Posted on November 04, 2010 in Driving Under the Influence

As an Aggressive Baltimore Maryland DUI/DWI Attorney I have represented hundreds of people who were charged with their second, third or even fourth DUI or DWI. These individuals are known in the legal system as repeat DUI/DWI offenders. These are very serious matters in which the defendant faces the very real possibility of incarceration even for a second offense. For instance, I wrote about a case in Baltimore City recently where a defendant, who was represented by an attorney who does not appear in criminal court on a daily basis, received a sentence of four months in jail for a second offense. And this was a case in which there was no accident and the defendant’s prior conviction occurred more than 10 years prior to this case.

Needless to say, repeat DUI/DWI offenders need to take these matters very seriously and make sure that they are represented by an attorney who specializes in these matters. There is a very easy way to do this and that is by checking your attorney out on Maryland Judiciary Case search. http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp. On this web site an attorney’s court record can be researched to determine whether or not that attorney regularly handles these cases.

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 Posted on October 29, 2010 in Criminal Defense

I have a current case that highlights the significant fork in the criminal justice road when juveniles are charged as adults. Zachary Watson (17) and Emmanuel Miller (16) are the 2 juveniles who were with alleged Neo-Nazi Calvin Lockner when he attacked an elderly black fisherman in Baltimore city this year. It was reported widely in the national media as a hate crime. Lockner, age 28, has already pled to 31 years in adult court.

Both Watson and Miller asked to be waived back to Juvenile Court. I represented Miller and requested his case be transferred to juvenile court. Watson made the same request. After a hearing, Miller’s request was granted and Watson’s denied. Since that time, Watson has been stabbed in prison and is constantly harassed by guards and inmates while awaiting trial. He is likely to get a significant sentence on 1/25/11 in adult court. The odds against Watson leading a productive life after prison are not favorable to say the least.

Miller, on the other hand, is a star in the juvenile system. Unlike the adult system, the juvenile system focuses on rehabilitation. He has been given 3 successful weekend furloughs from commitment. He has earned his GED while committed, plays on the football team and has received glowing reports from his teachers and counselors. By every indication, the judge who presides over his rehabilitation is so happy with his progress he is going to release Miller on probation next month.

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 Posted on October 29, 2010 in Driving Under the Influence

Experienced Baltimore Maryland DUI/DWI Attorney discusses Probation Before Judgment under Maryland Law. For those who are not familiar with the term "probation before judgment" or PBJ, it is a sentencing alternative that the trial judge may utilize in DUI and DWI cases, typically in cases where a person is a first offender. Probation Before Judgment is found in the Criminal Procedure Article (Sect. 6-220) and allows a judge who has found a defendant guilty of a crime, in this case DUI or DWI, to strike that guilty finding and allow a person to serve a period of probation without the conviction on his or her record.

So long as the person does not violate his or her probation the conviction will never go on their record. This disposition is particularly valuable in DUI cases as it spares the defendant the 8 or 12 points that would accrue on the person’s record as a result of the conviction which invariable leads to action, including possible suspension or revocation of a person’s driver’s license, by the Motor Vehicle Administration.

One of the most common misunderstandings about probation before judgment in DUI/DWI cases is that, contrary to popular belief, a defendant is NOT entitled to have the DUI or DWI expunged from his record after completing the period of probation. In criminal cases and in most other serious traffic offenses, a defendant is entitled to have the entire matter expunged from his or her record after a period of time if that person is not subsequently charged with another offense. In criminal cases that period of time is 3 years.

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 Posted on October 26, 2010 in Criminal Defense

Changes in the Maryland Sex Offender Registration laws are, as a Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney something I have to be aware of. I have represented many defendants over the years who have been charged with sex offenses. In these cases the defendant faces not only the prospect of criminal punishment of his conduct but also the possibility of being required to register as a sex offender. On October 1, 2010 the Maryland Sex Offender Registration Statute, (Criminal Procedure Code Ann, Section 11-704) which was rewritten to bring in line with the comparable Federal Statute, went into effect. The new rules now require those convicted of fourth degree sex offenses to register. The issue and the reason for this blog is that the new statute was specifically designed to apply retroactively.

This retroactive application is legally problematic and possibly Unconstitutional in my view in certain instances. The Court of Appeals has already approved retroactive increases in the term of registration in the case of Young v. State. The Court ruled that sexual offender registration did not expose the defendant to to a greater penalty but was instead a remedial requirement for the protection of the public.

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 Posted on October 14, 2010 in Divorce

On October 13, 2010 Consumer Reports.com reported that no-fault divorce has become available in all fifty states, with New York making no fault divorce part of their laws on October 12, 2010. A no-fault divorce is a divorce filing in which no fault based grounds need to be alleged, such as adultery or spousal abuse. As reported in our August 19, 2009 blog Maryland is a what is called a “hybrid state” in that a party filing for divorce may elect to proceed on fault (contested) or no-fault (uncontested) based grounds.

In Maryland, a no-fault (uncontested) divorce is based on the understanding that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Meaning, that the husband and wife mutually and voluntarily separated from one another, there is no hope or expectation of a reconciliation, and they are and have been living separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of at least one year. If the prior conditions are met, either spouse may file for a divorce once they have been separated for 365 consecutive days. If only one spouse believes that the marriage is irretrievably broken, that spouse may file for a no-fault (uncontested) divorce after the parties live separate and apart for 24 months.

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 Posted on October 13, 2010 in Criminal Defense

As a Baltimore Maryland Criminal Attorney I have always found that among the most difficult types of cases to defend is the client who is wrongfully accused of a https://www.silvermanthompson.com/lawyer-attorney-1300820.html. I have blogged about this issue in the past but I am currently representing someone whose situation is a little different that most of my past cases. In most of the cases like this that I have handled, the issue was consent. There was never any question in these cases that sexual contact had occurred between the parties. The issue was did the woman consent or was she forced in some way or simply too intoxicated to validly consent?

The case that I am currently handling is even more difficult because the charges are an outright fabrication. As we all know, it is extremely difficult to prove a negative, that is, prove that something did not happen. This is precisely what we are faced with in this case because the alleged incident simply never occurred. Here are the facts:

My client is a high level executive in a large organization. He runs a division in which he supervises over 30 people. He had a secretary whose work was substandard and after months of good faith efforts to train her had failed, he decided that he had no choice but to terminate her. As in most large organizations or bureaucracies it can be very difficult to terminate a non-performing employee. The process requires months of documentation and counseling to be able to demonstrate that the person was given every chance to succeed and was treated fairly.

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 Posted on October 05, 2010 in Criminal Defense

Judge Alfred Nance of the Baltimore City Circuit Court has ruled that defendants in Maryland criminal cases are entitled to be represented by an attorney at their initial appearance before a court commissioner.

Appellate Courts in Maryland have previously ruled that appearances before a court commissioner were not "critical stages in a criminal proceeding." Although I have not read his opinion, Judge Nance wisely stayed his seemingly maverick ruling due to the likelihood the matter is far from settled and will be taken up on appeal.

It has been longstanding practice in Maryland that when a criminal defendant is arrested, they are brought before a court commissioner within twenty-four hours of the arrest. Most jurisdictions outside Baltimore City move much faster. At the brief hearing, the commissioner will set an initial bail. These hearings occur at all hours of the day. The bail is subject to review by a Maryland District Court Judge the next day.

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 Posted on October 02, 2010 in Family Law

It is not uncommon for clients involved in child support modification cases to ask if their news spouses’ income will be considered in the new child support calculation. For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Smith (first wife) were divorced in 2000 and at that time Mr. Smith was ordered to pay $300 per month in child support. Since that time, Mr. Smith has remarried to Mrs. Smith (second wife) and has also started a job making significantly more money, so Mrs. Smith (first wife) files a Complaint for modification of child support. Does Mrs. Smith’s (second wife) income count as part of Mr. Smith’s income for the purpose or recalculating the child support? The answer should be no. As Moore v. Tseronis, 106 Md. App. 275, 284-85, 664 A.2d 427, 431-32 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1995) reports the court should not impute a new spouse’s income to the parent involved in the child support case when calculating child support. Further, the Annotated Code of Maryland, Family Law § 12-201(b) defines income as actual or potential income of a parent, not the parent’s new spouses income. This applies not only in modification cases, but also initial child support calculation cases. For basic information on child support calculations visit our September 9, 2009 blog.

To inquire about child support contact an experienced Maryland Divorce Attorney.

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 Posted on September 30, 2010 in Divorce

There are two parts to custody in the State of Maryland, legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the ability to make decisions regarding the child’s health, education, religion and other matters of significant importance. Legal custody can be awarded solely to one parent or jointly to both parents (there are also variations on joint legal custody, such as having on parent as a tie breaker or a requirement to mediate when parents cannot reach a joint decision or assigning each parent sole legal decision making with respect to different issues, ie Mom makes the decisions on education and Dad makes the decisions on religion and the parents have joint legal custody on religious issues). Maryland courts have held that the strongest factor in determining whether to award joint legal custody is the ability of the parents to communicate with each other regarding the children.

Physical custody pertains to with whom the child resides. Physical custody can be awarded primarily to one parent or it can be shared between the parents. The Maryland case Taylor v. Taylor, 306 Md. 290, 508 A.2d 964 (1986), sets forth a list of several of the factors a Court will consider for the award of shared physical custody. These considerations include:

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 Posted on September 30, 2010 in Driving Under the Influence

A new list ranking U.S. cities with the the most drunk driving offenders only confirms what most experienced Baltimore criminal defense attorneys already new-Baltimore has made the list. Charm City came in at #18 on the list appearing on Insurance.com.

The list ranks the number of drivers with alcohol related convictions among the top most populous cities in the U. S. San Diego ranked No. 1, followed by San Jose, Charlotte, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio.

The only surprising thing to me about the list is Baltimore did not rank higher. I suspect that is because either PBJs are not reported or many offenders find a way to beat the charges.

For more information on Baltimore DUI defense, contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, LLC.

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