sure it is sent within 30 days of arrest or it will probably be too late

10 questions your attorney must ask you.

1. What your itinerary was prior to arrest.
2. Your consumption of alcoholic beverages.
3. Your observations of the officer.
4. The officer's stated reasons for stopping you.
5. Whether the officer asked or ordered you to take roadside tests.
6. Your performance on roadside tests.
7. Statements you made to the officer.
8. What the results were of any breath or blood tests.
9. Whether there were witnesses to your arrest.
10. Whether you were observed continuously for 20 minutes prior to a breath test

What are the 4 items crucial to your defense?

1. A good investigation of the facts.
2. Vigorous cross-examination.
3. A sound understanding of constitutional principles.
4. An experienced attorney.

What is the one thing your attorney must do to raise objections based on the Citations?

• Plead not guilty

Why a jury trial may be advisable:

• Twelve people have to agree on your guilt instead of one (in Maryland you can do this on an appeal, if your first judge trial results in a guilty finding).

What is necessary to get a jury trial?

• You automatically have a right to a jury trial if you are charged with driving under the influence.

How the arresting officer's testimony can be discredited:

1. Inconsistent statements.
2. Failure to recollect.
3. Improper administration of field tests
4. Improper scoring of field tests
5. Failure to record facts against you

5 requirements which must be followed for chemical and roadside tests to be valid:

1. The officer must have had a reasonable suspicion that you were violating the law.
2. The officer must have either had probable cause to arrest you or obtain your consent for roadside tests.
3. The officer must tell you that you have a right to refuse a portable breathalizer test.
4. The officer must have probable cause before he arrests you and before he requires you to take a chemical test.
5. The officer must give you your Miranda rights after you are arrested, if he is going to interrogate you.

What are the 2 key pieces of information which must be learned in deciding to go to trial?

1. An estimation of the weaknesses and strengths of the State's case against you.
2. The effect of a conviction.

How to determine if you can plea bargain, and at what step you should do it.

• It's a cost benefit analysis. Will a guilty plea likely get you a better result than going to trial?  In drunk driving cases in Maryland, unlike other criminal cases, the answer more often than not is no.

What effect will this arrest have on my license and when will I be able to drive?

• If your blood alcohol was over the legal limit or you refused a test, you may not be able to drive at all for a long period of time.

How to save your license if you're found guilty in court

• If you have been active in alcohol education or treatment and can demonstrate a need for the license, an Administrative Law Judge may allow you to drive to and from work, during the course of your employment, to and from school, to and from alcohol classes, or with an interlock installed in your car.
• However, if it is a second 21-902(a) conviction within a five year period there is a mandatory one year hard suspension (no driving period) followed by from three to twelve months with an interlock on every car you own.

What 4 preliminary motions should be argued, and the danger to you if they aren't.

1. Motion to suppress evidence on the ground that you were unconstitutionally stopped.
2. Motion to suppress evidence on the grounds that there was an unconstitutional search and seizure.
3. Motion to suppress statements on failure to give Miranda rights.
4. Motion for Discovery of all evidence.

If these motions are not raised, your case may not be dismissed when it should have been. You may not be told about evidence which would prove your innocence.

7 defense tactics in pre-trial motions:

1. Contest the constitutionality of the stop.
2. Contest the constitutionality of the administration of roadside tests.
3. Contest the constitutionality of the probable cause to arrest.
4. Contest the constitutionality of the Miranda rights.
5. Contest the manner in which roadside tests were given
6. Contest the constitutionality of any search and seizure
7. Contest the breath or blood test.

Maryland Drunk Driving Defense
W. James Guillory, Attorney at Law
Meng & Alpert, LLC
14507 Main Street, P.O. Box 549
Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20773
Phone (301) 627-1600
Cell (202) 297-2664
Fax (301) 627-2838
E-mail:jg@chesapeake.net

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