Recent Blog Posts
What Being Charged With An Aggravated DUI Can Mean
What being charged with an aggravated DUI can mean
Facing a DUI charge in Maryland is a serious matter. An aggravated DUI carries even more severe penalties and potential consequences for your future.
Reckless behavior
You may face an aggravated DUI charge if law enforcement deems your behavior extremely reckless, such as driving with excessive alcohol in your system, having a minor in the vehicle, or causing a serious accident while intoxicated. Repeat offenders with a history of drunk driving may also be charged with an aggravated DUI.
Life-altering penalties
An aggravated DUI carries more severe penalties compared to a normal DUI. If convicted, you may face a six-month license suspension, fines ranging from $500 to $1,000, and potential jail time. The judge may also order counseling or alcoholism treatment and mandate the installation of a breath test device in your vehicle before starting the ignition.
Additional charges
If driving while intoxicated results in injury, you could face up to three years in jail and fines up to $5,000. In cases of fatalities, the penalty could be five years in jail. Additionally, you may face civil lawsuits from injured parties or the families of those killed, leading to financial devastation. Having a minor in the vehicle may lead to child endangerment charges alongside aggravated DUI charges. Speeding or reckless driving could result in additional reckless driving charges.
Effective Ways To Fight A Traffic Ticket
Effective ways to fight a traffic ticket
Many drivers in Maryland, no matter how responsible, will at some point receive a traffic ticket. In some cases, the ticket may be justified, but in others, the officer may have made an error, or circumstances may make the ticket questionable.
A traffic violation can lead to expensive fines, and its presence on your driving record can have consequences. As such, it’s often worthwhile to dispute a traffic ticket, assuming you believe you can win.
Tactics that can work
In some types of traffic citations, the police officer makes a judgment call. An example might be citing you for improper lane changes. You can question the officer’s opinion about whether the lane change was improper or not.
Other tickets are matters of fact, such as running a red light or making an illegal U-turn. In these cases, you can dispute the ticket by presenting evidence, such as eyewitness testimony asserting that you didn’t do what you’re accused of.
At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumyeirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diamvoluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumyeirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diamvoluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumyeirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diamvoluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumyeirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diamvoluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Why Lie Detection Methods Don't Work
Why lie detection methods don’t work
Most people in Maryland are familiar with the concept of lie detector tests. They appear in many television shows and movies where suspects are asked to submit to a polygraph test to determine their innocence or guilt. However, in real life, these tests have many fundamental flaws. They aren’t as foolproof as we have been led to believe. Let’s take a look at a few problems they have.
Polygraphs aren’t always accurate
Lie detector tests usually rely on physiological changes in a person like an increased heart rate. However, these don’t always work as some people have no physical or emotional response while lying.
Criminal defense research currently suggests that these tests are roughly 70% accurate. When the legal requirement for a conviction is "beyond a reasonable doubt," a 30% chance of an incorrect result makes the test effectively useless.
Body language analysis doesn’t work either
Another method commonly used as an alternative to a polygraph is a physical analysis of subtle behaviors. This involves a body language expert looking for micro-expressions or other "tells" that reveal when a person is lying. Similar to polygraphs or eyewitness testimony, criminal justice experts believe that there is a significant chance for inaccuracy.
Uncovering The Uncertainty Of Roadside Drug Tests
Uncovering the uncertainty of roadside drug tests
Throughout the year, countless people face drug charges in Maryland and other states. A recent report shows that around the country, close to 30,000 people might be wrongfully arrested and put in jail because of unreliable roadside field tests for drugs.
How roadside drug tests work
Roadside drug tests change colors when certain compounds found in drugs interact with them. However, individuals facing drug charges discover that these testing kits don’t only check for illicit drugs. They react to a variety of substances, including cotton candy, bird feces and even the glaze from a glazed doughnut.
The impact on people
Each year, these tests lead to wrongful arrests for drug possession, affecting up to 30,000 people. This number is staggering, especially as you consider that many undergo fear and uncertainty when facing a drug charge. People get arrested, booked, jailed and even charged based on kits that produce false positives. Although the tests weren’t designed to provide conclusive evidence of drug presence, people accept plea bargains when presented with this flawed evidence of drug charges, which allows them to avoid a court trial.
Geofence Warrants In Question After Google's Announcement
Geofence warrants in question after Google’s announcement
In Maryland, a type of criminal warrant called a geofence warrant has become increasingly common. These warrants compel technology companies to turn over location data culled from users’ smartphones. Geofence warrants seek the location data and identities of every smartphone user within a certain proximity to a crime scene at a specific time. Recently, however, a move by Google might signal the end of geofence warrants as a popular law enforcement investigatory tool.
Understanding location data and geofence warrants
When turned on and connected to the internet, smartphones track the location history of their users with GPS. Even if an individual turns off their smartphone, the provider will still collect location data for the user’s location when they turn their phone off and again when they turn it back on. Law enforcement officers have increasingly asked for warrants to seek the location history of all people within a set distance from a crime scene. These warrants, called geofence warrants, have typically been targeted at Google because of Google’s extensive collection and retention of location history information. Criminal defense lawyers have argued that geofence warrants are unconstitutional as they violate privacy, including the privacy of innocent people.
What Is The Walk-And-Turn Field Sobriety Test?
What is the walk-and-turn field sobriety test?
Many Maryland drivers only think about whether they are able to walk in a perfectly straight line once they get pulled over. They fail to realize that there is more to the walk-and-turn test. This field sobriety test is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is used by law enforcement agencies around the nation and is more comprehensive than merely being able to walk straight.
When might you have to take a field sobriety test?
Police officers use the walk-and-turn field sobriety test as a way of determining probable cause to arrest someone for drunk driving. The officer must administer the test according to specific guidelines for greater accuracy. You’ll have to stand still while the officer explains the test and asks if you understand.
What happens during a field sobriety test?
You’ll need to walk heel-to-toe for nine steps along a line, turn, and take nine more steps in the other direction. While walking the line, which might be real or imaginary, you must keep your arms at your sides, count the steps out, and watch your feet.
The Long-Term Consequences Of A Criminal Record
The long-term consequences of a criminal record
Thousands of Maryland residents are currently attempting to move on with their lives after being convicted of a crime and serving their debt to society. But unfortunately, the effects and ramifications of a criminal record can negatively impact their lives long after they’ve served out their sentence.
A criminal record can cause issues for decades after the offense in question. Without adequate criminal defense, a person risks being convicted of a crime and suffering a lifetime of collateral consequences.
Employment
Being convicted of a crime is correlated very closely with loss of employment and negative employment consequences. First, most employed people who serve time in jail or prison end up losing wages while incarcerated, and many lose their jobs as a result.
Once free, people with convictions on their record struggle with discrimination from employers when trying to find a new job. Study after study shows that conviction of a crime leads to lower wages and earning power, along with higher rates of unemployment.
Will I Lose My Security Clearance After A DUI?
Will I lose my security clearance after a DUI?
Drunk driving is taken very seriously in the state of Maryland. If you have been accused of this crime in this state, you should consider the possible consequences. In addition to the penalties you can receive, drunk driving can have a huge effect on your ability to obtain a security clearance.
Penalties for drunk driving in Maryland
If you are convicted of driving while under the influence in Maryland, you can expect to receive some stiff penalties. These can include:
- Criminal record that comes up in background checks
- Driver’s license suspension
- Enrollment in a substance abuse program
- Fines
- Jail time
- Installation of an ignition interlock device on your vehicle
- Possible loss of security clearance
You should also be aware of the fact that these penalties can increase for each additional DUI charge. For example, the fine for a first time DUI arrest can be $1,000. However, for a third time arrest, the fine can be as large as $5,000.
Why Geofence Warrants Are Problematic
Why geofence warrants are problematic
Your phone has the ability to obtain and store a significant amount of data regarding your whereabouts. Police in Maryland and elsewhere may gain access to this data, which may result in your involvement in a criminal investigation. Ultimately, you may be subject to a police interview or other intrusions into your life despite the fact that you have done nothing wrong.
Geofence warrants explained
The act of obtaining data from Google and similar services is called receiving a geofence warrant. Essentially, authorities are granted access to identifying information of anyone who Google or other sources say was in the general area when a murder, arson or other crime occurs. Authorities would also have access to information about recent searches or other information that might implicate you in a crime without specific proof that you did anything wrong.
Issues with probable cause
A warrant is only supposed to be issued if authorities can prove that a search would obtain specific evidence of a crime. However, geofence warrants are often issued just by suggesting to a judge that Google might have information that is needed to solve a crime. Ultimately, you may be able to argue that such a broad request for information violates your right to privacy as part of your criminal defense strategy.
Need Help? Hire an Attentive Team to Defend Your Rights
Our law firm has offices in Annapolis and Centreville, and we provide legal services to clients throughout Maryland, including Crofton, Severn, Arnold, Millersville, Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Severna Park, Odenton, and Linthicum Heights.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
©2025 Henley & Henley, Attorneys at Law
