Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) Sanctions
In Maryland, an arrest for DUI/DWI can instantly affect the status of your driver’s license. If you refuse or fail a breathalyzer test, the result is an automatic suspension of your driver’s license on the 46th day after you were arrested. The police will confiscate your license and issue a temporary paper license that is good for 45 days. The length of the suspension depends on whether you agreed to take the breath test at the police station and the result of that test.
You may request an MVA hearing to dispute the proposed suspension of your license or attempt to obtain a work/school-restricted license. To guarantee your license will not be suspended pending this hearing, you must have the hearing request postmarked within ten days of your arrest. If you request a hearing after the ten-day period, but within thirty days, this may result in license suspension pending your MVA hearing.
If you refuse or fail the breathalyzer test at the police station, but do not request an MVA hearing timely, your driving privileges will be suspended on the 46th day after the arrest. If you take and fail the test, the suspension period is 180 days. If you refuse to submit to the breath test, the MVA will suspend your license for 270 days. These suspension periods increase for the 2nd and 3rd offenses.
Requesting an MVA hearing timely with the Office of Administrative Hearings is the best way to avoid these lengthy suspensions of your driver’s license. You may also avoid suspension by opting into the Ignition Interlock Program. Although the length of the suspension is only 180 or 270 days, the Ignition Interlock Program requires participation for one year.
One benefit to taking the breath test at the police station is the ability to obtain a restricted license that allows you to continue to drive to and from work, school, medical appointments, or alcohol treatment instead of having your license suspended for 180 days. This alternative option is ONLY available if you agreed to take the breath test AND the result was below a .15. To take advantage of this option, you must timely request an MVA hearing and present the required evidence to the judge that demonstrates a need for the restricted license.
If your hearing request is received timely, the Office of Administrative Hearings will mail an extension letter that allows you to retain your driving privileges until the hearing date. Therefore, the letter verifies that your temporary license does NOT expire on the 46th day. You must have both your temporary license and extension letter with you while driving.
There are many factual and legal issues that can be presented at the hearing to fight the proposed suspension by the MVA. These issues include whether there was enough evidence to ask you to take a test, whether the arresting officer followed the proper procedure subsequent to your arrest, and whether the test was performed properly and by certified personnel.
Colleen Kirby has been extremely successful fighting the MVA at these hearings and allowing her clients to maintain their full driving privileges. She is well-versed in the statutes that govern procedures to be followed by police officers, state codes that create the regulations pertaining to breathalyzer tests, and Maryland case law from the appellate courts that have ruled on issues pertaining to suspension of driving privileges in DUI/DWI cases. If you're dealing with a DUI/DWI charge in Howard County, Maryland, contact Attorney Colleen Kirby for representation.