How a Baltimore DUI Charge Impacts Probation

When a person is charged with a DUI while on probation, they are in violation of their probation. A condition of almost all probations in the state of Maryland is incurring no new traffic or criminal offenses. The DUI is a serious traffic criminal offense that would be a violation of probation. A Baltimore DUI Lawyer can explain more about the potential consequences of the DUI allegations against them.

Impact of a Probation Violation on Baltimore Criminal Cases

Any experienced Baltimore DUI attorney will tell you that being on probation won’t have a significant effect on the outcome of the new case because the individual facts in that case must be determined from scratch. The fact that a person was on probation doesn’t create a presumption of guilt for the new case. However, consequences of a finding of guilt in the new case are much more significant because in addition to facing any kind of criminal sanctions that result from the new charge, there are also additional sanctions resulting from violation of probation in the old charge.

The Maryland judge has the option of continuing a person on probation after the probation violation. There are options of giving the person a period of backup time in the initial case and the judge can also continue the person on probation. Many judges will frequently do that. They will not give a person all of their backup time. The judge gives them a portion of their backup time and continues them on probation.

Probation Conditions in Maryland

General supervised probation has several conditions. There is no consumption of alcoholic beverages and refraining from the abusive use of any kind of narcotics. Supervised probation includes incurring no new criminal charges, therefore getting a DUI would be a new criminal offense and would be a violation of probation. It includes reporting to the probation monitor when required to do so, paying any required fees, and submitting to random drug testing if ordered to do so by the probation monitor. If an individual has not already completed a program of alcohol education and treatment, either their Baltimore DUI lawyer will advise them or the court will almost always impose that as a condition of probation. Finally, paying fines and costs associated with the case is a condition of probation.

If a person is found in violation of probation, the court can sentence them to any or all of the backup time they received. When someone is on probation for a DUI, the court could impose a sentence up to a year of incarceration for violating probation for the DUI in Baltimore. That makes it an extremely serious offense.

After Beating the Probation Violation DUI Case

If you win the case with a not guilty verdict for the DUI that allegedly violated your probationary period, most judges wait to hold the violation hearing until they see how the new case is adjudicated. If someone’s case is dismissed or they are found not guilty on all charges, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the judges remove the violation. They find that there was no violation.