Anne Arundel County Traffic Lawyer

There are many different traffic offenses that someone may face in Anne Arundel County, ranging from things that are very minor like speeding, failing to signal, or failing to wear a seatbelt, all the way up to more serious offenses like driving under the influence of alcohol or driving on a suspended license. Based on the type of offense the accused is facing, an individual may face anywhere from a small fine, to the possibility of jail time and very serious amounts of points on your driving record. Regardless of the severity of your offense, however, an Anne Arundel County traffic lawyer with local traffic law experience can assist you. Call and schedule a consultation with a defense attorney in Anne Arundel today to learn more.

Misdemeanor Traffic Offenses

Traffic infractions are usually misdemeanors as there are no felony traffic infractions in Maryland unless somebody is involved in an accident that was also linked to very serious injuries or the death of another party. Under these circumstances, the individual accused would not only be facing traffic offenses, but would also likely be facing criminal offenses like manslaughter or assault charges.

Serious Traffic Infractions

Charges of driving under the influence or while impaired by alcohol are very serious and can carry anywhere between 60 days to a year of incarceration for a first offense and anywhere between eight to 12 points on your driving record. The points could suspend a person’s driving privileges or revoke them entirely.

People are also sometimes surprised when it comes to the seriousness of charges like failure to remain at the scene of an accident or driving on a suspended license. These charges carry points, as well as jail time, which could be imposed by the court system and warrant attention from a traffic attorney in Maryland.

It is important to have an experienced traffic attorney in Anne Arundel for those kinds of charges, because the arguments available for those kinds of cases are strong and there are nuances that can get someone out of serious trouble if the prosecution is having issues proving the allegation against the person accused.

The Maryland Point System

Since Maryland uses a point system, it is important to be aware of what you are charged with, which an experienced Anne Arundel County traffic attorney can determine easily. The point system is a system that the Motor Vehicle Administration has for determining the safety of the driver. Points can be assessed for various things, including moving violations and traffic offenses.

These points could determine whether or not your license could be suspended, which is another reason why a traffic defense attorney will help with your case.  Traffic attorneys understand the nuances of these laws better than a layperson, especially if they’re experienced in the local court system. Therefore, they will be able to construct a defense that is tailored to your unique situation and help work for a favorable outcome in your case.

Possible Factors Leading to License Suspension

There are a number of different reasons that a person’s license could be suspended and challenging that suspension would depend on each of the individual bases of suspension. Either it was suspended because there is a warrant out for them, they did not pay their child support, there are too many points on their record, they failed to appear in court on traffic ticket, or they failed to pay a fine of some kind.

Any number of things can suspend a person’s driving permit. Challenging that suspension only depends on the issue. For example, if you believe that you paid a ticket, but your license was suspended for not paying, you would go to the Motor Vehicle Administration or the courthouse with receipts from when you paid that ticket to demonstrate that it was paid.

If you have warrants outstanding and the warrant actually did not exist, you would want to get verification from the police that warrants were in fact not outstanding and provide that to the Motor Vehicle Administration so the suspension could be lifted.

Defense Strategies for Traffic Charges

There are many different strategies that can be utilized in traffic cases, but one that is most common is the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment is a person’s right not to be unlawfully seized or searched by police officers. During the course of traffic offenses, if a police officer did not, in fact, have a good reason to stop a person’s car, that might piggyback on some of the other issues that came about like DUI or driving with a suspended license, which were only discovered after the officer served the traffic violation at a full stop.

In other circumstances, if there is just a speeding ticket or something minor being argued, one might hear a defense attorney make arguments about the calibration of a particular device not being adequate or other issues with the manner and method in which the police officer was trying to support the basis for stopping the vehicle.

Reasons to Hire an Anne Arundel Traffic Attorney

A person facing traffic charges in Anne Arundel County should hire an experienced attorney because there are defenses to every traffic case. The consequences, even if they are just financial and on the lower end of a speeding ticket, do still have other complications associated with them. The points might result in a person’s having to deal with increases in their insurance premiums. Those kind of issues are important for an attorney to work with a client on to make sure that a person receives a favorable case outcome, which could mean a reduction in fines or reduction in points, no period of incarceration, or a full acquittal of the charges.

An Anne Arundel County traffic lawyer can help when someone is charged with an offense by making sure that they are not being penalized unreasonably or unfairly and by discussing options for sentencing with prosecution if in fact the prosecution is able to prove their case.

For example, a probation before judgement (PBJ) will keep a driver from going to jail and knock the points off their driving record in those circumstances for an offense that could otherwise revoke their privilege to drive. Trying to convince the prosecution in court to accept this sentence could be a good idea.