In Maine, it is perfectly legal for an adult to consume alcohol and drive. It’s only illegal to be impaired by alcohol or be a 0.08 or greater. However, if you haven’t reached the age of 21 and you drive a vehicle with any amount of alcohol in your blood, you have committed a crime and may be charged with a conditional license violation. As a result, you are looking at a one year loss of license that will be imposed by the Bureau of Motor vehicles.

Even with professional help from a licensed, experienced OUI attorney, your life could change in a lot of ways if you are convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving a commercial vehicle. These large vehicles carry the potential for extensive damage to people and property, and the implications mean heavier …Continue Reading →

Today’s topic of discussion concerns the most important of all the standardized field sobriety tests, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. Nystagmus is defined as the involuntary jerking of the eyes. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus is defined as the involuntary jerking of the eyes as they gaze to the side. Now, what we mean by Nystagmus in …Continue Reading →

Although getting convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a serious situation regardless of what you are driving, it is especially serious when you are driving a commercial vehicle. You can kill people when driving a passenger vehicle under the influence, but you have a far greater capacity to kill, damage property, or cause serious bodily injuries with a bigger type of vehicle. Buses, tractor trailers, large tractors, and similar vehicles have a tremendous weight capacity, meaning that they can inflict far more damage when they are not driven or operated by someone with a very clear mind and quick reflexes…

Today we’re going to discuss very briefly what happens in an OUI case when you’ve been arrested and you’re under the age of 18. In Maine, as in most states, juvenile law applies when you’ve been charged with a crime and you’re under the age of eighteen. If you’ve been charged with a DUI and you’re under the age of 18, it is a juvenile offense. Now in some ways, the fact that the case will be in the juvenile system is to your advantage. In other ways, it becomes more problematic…

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is always a serious crime, no matter what type of vehicle you are driving at the time of your arrest. Having a commercial driver’s license affects many different parts of the DUI arrest, from what type of vehicle you were driving at the time of arrest to the outcome of a conviction. Here are a few of the frequently asked questions surrounding a commercial vehicle and DUI arrest/conviction in Maine…

Commercial vehicles are particularly dangerous on our roadways, since their size and weight so greatly outmatches the average vehicle. Thusly, there are different rules applicable to commercial vehicles and their drivers, even where driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are concerned. If you are facing a DUI conviction involving a commercial vehicle, it is critical that you find a professional DUI attorney to fight for your rights and protect your future…

If you are suspended by The Bureau of Motor Vehicles here in Maine for a first offense OUI, and you hold a CDL, you will be suspended for a period of one year; even if you win the criminal case. It is imperative that you beat both the Bureau of Motor Vehicles suspension hearing and the criminal case in order to continue to drive. Even if you’re not operating a commercial vehicle when you’re pulled over, if you blow a 0.08 or greater, your CDL will still be suspended for a period of a year. That is unless you beat both the Bureau of Motor Vehicles suspension hearing and the criminal case…

In some cases, getting charged with driving under the influence is the extent of your criminal experience. Once the charges are dealt with and the case is over, you can begin rebuilding your life and getting back to as close as possible to the way things were before the arrest. However, this is not the way it always works, and sometimes other charges accompany the DUI that are very serious and these require just as much attention. The more charges you face, the more serious your situation becomes, and facing the DUI alone is very scary and stressful for everyone in your life…

Today’s topic of discussion concerns blood testing and how they could impact the success or failure of the defense in your case. Blood testing is by far the most accurate method of determining a person’s blood alcohol content. However, as accurate as it is, many problems can arise with the sampling, storage and testing of a blood sample.

Many issues arise during the collection of the client’s blood. For instance…

Today’s topic of discussion concerns out-of-state-drivers and Bureau of Motor Vehicle suspensions. The State of Maine is well known as a vacation area. People from all over the country come here to Maine for vacation. Unfortunately, folks who come here to vacation do occasionally get arrested for OUI.

If you’re from out of state and you are arrested for Operating Under the Influence (it might be called DWI or DUI in your state) in the State of Maine, the Maine Secretary of State will take the following action…