What is the State's Burden of Proof for DUI in Rockville?

What Is The Charge?
At the outset, we will assess what crime or crimes you are accused of committing. This will be determined by the prosecutor when they file the complaint against you.

A complaint is the name given to the paper setting out the alleged violations of law. The complaint is the legal document that brings you to court and starts the legal process against you.

Usually in a DUI case, you will be charged with two separate criminal offenses:
(a) of the Rockville Vehicle Code, driving under the influence; and,
(b) of the Rockville Vehicle Code, driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher.

You will also most likely have a license suspension matter before the DMV. This is not a criminal offense. It is a civil proceeding before an administrative agency, the Rockville DMV.

The matter before the DMV will be brought under the Administrative per se suspension law. This is almost identical to the per se criminal charge, 23152 (b) driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher, which you will also be facing in the criminal case.

The Arrest
In a DUI case, an arrest can be made in one of two ways: 1) an on-view arrest; or 2) after an accident where the police did not actually see the driving.

A court can also issue an arrest warrant. This is generally the case if you fail to appear in court after receiving proper notice to do so, or if you were previously on probation and failed to perform any conditions of that probation order.

Certain legal rules govern the arrest process and our office will analyze the controlling law to determine if a valid legal arrest has taken place and what remedies exist if you were not legally arrested.

The details of the arrest are important for many different legal reasons. We will be looking to legal defenses that either substantially or procedurally block the prosecution, which may flow from the arrest process itself.

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