DUI Driver’s License Suspensions in Maryland
Driver’s license suspension is a common punishment levied against those convicted of driving under the influence in Maryland. This is a problem for many drivers, who need to get to work, or other places but are now without a license to do so legally. For this reason, contacting a Maryland DUI lawyer becomes imperative as they can fight for your rights and show the court that you made an isolated mistake and will not do so again.
To learn more about license suspension and the challenges associated with it in Maryland read below.
DUI Consequences for Driver’s Licenses
If the individual is a Maryland licensee then the driver’s license is confiscated and destroyed. The officer will issue a piece of paper called an officer’s certification and order of suspension, which is actually a temporary driver’s license for 45 days. If an individual chooses to request a hearing then that temporary license is extended until the date of the hearing. So there won’t be any actual driver’s license penalty until after the hearing takes place.
Challenging DUI License Suspensions
You can request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings. It’s a good idea to talk to an MVA hearing attorney before doing that. Sometimes they allow extension requests at those hearings but other times not. It’s a very case specific analysis so there’s no real general law as to whether or not you should request a hearing. It really will depend on both your individual driving needs, your background, as well as what happened in the case.
Restricted Licenses
In order to obtain a restricted license on a low blow case, which is a case where an individual blows a 0.14 or below, the judge has to balance the risk that that individual possesses to safety on the public highways versus that individual’s need to drive, so it’s kind of a balance essentially. There’s two elements to it and when I represent people in administrative hearings, I try to meet both prongs of the balance test.
One, you can show that an individual is safe to drive based on how quickly they go to alcohol classes and other factors about that individual including that they’ve never been in trouble before, they have a clean record, things like that. That’s how you mitigate against public safety.
The way you show driving necessity is very simple. You have the individual testify about what they need to drive for. They can testify about the kind of work that they do, or what kind of school that they go to, and what happens if they can’t drive. Usually, if you present that in the appropriate way, the MVA is willing to grant a restricted license.