I recently handled a sentencing for a client of mine for driving while impaired (DWI).  Under Maryland law, one year of ignition interlock is required if you are convicted of the higher offense, driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI).  However, the relevant statutes do not require it for DWI, unless the “trier of fact finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the person refused to take a test arising out of the same circumstances as the violation.”  More often than not, in Maryland, a driver who refuses a breathalyzer test at the time of arrest if found guilty of anything ..read more

With all that is going on in the news these days, it is easy to forget the progress we have made. My family and I were on the mall on January 20, 2009 for Barack Obama’s first inauguration. There were people as far as the eye could see to witness the inauguration of this country’s first Black president. We could only get as close as the far side of the Washington monument. But the air was electric and people were optimistic about our future. Here is a video I took that day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQpGsZyrcc0 Who could have predicted that the backlash that followed would lead to almo ..read more

On July 1, 2023, recreational marijuana will become legal in Maryland.  Adults over 21 years old will be permitted to possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana and also to possess two pot plants.  (Two plants is also the limit per household).  With these changes it is important to remember that driving while impaired by marijuana is still a crime and a person who refuses a breathalyzer or after being examined by a so-called “drug recognition expert” refuses a blood test, can have his or her driver’s license suspended. These drug recognition experts can be challenged on the ground th ..read more

On May 5, 2023, the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association is holding its 19th Annual Advanced DUI Defense Seminar at the Doubletree Hotel in Linthicum, Maryland. The seminar, organized and run by Leonard R. Stamm in conjunction with the MCDAA will feature presentations by experienced lawyers as well as an expert chemist.  The schedule is shown below.  If your lawyer attends this program, he or she is getting the most up to date training available for how to handle DUI cases. MCDAA’S 19th Annual Advanced DUI Defense Seminar  The post The Maryland Criminal Defense Attor ..read more

It has recently come to our attention that the approval required for breath test operators in Maryland changed with the below statute, Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, § 10-304, effective on October 1, 2022. “Qualified person” means a person who has received training in the use of the equipment in a training program approved by the toxicologist in the Department of State Police Forensic Sciences Division and who is either a police officer, a police employee, or a person authorized by the toxicologist in the Department of State Police Forensic Sciences Division. Only a “qualified pers ..read more

The Washington Post recently ran a story by reporter Dan Morse about testing volunteers high on weed to practice the tests they run when they suspect a driver is impaired by marijuana.  The story quoted attorney Leonard R. Stamm. Such drug impairment tests are regularly challenged in court across the country. “There are real questions about the scientific validity of what they’re doing,” said Leonard R. Stamm, a longtime defense attorney and author of “Maryland DUI Law,” which devotes more than 30 pages to defending drugged driving cases. The post Washington Post, February 19, 202 ..read more

In legislation enacted last year, the legislature amended statutes governing breath testing in Maryland, effective October 1, 2022.  Previously, relevant statutes delegated to the toxicologist under the Post-Mortem Examiner’s Commission in Baltimore, the responsibility for approving equipment used for blood and breath testing in Maryland.   The new law transfers that authority to “the toxicologist in the Department of State Police Forensic Sciences Division.” At this point it is unknown how this shift will affect the admissibility of breath tests conducted after October 1, 2022 ..read more

I am relieved.  I think that’s the right word.  Make no mistake a fascist minority attempted to take over our country.  Should I list the most outrageous things that were either said by Trump or Maga Republicans, overtly proposed or covertly suggested, and not condemned, that were rejected in the most recent election: No – Obama was not born in Kenya The Muslim ban was beyond offensive to American values The post Americans vote out fascists – for now appeared first on Maryland DUI Lawyer Blog ..read more

I lost another client three weeks ago. Not even 60 years old.  Perhaps I should have anticipated this.  The signs were there.  He had two accidents within a few years and very high BACs.  I mean VERY high.  But I believed him when he told me he had been in rehab for 28 days and sober for over a year.  When I saw him in court this spring he seemed sober.  I never noticed any indication if he was still drinking.  Yet when he went to jail for a week his ex-wife called me to say she had  been receiving bizarre texts from him in the jail.  But when ..read more

Today, August 2, 2022, I read an op ed in the Washington Post by an Indian woman, Aaditi Lele, who recently became a US citizen who is a student at Vanderbilt University.  It is worth sharing. Less than two months ago, I took the oath of naturalization to become the first American citizen in my family. I watched as new Americans from dozens of countries stood together, speaking in unison of our commitment to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States.” But in the wake of multiple decisions by a Supreme Court that seems intent on rolling back Americans’ libert ..read more