Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI), for which one can be sentenced to prison, carries not only potential jail time but also large fines and “points” that will be assessed by the Motor Vehicle Administration.
There are two types of drinking and driving offenses in Maryland:
- Driving while impaired, commonly known as a DWI
- Driving while under the influence, commonly known as a DUI
Read our guide to Maryland DUI/DWI frequently asked questions
It is a crime to drive while impaired with drugs, even legal drugs. Punishments for DWIs and DUIs can result in jail time, fines, and points on a driving record. Subsequent offenses can increase the punishments that a person receives, with jail time that can go up to ten years.
Even if you don’t go to jail, a conviction and the resulting points can cause you to lose your privilege to drive and/or face large increases in your insurance premiums. If you find yourself charged with one of these serious offenses, you must immediately retain a team of attorneys who exclusively handle DUI and traffic-related matters on a daily basis.
At Silverman Thompson, our criminal traffic trial team is headed up by partner and former prosecutor Brian G. Thompson. Mr. Thompson and the attorneys who work with him have decades of experience handling these types of cases, both as former Assistant State’s Attorneys and as defense lawyers. And unlike many other attorneys who handle DUI cases, Mr. Thompson and his team practice exclusively in the area of criminal and traffic defense. The attorneys on our team are in criminal traffic court every day – not in divorce court or handling personal injury cases like many other attorneys who claim to be DUI experts.
We will attack the government’s case against you from the moment you were stopped by the police all the way through your arrest and blood alcohol content testing to make sure the police acted legally and treated you fairly:
- Were you legally stopped?
- Did the police conduct the field sobriety tests correctly and was the officer who conducted them properly trained to give them?
- Were you advised of your Miranda rights before any statement was taken from you?
- Did the Police Officer have probable cause to arrest you and was the arrest otherwise legal?
- Was the equipment used by the police to test your blood alcohol content properly maintained and calibrated according to Department of Health and Mental Hygiene guidelines?
- Were you denied your right to speak to an attorney?
These are just a few of the possible defenses that our criminal traffic team will aggressively pursue on your behalf.
Our aggressive criminal defense attorneys have the experience and expertise to exploit the mistakes that are very often made by the police to your advantage and to otherwise defend you against these serious traffic charges. We know how important your freedom and your privilege to drive are to you and we will aggressively fight to ensure that you keep both.
The criminal defense team at Silverman Thompson is committed to providing our clients with the highest standard of defense.
If you or a loved one requires defense in a case regarding DUIs, please contact us toll-free at 800-385-2243 for a free consultation.
Disclaimer: This page is informative in nature. The information contained herein is not to be considered legal advice and there is no attorney-client relationship formed between Silverman Thompson and the reader.