Ten points about hiring an attorney for traffic court in Maryland

There are ten things that every motorist facing a Maryland traffic ticket should know before hiring an attorney.

1.  Points last two years on a Maryland driving record dating back from the time of the citation, NOT the conviction date.  This is important because even if points have recently fallen off of your record, the MVA may sanction you for having accumulated in a time past (relating back) a total of 5, 8, or 12 points.  Example: in August 2008 you catch a 5 point speeding ticket, you go to trial on it in March 2009, and lose, getting all of the points.  In June 2010 you get a second 5 point speeding ticket, and go to trial on it in September 2010.  If convicted, while you now have only 5 poins, you will face a suspension hearing for your license because as of June 2010, you had 10 points on that date (exceeding the 8 point threshhold).  Important for drivers with seriously problematic driving records.  A lawyer can help you make this analysis accurately.

2.  Some traffic statutes in Maryland are written so poorly that it is almost impossible to get a conviction on them.  I won’t provide an itemized list here but there are some rules-of-the-road statutes written to “sound good” but which cannot be prosecuted successfully if properly defended.  If I list them here, some politician will make it a cause to correct them but most experienced traffic attorneys can give you at least one infamous example of a poorly-written statute.  This is not unique to Maryland, but is true in Maryland and elsewhere; statutes, like pizza, sometimes don’t “taste” as good as they “smell.”

3.  As noted above points last 2 years, but line items from motor vehicle records last 3 years even after points fall off.  What does this mean?  It means that you can be punished up to three years after a citation is issued if convicted even if the MVA is no longer holding the citation against you.  Using an attorney can help control and predict this exposure.

4.  Maryland is a member of an Interstate Compact on drivers’ licenses that prohibit most interstate impositions of points for most motor vehicle citations.  That speeding ticket from Delaware won’t impose points in Maryland.  However, Maryland insurance carriers WILL take notice of your out-of-state citations reported to Maryland under that same compact; it’s just that the MVA won’t punish you for the citation in most cases.  I say MOST because certain designated severe offenses such as DUI and similar severe charges DO carry points throughout all of the Interstate Compact states, which list now includes almost all U.S. states. An attorney can help you make the proper analysis on these or related issues.

5.  Most Maryland judges will consider probation before judgment (PBJ) pursuant to Maryland’s Criminal Procedure article section 6-220 for motorists with clean driving records for three years prior.  No judge is ever required to grant PBJ; it is a discretionary allowance designed to provide a first-time offender a break for good cause shown, and Maryland MVA does not impose points upon a PBJ entry, only an outright conviction (which PBJ is not.)  An attorney may be helpful in making the case accurately for PBJ especially if your citation is a bit “hairy.”

6.  Maryland’s traffic court jurisprudence is criminal in nature, that is to say that federal and state criminal defense constitutional rights apply in traffic court, such as the right against self-incrimination, the right of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the right to confront an accuser.  Maryland’s Declaration of Rights states that “the trial of facts, where they arise, is one of the greatest securities of the lives, liberties and estate of the People”; this provision has been held to require that a criminal case (including a traffic case) be brought to trial in the county or city where the events arose.  Accordingly, if the State fails to prove the jurisdiction where the offenses arose, the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the case.  Your lawyer will probably do a better job of protecting your constitutional rights in traffic court sparring than you will, both because she/he is trained but also because she/he will be a whole lot less nervous than many traffic court motorists, and is professionally (not personally) involved in the case.

7.  Maryland judges vary dramatically in terms of how they handle traffic court.  Montgomery County has a justified reputation for being severe on speeding offenses.  In another county, one judge maintains a policy of NOT granting PBJ to any motorist who contests his guilt; while no judge need ever grant PBJ in a particular case, I respectfully question the propriety of a blanked, announced refusal to consider PBJ for an entire class of motorists.  (In fairness to the judge, the judge announces the policy openly so that motorists may voluntarily accept PBJ which is fairly freely granted on a guilty plea.)  Some judges hold police to a sharper standard of proof than others.  Some judges will take judicial notice that a particular road lies entirely within one county even if the officer does not state this explicitly.  A working traffic attorney can help you navigate these pitfalls both from practical experience and from knowledge of the legal options for the motorists in the face of a reluctant or difficult judge, especially one visiting by surprise from another county.

8.  In order to enter a finding of guilt, the court must receive proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the IDENTITY of the motorist.  While a reference to the display of a Maryland driver’s license card and the statement that the officer ID’ed the motorist against the card on the scene, sometimes officers forget to make an in-court identification.  This is grounds for a dismissal.  Your lawyer will do a professional job of wording this argument for the win.

9.  Technical requirements surround scientific testimony such as the use of a scientific device like a speed camera or radar gun or a laser speed device.  Officers sometimes fail to testify properly on this point.  The details are too complex to examine here.  Your lawyer will know the relevant case law, including the very recent Supreme Court cases that deal with scientific evidence such as speed cameras and blood alcohol testing equipment.

10.  This applies in Maryland traffic court but undoubtedly is not limited to Maryland.  One of the most common goofs – a goof you can avoid by hiring an attorney – is confusing the cross-examination of an officer with giving life testimony.  You see this again and again and again in traffic court; it’s as if no one had been watching Law and Order for the last 20 years.  The pattern goes direct testimony/cross exam, direct testimony/cross-exam (except that police in traffic court, who are not parties and are not lawyers, cannot cross-examine anyone.)  Occasionally there will be re-direct and re-cross, but those are rare and extremely rare in traffic court. Calling an officer a liar on cross-exam is almost always a mistake because (a) if true, it’s difficult to prove, (b) proving the officer is confused rather than lying is usually easier and more effective, (c) it’s unhelpfully rude but especially (d) it usually constitutes testifying instead of cross-examining.  Far better to ask carefully tailored questions that undercut the officer’s ability to state the facts than recklessly to attack his/her honesty directly.  Even if – or especially if – a specific officer is (to use Harvard professor and appellate expert Alan Dershowitz’ term) “testi-lying” under oath, an attorney will probably be able better to handle that officer’s cross-examination than most motorists will.

Our office handles traffic court trials throughout the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan core; please feel free to call us at any time at 410-561-6061.

Posted by Bruce Godfrey

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