Maryland Drunk Driving Lawyer
If you are accused of a drunk driving offense in Maryland you may face long-term consequences. Convictions for drunk driving offenses remain on your driving record for life and have additional serious consequences, even for a person who has never been in legal trouble before.
If you face a drunk driving charge, contact us immediately to schedule a free confidential initial consultation with a highly skilled Maryland drunk driving lawyer.
Your License and Your Privilege to Drive
It is very important that you speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately after being arrested for drunk driving. Maryland law provides that an individual arrested for an alcohol concentration of .08 or refusal violation has 30 days to make a request for a hearing or license suspension or revocation will occur. Although a person has 30 days to make a hearing request, the only way to guarantee a hearing prior to the suspension date is to put in a request within 10 days. We can assist you in making your hearing requests and will represent you in all hearings in order to challenge the immediate loss of your driver's license.
The timeline for your privilege to drive following a DUI/DWI arrest is:
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10 days after arrest: a critical time to give yourself the opportunity to preserve your license until the MVA administrative hearing, because your Maryland lawyer can request a stay of the suspension until the hearing date.
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30 days after arrest: this is the last day to send a postmarked request for an MVA administrative hearing to fight your alcohol suspension. If you fail to make the request by the 30th day, your hearing request will be denied unless you can show certain extreme circumstances.
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45 days after arrest: the temporary license given to you by the officer lasts until this day.
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46 days after arrest: your license is suspended.
DUI Penalties for these violations include long-term insurance increases, significant fines, revocation of a driver's license, alcohol assessment and treatment/education. For criminal or repeat offenses penalties may include mandatory jail or prison sentences and installation of ignition interlock devices.
Given the serious and harsh penalties associated with a drunk driving conviction, you need aggressive and highly skilled lawyers who have knowledge of the law and familiarity with the science required to successfully defend your case.
If you face a drunk driving charge, it is crucial that you contact the Law Office of Andrew Hoverman, LLC as soon as possible.
For more information on drunk driving offenses in Maryland, please visit our Maryland Drunk Driving FAQ page.