Posted on June 20, 2008 in Driving Under the Influence

Maryland DUI Attorney – Maryland DWI Attorney – Baltimore DUI Lawyer – Baltimore DWI Lawyer
As a former Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore County I prosecuted hundreds of repeat offenders for driving under the influence or driving while impaired. Although the maximum penalty for driving under the influence is one year in prison, prosecutors can and very often do seek enhanced penalties for repeat offenders. Second offenders for DUI face up to two years in prison and third offenders face up to three years in prison. As a prosecutor I routinely filed enhanced penalties against repeat offenders and often convinced a court to impose sentences longer than the one year.

This experience has allowed me to successfully defend hundreds of repeat offenders over the last decade as a defense attorney. Of course the first line of defense in a DUI, DWI or any other criminal case for that matter is to gain an outright acquittal for the client. In DUI/DWI cases this can be done one of two ways. The first option is to pursue a Constitutional defense usually arguing that the police lacked probable cause or reasonable articulable suspicion to stop the defendant. I have a current case in which the police stopped my client for having a air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror. The claim is that the air freshener impairs the driver’s view out of the windshield, which of course it does not.
I have successfully suppressed evidence in both DUI cases and drug cases where the probable cause for the stop was that the driver had a hanging air freshener and expect to prevail in this case. Another common example that I have prevailed on many times is when a police officer pulls someone over based on a cellular call from another driver complaining about aggressive or dangerous driving by the client. Often the police make the mistake of relying solely on this anonymous tip as the probable cause to pull someone over which will result in suppression of the evidence every time. If it appears that the police did have probable cause to pull the client over the only other defense is to argue that the client was not under the influence. This defense is near impossible if the client took the breathalyzer and scored a reading of .08 or greater, as such a reading constitutes Per Se driving under the influence under Maryland Law. An aggressive attorney will always subpoena the maintenance and testing records of the breathalyzer which sometimes results in the suppression of the test results. If the client does not take the test then the judge’s decision will be based upon the observation of the client by the police officer as well as the officer’s testimony concerning the client’s performance on the standard field sobriety tests which are the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn and the one leg stand.

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 Posted on June 19, 2008 in Criminal Defense

Recent reporting is a good example of both the increasing severity of federal sentences as well as an increased emphasis on federal prosecutions for those who are caught possessing and/or trading in child pornography. As a former Assistant United State’s Attorney for the District of Maryland I have both prosecuted as well as defended hundreds of cases involving child pornography.

In this case a 23 year old Frederick man was caught in a sting operation attempting to buy a video of child pornography from an undercover web site set up by federal law enforcement agents. He is now facing a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in August. Over the past several years the Congress has increased the penalties not only for those who manufacture child pornography, which now carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, but also for those who possess or trade child pornography, usually on the Internet. There has also been an increased emphasis on child pornography investigations and prosecutions by federal authorities in Maryland as well as throughout the country. Under Maryland State Law there are no mandatory sentences for either possessing or manufacturing child pornography but there has been an increased emphasis on these prosecutions in State Courts as well as increases in the sentences by State Judges.

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 Posted on June 14, 2008 in Medical Malpractice

As an attorney who is well known for being successful in handling many medical malpractice (medical negligence / medical mistake / medical error) cases in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington areas, I am commonly asked by colleagues and friends whether I have ever had a case against a nursing home which a loved one is considering. Unfortunatley, I have handled medical malpractice / negligence cases involving almost a number of nurisng homes in the Baltimore-Washington area, including Genesis, Manor Care and Lorien. While the medical care at these nursing homes is generally good, there have been and still are instances of major medical mistakes that cause severe and permanent damages and injuries. I usually tell my colleagues and friends that, while the care generally is good at these nursing homes, they need to watch out for loved ones when they are in a nursing home. That means establishing a relationship with the aides, nurses and doctors who will be taking care of the patient, asking questions and visiting as frequently as possible to see what is going on.

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 Posted on June 14, 2008 in Medical Malpractice

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida jury Friday awarded a family $35 million in a medical malpractice case alleging that Broward General Medical Center caused permanent brain damage to their child during his delivery. As a result of the malpractice, the child is profoundly mentally disabled, can’t walk, can’t engage in routine activities of daily living and requires a lifetime of care. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As I have repeatedly said before, birth trauma cases like this are some of the most difficult cases that Maryland medical malpractice attorneys pursue because they usually involve multiple expert witnesses, such as obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, placental pathologists, life care planners and economists. This makes them extremely time-consuming and expensive to pursue. Nevertheless, these cases are extremely important to pursue, so that compensation can be obtained for the parents and child, in order to provide the child with best medical and other care that the child can have, so as to maximize the child’s abilities and comfort. Nothing is more important.

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 Posted on June 13, 2008 in Criminal Defense

Maryland Criminal Attorney – Maryland Criminal Lawyer – Baltimore Criminal Attorney – Baltimore Criminal Lawyer – I receive questions regularly by clients regarding Maryland handgun possession restrictions by people who have been previously convicted of a crime.

Under Maryland law there are basically two classes of citizens who are disqualified from owning or possessing handguns and subject to criminal penalties if they are convicted of being in possession of a firearm that is classified as a handgun. The first classification deals with person’s who have been convicted of either of a crime of violence or a felony drug charge. The following offenses are classified as crimes of violence in Maryland: Abduction, Arson in the First Degree, Assault in the First of Second Degree, Burglary in the First, Second or Third Degree, Carjacking and Armed Carjacking, Escape in the First Degree, Kidnapping, Voluntary Manslaughter, Murder, Rape in the First or Second Degree, Robbery, Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Sexual Offense in the First, Second or Third Degree, Attempts to commit any of these crimes and Assault with the Intent to Commit any of these crimes.

A person who is convicted of being in possession of a handgun having been previously convicted of any of these crimes or any felony drug or controlled dangerous substance offense is guilty of a felony and is subject to a mandatory penalty of five years incarceration. That sentence may not be suspended and the person is not eligible for parole. The second classification of persons who are prohibited from possessing handguns involves persons who have been convicted of a disqualifying crime which is defined, as any felony or any crime carrying a statutory penalty of more than 2 years. Also prohibited from possessing a handgun under this classification are fugitives from justice, habitual drunkards, persons who are addicted to or are habitual users of controlled dangerous substances, persons under 21 years old or persons under 30 years old who have previously been found delinquent of a criminal offense for an act that would be a disqualifying crime if committed by an adult, is a respondent against whom a current non ex parte civil protective order has been entered, suffers from certain mental disorders, is a participant in a straw purchase, is visibly under the influence of alcohol, or has not completed a firearm safety course if the weapon was purchased after January 1, 2002 subject to certain exemptions including law enforcement officials as well as members or prior members of the Armed Forces of the United States. Person’s found to be in violation of this provision of Maryland law are guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a penalty of up to one year incarceration and a fine of $1000. Under Federal Law

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 Posted on June 10, 2008 in Medical Malpractice

A Rhode Island man has been awarded $2 million due to allegations that he suffered brain damage because he did not receive proper care during open heart surgery at a Rhode Island hospital. The man alleged in his lawsuit that he got low amounts of oxygen to his brain during the 1998 operation.

These type of medcial malpractice cases can be catastrophic becuase of their severe and long-term consequences. As an attorney in Baltimore, I am frequently called upon to evalute whether there has been medical malpratice at two of the leading hospitals in the region, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical System. They frequently perform some of the most cutting edge procedures known in medicine, including open heart surgery. Yet sometimes, these procedures have catastrophic results due to medical malpractice. When that happens, we investigate and pursue medical malpractice cases against Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical System. Over the years, we generally have been very successful in these cases.

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 Posted on June 10, 2008 in Criminal Defense

Maryland Criminal Attorney – Maryland Criminal Lawyer – Baltimore Criminal Attorney – Baltimore Criminal Lawyer – I had a client today who is 16 years old and is alleged to have committed a robbery with a knife. He is charged as an adult which was confusing and disturbing to both him and his parents. I explained to them that a juvenile can be charged as an adult in the first instance (that is original jurisdiction vests with the Circuit Court) if the person is charged with second degree murder, second or third degree sex offenses, second or third degree rape, most handgun charges, armed robbery, kidnapping, involuntary manslaughter, carjacking, first degree assault, attempted murder, robbery or rape or any other felony if the juvenile has been previously adjudicated as an adult. A child of the age of 14 or 15 will also be charged in the first instance as an adult if he or she is charged with an offense which carries either life imprisonment or the death penalty if committed by an adult which includes first degree murder, first degree rape or sexual offense or any attempts of these offenses. Also in any other case a 15 year old can be tried as an adult if the court grants the State’s motion for waiver of jurisdiction. The State will sometimes file these motions for cases of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana or other drugs or other felonies if the juvenile has a particularly bad record. Once this motion is filed the court will order the Department of Juvenile Services to conduct a study of the juvenile and will make it’s determination as to whether to order the case to be transferred to the adult system based on five factors: the age of the child, the mental an physical condition of the child, the child’s ameniability to treatment, the nature of the offense and the child’s participation in it and the public safety.

In my case today, my client was charged with both armed robbery and first degree assault so he was charged as an adult. I explained to my client that this does not necessarily mean that the case will remain in the adult system. I will file what is known as a reverse waiver motion in the circuit court. Once this motion is received, the court will order that the Department of Juvenile Services Conduct the same study as in the case of a State’s waiver motion. The court will then make a determination as to whether to retain jurisdiction in the adult system or to remand or transfer the case to the Department of Juvenile Services based on the same factors as the court uses in State waiver motions.

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 Posted on June 10, 2008 in Criminal Defense

Having been an active Baltimore criminal defense lawyer for 18 years, I have represented over 4000 criminal defendants charged with felony drug (CDS) crimes in Baltimore City Circuit Court. I have come to realize that the vast majority of drug cases in Baltimore fall into three categories: 1) hand-to-hand, 2) dropsy, and 3) search and seizure.
Hand-to-hand cases involve the Baltimore police observing a drug transaction between two or more criminal defendants. When defending these cases, experienced criminal defense lawyers look to see if the alleged seller has any drugs or money on his person. Also, if the "buyer" is not arrested, Baltimore city jurors are very skeptical that a crime has been committed.

The second type of common theme for drug cases in Baltimore City are what I term as "dropsy" cases. In these types of cases, the Baltimore City police will charge someone with throwing or dropping a bundle of drugs. In my experiences, Baltimore police often charge criminal defendants in this way because it prevents the defense attorney from moving to suppress the drugs. Under Maryland constitutional criminal law, a lawyer can not move to suppress his client’s property if it has been abandoned.

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 Posted on June 10, 2008 in Driving Under the Influence

I recently defended a DUI case in the District Court in Baltimore, Maryland. My client had an acceptable performance on the field sobriety tests, but when he took the breathalyzer he "blew" a .23. The legal limit in Baltimore and Maryland for drunk driving (DUI) is .08. This was almost three times the legal limit. The case was dismissed, however, when it was pointed out that the Baltimore City Police breath technician did not give the defendant the breath test within two (2) hours from the time of the stop.

In Maryland, the traffic code requires that the breathalyzer test be given with two hours from the stop or it is deemed inadmissible. A knowledgeable Maryland drunk driving lawyer is trained to spot drunk driving defenses such as these. Your lawyer can make all the difference in the world in defending many drunk driving cases that appear hopeless. Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin and White has defended thousands of drunk driving cases in Baltimore and the State of Maryland.

For more information, or a free consultation, please contact the Maryland criminal lawyers of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, LLC. or call Steve Silverman at 410-385-2226.

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 Posted on June 09, 2008 in Criminal Defense

Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney – Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer – Baltimore Criminal Attorney – Baltimore Criminal Lawyer – Drug Offenses, Assault, Domestic Violence, Sex Offenses, Rape, Armed Robbery, Murder – These are just a few of the offenses wherein an experienced criminal attorney in Maryland may choose to file a Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) plea, commonly known as an insanity plea. A story in the Baltimore Sun today got me thinking about NCR pleas.

It is really more of a puff peace on the presiding judge, Emory Plitt, of the Harford County Circuit Court, but the article briefly discusses the NCR plea in the context of a strangulation murder by a DOC inmate of another inmate while on a bus enroute to court. If NCR is plead in a given case the defense will have to show that by reason of mental disorder or retardation, the defendant, lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. The first step in the process will be for the court to order an evaluation of the defendant by the State Department of Health and Mental Hygene. The defense may also arrange for psychiatric professionals of their choosing to evaluate the defendant as well. Not criminally responsible is an extremely high standard under which infamous serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer have been found to be criminally responsible. At the same time the determination is made as to criminal responsiblility, an independent determination will be made as to whether or not the defendant is competent to stand trial. The definition for competency is whether or not the defendant is capable of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him and is capable of assisting in his own defense. If a defendant is found to be incompetent or not criminally repsonsible then he will be committed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygene where he will be housed indefinitely in a facility for the mentally ill. If the finding is one of incompetency the defendant can only be brought to trial if he is later found to be competent by the court. In the case of a not criminally repsonsible finding the defendant can only be released if a court determines at a hearing in the future that the person no longer represents a danger to himself or others. The defendant bears the burden of proving that he is no longer a danger to himself or others by a preponderance of the evidence.

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