First-Time DUI; Out of State and Small Case(?). Advice Needed!

[EBW13]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My boyfriend received a DUI a week ago and I am trying to do as much research as possible to help him prepare for what is to come. (Note: this is his first DUI and his first criminal charge. He has gotten a couple tickets for speeding in the past, but that is all. Otherwise, his record is completely clean). He lives in New Jersey, but spent last week with his band mates in Montgomery County, Maryland, recording several songs with a producer there for an upcoming album.

After attending a concert in Baltimore where he consumed a single drink, he was pulled over in Bethesda (back in Montgomery County, as opposed to Baltimore) for making an illegal right turn at a red light- he claims he did not see the sign. The officer's notes on my boyfriend's ticket(s) note that his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled like alcohol; consequently, he was subjected to four different sobriety field tests. He passed all but the last, which was to stand on one leg for thirty [one thousand-count] seconds. My boyfriend claims that he stumbled around 24 seconds not because of intoxication but rather as a result of fatigue. I am not putting too much significance on this statement (regardless of its validity) because from a legal perspective, the point is that he failed that test, regardless of the reason. He was also given a breathalyzer test, where he blew a .12 BAC.

He was then arrested (but placed in the front seat of the police car, which I find strange) and taken to the Bethesda police station. His license was not seized; he was not fingerprinted, photographed, documented, or tested in any other way. He simply filled out some paperwork (I unfortunately do not know the specifics of which documents) and was then released and driven home by a band mate. He was issued an Officer’s Certification and Order of Suspension (Temporary License)- however, it was not authorized by the officer.

He mailed his Hearing Request Form several days after the arrest, well within the State's 10 day period, so the [supposedly] mandatory license suspension that results from not returning this form on time will not be an issue. However, I do not know what to expect next. I don't know what significance, if any, we can deduct from his Temporary License not being authorized. Similarly, I don't know what effect his out of state residency will have on the case. It seems as though the police involved took the incident very lightly, but of course DUIs are never trivial matters. He can't afford a criminal defense lawyer (quintessential starving musician!), so I'm encouraging him to look into public defenders.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or expectations for the case/situation, as well as advice on where to go from here. I wish I could be more actively involved in the case but I currently attend Colgate University in upstate New York, so I have a whole lot on my own plate at the moment.

Thank you in advance!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[HighwayMan]

One does not blow a .12 from one drink, so obviously you don't know the whole story.

How do you know all the facts? I guess your boyfriend told you, right? You were not there, correct?

[EBW13]

Originally Posted by HighwayMan

One does not blow a .12 from one drink, so obviously you don't know the whole story.

How do you know all the facts? I guess your boyfriend told you, right? You were not there, correct?

Correct, I was not there. (I'm fully aware that the one drink part of the story seems questionable, if not implausible. However, I think the .12 BAC is a much more meaningful factor here in that it contributes to the same overall point, yet is obviously far more credible than what my boyfriend said. Thus it overrides his claim to only having a single drink, at least in my mind. In other words, no matter how many beverages he actually consumed, he still blew a .12, which is what ultimately matters. I'm simply trying to do as much research as possible to gather a sense of what to anticipate from the situation as a whole.)

In any event, the rest of the facts I listed in the original thread (with the exception of him not seeing the "No Turn on Red" sign, as there is virtually no way to verify the truth of that statement) are verified by the police report, officer's notes, and other pieces of paperwork, so they are all true. I also talked to the friend that picked him up from the station, who talked to the officers involved, and everything that he relayed to me reinforces both the story told by my boyfriend and what was documented by the police.

My primary concern here is not whether or not the story I was told is factual or accurate- I am certain that it is. Rather, it is what to expect out of this situation as a whole, as it seems like a somewhat unique case (that is not to say that other all DUI cases are uniform, of course) because it seemed to be treated so lightly.

[HighwayMan]

I'm not sure why you think it was treated lightly. He was arrested!

[EBW13]

Originally Posted by HighwayMan

I'm not sure why you think it was treated lightly. He was arrested!

I don't mean lightly in completely literal sense; placed in context, in the grande scheme of DUIs, if you will, it seems as though his situation seems less severe than many others:

- he was put in the front seat of the police car (granted I do not know the standard procedure for arrest, maybe this isn't uncommon?)
- he was not documented (fingerprinted, photographed, etc) or tested additionally at the station
- he was released immediately after signing the necessary papers
- his license was never seized
- his temporary license was not authorized by the police officer (this is the one I have the most trouble understanding. I am not quite sure what it means)

[HighwayMan]

Originally Posted by EBW13

- he was put in the front seat of the police car (granted I do not know the standard procedure for arrest, maybe this isn't uncommon?)

It may be permitted by department policy, but it is certainly poor judgement on the part of the arresting officer to place any arrestee in the front seat. However, this doesn't necessarily indicate making light of the situation. I would just call it stupid.

Originally Posted by EBW13

- he was not documented (fingerprinted, photographed, etc) or tested additionally at the station

Maybe not unusual. In New York, for instance, DWI is not a fingerprintable/photographable offense.

Originally Posted by EBW13

- he was released immediately after signing the necessary papers

That's certainly common. Pretty standard.

Originally Posted by EBW13

- his license was never seized

You said he lives in NJ. So I assume he has a NJ license. They may not seize out of state licenses.

Originally Posted by EBW13

- his temporary license was not authorized by the police officer (this is the one I have the most trouble understanding. I am not quite sure what it means)

I don't know what it means either. Why would they issue him a temp license when he kept his regular license? Maybe because of that it didn't need to be "authorized".

[ElvinMelvin]

Originally Posted by EBW13

Rather, it is what to expect out of this situation as a whole.

The 0.12 BAC puts him in the category of DUI-- Driving Under the Influence (as opposed to the lesser DWI--Driving While Impaired)

First offense DUI in Maryland is:

Up to one year in jail.
Minimum 6-month license suspension
Up to $1,000 fine.

Maryland and New Jersey both participate in the Interstate Drivers License Coompact, so I suspect that if his privileges are suspended in MD they might also be in NJ (not sure--perhaps someone here knows better?)

I don't see anything in your story that gives him an out. He made an illegal turn, so the stop was warranted. Likewise, he failed the FST so the trip to the PD was also fine. The BAC of 0.12 makes him per se intoxicated under Maryland rules.

I get the whole starving musician thing, but I would strongly suggest he beg and borrow to get himself an attorney, at least as a consult to keep from making some fooolish mistakes. For example, if he goes into court and tries to tell the judge that he blew a 0.12 after only one drink he is only going to succeed in insulting the judge's intelligence, which is never a good thing.

JMHO

[Yertle8]

Originally Posted by EBW13

- he was put in the front seat of the police car (granted I do not know the standard procedure for arrest, maybe this isn't uncommon?)
- he was not documented (fingerprinted, photographed, etc) or tested additionally at the station
- he was released immediately after signing the necessary papers
- his license was never seized
- his temporary license was not authorized by the police officer (this is the one I have the most trouble understanding. I am not quite sure what it means)

That he was put in the front seat won't have any bearing on the case, although it may seem strange.

I was arrested for DUI, I was not fingerprinted or photographed at that point, either. The breath test was likely administered at the station, as most portable breathalyzers are not admissible. That being said, a few are, so if he really wasn't tested at the station, the officer probably had one of the portable units that are calibrated and admissible.

Being released right after a DUI arrest is typical.

My license was not seized on the spot.

I don't know what the last point means, either. He has a hard case to win, and if he has any hope to do so, he needs an attorney.

[FlyingRon]

Putting people in the front seat is not that uncommon. It's more convenient if the officer is going to exchange information with the person under investigation and it's more comfortable for both the officer and the driver than conducting the business on the hood of the car.