College Park MVA Hearing Lawyer

If a person is charged with a DUI in College Park and they hold a Maryland driver’s license, their license will be confiscated by the police officer. They will mail the license to the MVA and issue a paper license with an advisement consisting of a couple of options for requests on the back side of the form. One option is for the ignition interlock device, the other is for a Motor Vehicle Administration hearing. That piece of paper becomes the person’s temporary license. It is good for forty-five days from the date of the traffic stop. A shrewd College Park DUI lawyer can help assess your situation and explain to you the consequences and future expectations.

How a DUI Can Impact Driving Privileges

Driving privileges are determined in an administrative hearing with a College Park MVA hearing attorney present if the person requests one. There is a $150 fee for the hearing. At that hearing, for a first time DUI with a blood alcohol content under .15 but over .08, the administrative judge can choose to take no action if they believe that the stop or test results weren’t conclusive. The judge can choose to give the person a restricted license for forty-five days for first offense, under .15 and over .08 BAC. The person can drive to and from school, work, and medical appointments. That is the restriction on their license. They can’t drive anywhere else. They can’t go to the food store or meet up with friends. The restriction is imposed for forty-five days from the date of the hearing. On the forty-sixth day, the person returns to the MVA to get their license reissued with full privileges and is able to drive anywhere.

If a person is over .15 BAC, they can take a standard suspension or get an ignition interlock device. If they refuse, they can get a standard suspension or can choose the ignition interlock again.

Because there are options available, a person should get in touch with their attorney immediately. After the date of the traffic stop, they have ten days to get that Motor Vehicle Administration hearing. If they don’t do it within ten days, they can be denied that opportunity. If they are eligible for ignition interlock, they have thirty days from the time of the stop to enter that program. If the person misses all of that, their license will be suspended.

Ways a College Park MVA Hearing Lawyer Can Help

A person should go into an administrative hearing with their College Park MVA hearing lawyer. Administrative hearings are very different from the courts. In the court, everyone is used to beyond a reasonable doubt as the level of evidence. If a judge or a jury can’t find a person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, they have to find them innocent.

In an administrative hearing, the standard is purely the preponderance of evidence which means that it is reasonable to believe that a person could have had alcohol in their system. It is possible, it is reasonable and with that standard being very low, a person runs the risk of being suspended. They should never go into a hearing without a lawyer.

A person must go to a hearing to challenge the suspension. The hearing takes place in the main office for administrative hearings which is in Hunt Valley in Baltimore County. They could have one more local to the College Park area. That is a full serviced MVA with hearing rooms.

Challenging a DUI License Suspension

A person can challenge suspension by a College Park Motor Vehicle Administration hearing in front of an administrative judge to explain that the reason for the stop was not a good cause or reason. The officer did not have any reason after giving the standard field sobriety test to seize their license or ask them to submit to an alcohol test. The person’s testing scores were very good. If the person got zero or one out as their clues, they can argue that the officer still went too far. They can also argue that the advisory from the officer and the instructions were inconsistent with the rules. That is exactly what the officers are taught and must follow. There are ways to argue that the suspension should be abated or that the court should take no action in this matter. If someone gets through the hearing, they can actually be eligible to have their $150 fee refunded.

A person can get a restricted license, but it depends on what the disposition is and the facts surrounding the case. That includes their performance on the field sobriety tests coupled with the breath score or if there are any prior DUIs as well.