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Maryland DWI Lawyer

A charge of Driving While Intoxicated in the state of Maryland can be a devastating experience and can cause a defendant to incur significant personal and professional consequences even before a conviction is secured. A DWI arrest carries significant potential ramifications, instigating a legal process that varies from county to county and may seem daunting without the expertise of an experienced Maryland DWI lawyer to guide you.

The process of fighting a DWI can indeed be complicated. The legal limit for intoxication in the state of Maryland is 0.08%, a level that can be met with as few as two drinks. Your license may be immediately suspended, providing you a ten-day window in which you or your attorney must request a hearing with the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings to be granted temporary driving privileges. If you do not submit this request, your driving privileges could be suspended until your trial. Pursuant to Maryland’s Implied Consent Law, if you are pulled over on suspicion of Driving While Intoxicated and do not submit to a breathalyzer test, your license can be confiscated automatically for 120 days.

Pre-trial sanctions in Maryland

Pre-trial sanctions in Maryland are serious, but a conviction can also levy severe consequences. A conviction on a first offense of DUI or DWI Per Se can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in prison. DWI, a lesser offense, carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and 60 days in prison. Driving While Intoxicated has a slightly lower BAC standard of 0.07% versus 0.08% or higher for DUI. For both classifications, fines and jail time increase with a repeated offense. The level of legal intoxication is lower for minor drivers, at 0.02%, and commercial vehicle operators, at 0.04%.

While a Driving While Intoxicated charge carries lesser penalties than a DUI, the legal and financial consequences are still potentially very serious. It is important to know your rights and to secure immediate legal counsel in the wake of a DWI arrest. If you find yourself facing a DWI, the Law Office of Edward Tayter offers a free consultation to help you ensure the best possible outcome for your case, both in court and by managing the MVA aspect of your arrest. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Tayter presided over 15,000 drivers’ license suspension and revocation hearings as an Administrative Law Judge. Your case will be examined with the utmost diligence to determine the best way to minimize penalties stemming from your DWI charge.

If you have been pulled over and charged with drunk driving, be it DWI or any other criminal violation, our attorneys have experience representing their clients and obtaining positive results in their cases. We will be able to help you at trial, and we will also make sure that you are as prepared as possible throughout the course of your journey through the judicial system. We understand that the system can be confusing for you, especially if this is your first experience with the law. We want to make sure that you are as comfortable with the process and as knowledgable about our strategy as you can possibly be. We will explain the fine points of the laws you are accused of violating as well as the specific charge the state has levied against you.

Our Maryland DWI Attorneys

Our attorneys have handled cases in this area of law and, just as importantly, in the courtrooms where your case will ultimately go to trial if it reaches that stage. They understand what the state needs to prove before they can convict, and they are familiar with strategies to use to poke holes in the state’s evidence. We know the judges who might hear your case and what they look for in these trials. We will be able to look ahead and foresee any obstacles that might come in your way or issues that might arise. If you need help handling your defense against a DWI charge in the state of Maryland, allow Ed Tayter and the attorneys with our firm to work for you.