Penalties for a Third-Offense DUI in Baltimore

Penalties for a third-offense DUI in Baltimore can be detrimental to your life both on professional and personal levels. If you find yourself charged with a third DUI, contact a Baltimore DUI attorney immediately. A Baltimore DUI lawyer can assist you in minimizing the damages to your personal and professional life and help you to better understand the factors that play into your specific case. Each case is different and therefore a defense strategy needs to be carefully tailored to your situation.

Implications of a Third-Offense DUI on Your Maryland License

The effect on your driver’s license is going to depend on what you did at the police station when asked to blow into a Breathalyzer. There are different sets of administrative penalties for each scenario. In Maryland, there’s a set of penalties for a low blow (under 0.15), a set of penalties for a high blow (over 0.15) and a different set of penalties for refusal to blow.

Additionally, if an individual is convicted of a third-offense DUI, which is very likely on a third offense because courts will never grant third offenders probation before judgment, there is an additional license suspension triggered by that conviction. The nature of that suspension or revocation is going to depend on the individual’s driving record.

Applying for a Restricted License

You can apply for a restricted license after being charged with a third-offense DUI in Baltimore. Usually, that license is going to require that you install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle and maintain it for a period of at least a year. And certain circumstances will make you ineligible for license modification, but those are going to be on a case-by-case basis.

If you’re not convicted of a third-offense DUI in Baltimore, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get your license back either. The administrative penalty and the criminal conviction are separate and independent, and a victory in court does not automatically trigger a return of your driver’s license.

Enhanced Penalties Following a Third-Offense

There are enhanced penalties for aggravating factors in Baltimore DUI cases. One aggravating factor might be your driver’s record, which includes prior convictions. There are also enhanced penalties for having minors in the vehicle. Those situations are going to increase the maximum possible penalty, but not necessarily the actual penalty received. There are also enhanced penalties for refusals to blow, but it’s very rare for that to make a practical difference in sentencing.

However, it has been the case that children in the car make a practical difference in sentencing. It still probably won’t reach the point of the maximum penalty, but it could mean the difference between no incarceration and a weekend of incarceration, or it could add a weekend of incarceration to the sentence. There are a lot of judges who particularly don’t like people driving drunk with their children in the car.

Role of BAC in Penalties

Blood alcohol content can lead to enhanced penalties. I’ve seen judges sentence more harshly in cases where an individual’s blow is extremely high. They’ll sentence somebody who blows a 0.08 very differently than somebody who blows a 0.28. Again, the difference in penalty still probably isn’t going to rise to the level of the maximum penalty, but it can take a case that would have otherwise involved no incarceration and raise the sentence to a weekend in jail.

Challenging a Third-Offense DUI in Baltimore

The administrative procedure to challenge a license suspension is exactly the same whether it’s a first, second or third offense. The elements that the DMV needs to prove are going to be the same, and the process for challenging the administrative suspension is also the same. The only difference comes down to the penalty; it’s what happens if you aren’t successful in challenging the suspension that’s going to change from a first offense to a third offense. An experienced Baltimore DUI lawyer can help explain to you the ramifications of challenging a DUI in Baltimore and help your defense strategy.