Your Drivers License After a Second DUI Offense in Montgomery County

If you have been accused of your second DUI in Maryland you will likely face administrative penalties on your licence in addition to any criminal penalties. Read on to learn about these penalties and how to challenge to get your license back, or consult with a Montgomery County DUI lawyer today to learn more.

Administrative Penalties For a Second Offense

The administrative penalties for a second offense DUI charge can be very complicated and will depend a great deal on your first offense.  Meaning, if an individual refused to do a breathalyzer on their second offense, but submitted to a breathalyzer on the first offense, then that will be treated as a first refusal even though it’s on the second offense case.  The converse is also true, so if an individual refused a breathalyzer on their first DUI, but submitted a breath sample on their second, then that administrative suspension would be treated as a first offense with a blow.  If it’s a true second offense, meaning it’s a second refusal or it’s a second blow, then the penalties are stiffer than they would be for a first offense.
The penalties for a second offense refusal is a one year hard suspension of your driver’s license.  The penalties for second offense blow cases double from first offenses.  So a second offense low blow between a 0.08 and 0.14 case, the penalty is a 90-day suspension rather than 45-day suspension and on a second offense high blow case, a case where there is a blow of 0.15 or higher, then the administrative penalty is a 180-day suspension rather than a 90-day suspension.

Second DUI Convictions and Your License

Second convictions will trigger an automatic license suspension.  A first conviction will trigger a discretionary license suspension.  Meaning, the judge has the authority to add more time to the period of suspension of your license.  However, they are not mandated to do so.  On the second offense, there is a mandatory suspension for driver’s licenses if the second conviction is within five years of a prior.

Challenging a License Suspension in Montgomery County

There actually isn’t any difference in the process of challenging a license suspension of first and second DUI offenses. The administrative law is the same no matter what the offense number.  So the legal defenses and the factual defenses are exactly the same whether it’s a first, second, third or fourth offense.  Now, the penalty is going to vary based on the number of prior convictions, but the actual process of the hearing and the grounds for challenging the suspension are exactly the same.

Restricted Licenses in Montgomery County

You can request a restricted license.  More often than not, that restricted license is going to require ignition interlock.  You are technically eligible for a second modification of a license suspension after five years. So if you haven’t had your license suspended and you haven’t been convicted of a prior offense within five years, then you may be eligible for a non-interlock modification in a low blow case, a case where the driver blows between 0.08 and 0.14 in the breathalyzer.

Getting Your License Back After Second DUI Charges

Once again, the administrative penalties and the criminal penalties are independent in DUI cases.  So it’s possible to lose at the administrative hearing but win in court and when that happens, the administrative penalty remains.  Sometimes, the court is looking at different issues.  For example, if an individual refuses to submit to a breath test, the MVA needs to prove the refusal in order to suspend the license or driving privilege, but the court still needs to look at intoxication or impairment in order to justify a conviction.
Additionally, MVA has different standard of persuasion.  The standard of persuasion at the MVA is a preponderance of the evidence, which is a very low legal standard and the standard of persuasion for the court case is beyond the reasonable doubt, which is an extremely high legal standard.