MDDD : MARYLAND DEFENSES to DRUNK DRIVING

www.charlesjeromeware.com                   "Here to make a Difference."
Premier defense attorney Charles Jerome Ware is ranked by his many satisfied clients as well as his legal peers as being one of Maryland's " BEST 10 DUI and DWI Attorneys" [AIDUIA]. For an initial courtesy consultation, contact him at (410) 720-6129. He can help when you are arrested or charged with drunk driving offenses.


Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), or "drunk driving", as it is usually called, is one of  the most commonly committed crimes in the United States. Yet it is also most commonly committed by non-criminals --- that is, by otherwise respectable citizens who have never been in trouble with the law, otherwise. Consequently, representation of  DUI defendants is often attempted by attorneys not well-versed in criminal law. Typically, defendants use business or family lawyers to undertake representation of them "as a favor". Not a good idea.  Drunk driving, the client and the lawyer tell themselves, is merely a glorified traffic offense. Wrong. Drunk driving cases should be taken very seriously, particularly since their convictions carry serious consequences.


Though one of the most common of all  criminal and traffic offenses, drunk driving is one of the most complex to understand and defend against properly. The stakes are high : possible loss of job or even career, stigma, emotional and mental distress, etc. Further, a relatively unique system of legal standards and procedures exists in drunk driving cases that is geared towards facilitation of DUI and DWI convictions. Despite this "stacked deck" against defendants in these cases, there are in fact several legal defenses to drunk driving charges. Just a few are as follows:


(1) Necessity -- The person was diving to prevent a greater wrong or so-called "greater evil".
(2) Duress -- Driving to avoid serious injury or death.
(3) Entrapment -- The officer asks or influences the person to drive while drunk.
(4)Mistake of fact -- The person honestly believes he or she is not drunk.
(5) Involuntary intoxication -- The person is unwittingly drunk ( ex., "spiked" punch bowl, etc.).
(6) Improper stop -- The officer lacked probable cause to stop the motorist.
(7) Improperly administered or inaccurate results of  field sobriety tests (FSTs).
(8) Improperly administered or inaccurate results of breath test results (BTEs).
(9) Improperly administered or inaccurate results of blood test results.
(10)  Rising blood alcohol concentration (RBAC).
(11) Accused not the driver.
(12) Improper police actions -- evidence tampering, civil rights violations, etc.