Challenging a DUI License Suspension in Baltimore
An individual should request an administrative hearing within ten days of the initial incident in order to guarantee that the temporary license will be valid until the day of the hearing. The driver will be able to continue to drive on a temporary license until the MVA case is heard at the Office of Administrative Hearings. An individual has an absolute time limit of 30 days to request an administrative hearing on a driver’s license. If you or your Baltimore DUI lawyer doesn’t request a hearing on your license within 30 days, then the suspension will go into effect after 45 days.
Requesting a Hearing
In order to challenge the suspension of your license you must request a hearing. If you don’t request a hearing, then you are admitting that the MVA has grounds to suspend your license. The hearing itself is conducted at the Office of Administrative Hearings or occasionally in a separate hearing office within the MVA. The hearing will be held before an administrative law judge employed by the Office of Administrative Hearings. Their job is to give an unbiased, fair hearing on driver’s license suspensions or any of the other cases heard by state agencies.
At that hearing, it will usually be just you, your attorney, and the administrative judge in the room. There will not be police officers or any witnesses subpoenaed by the MVA and there’s no prosecuting attorney in that case. The judge is going to look at the evidence submitted by the MVA, listen to any arguments and evidence that you submit, and then make a decision.
Getting a Restricted License
The ignition interlock program is now required for anyone who is convicted of or receives a PBJ for an alcohol-related DUI offense (§ 21-902(a) and (b)), or for anyone whose license is suspended for an accumulation of points for an alcohol-related DUI offense. Previously, courts had discretion whether to order ignition interlock in most cases for a person who received a PBJ for driving under the influence of alcohol.
A person must participate in the ignition interlock program for 6 months for a first offense, one year for a second offense, and three years for a third or subsequent offense. The clock begins to run once the driver brings proof of installation of the device to the MVA. Once the MVA receives proof of installation of the ignition interlock device, the driver will be issued an interlock-restricted driver’s license.
The driver is only permitted to drive a vehicle fitted with the ignition interlock device and will incur criminal and monetary penalties for failing to comply with the license restriction. In addition, individuals have to pay for the installation of the device, pay a monthly rental fee to the company that leases the device, and then have to pay to have the device removed as well. That can create an issue for people who rent cars as part of their job. If somebody has to travel with cars, that will be difficult, if not impossible to do with an interlock restricted driver’s license.
Benefit of a DUI Lawyer
A lawyer can explain what the standards are at the MVA and what the possible issues of your case are. A lawyer can also help to decide whether it makes sense for you to request an MVA hearing. Sometimes you may only ask for the MVA to modify the suspension or to give you a work permit and a lawyer can help with that process as well. Other times you may be challenging the underlying facts of the case in which case a lawyer is going to be extremely helpful in convincing the administrative law judge that the MVA has not met their burden and can’t prove the case.