By John Scott Webb, a Southern Maine Criminal Defense Lawyer in Saco and Portland, and an Expert in Illegal Stops and Searches. The key differences between reasonable articulable suspicion (RAS) and probable cause (PC) in Maine are: Reasonable Articulable Suspicion (RAS) If you are cruising down the road in Southern…
Articles Posted in Police Procedures
Maine Search and Seizure: Illegal Traffic Stops
By Webb Law Firm, With Law Offices Near Me in Portland Maine and Saco ME No other nation besides the United States has the Fourth Amendment protections that require a police officer to have information of a crime having been committed before “seizing” a person. When a driver is on…
Are OUI Roadblocks In Maine Legal?
By Maine OUI Lawyer John Scott Webb Serving Saco and Portland ME OUI roadblocks near me are sobriety checkpoints where police officers stop every vehicle—or a certain number of vehicles at random—to search for intoxicated drivers. These DUI roadblocks appear more frequently around holidays, when driving under the influence is…
Should You Refuse the Breathalyzer Test? Maine DUI Law
A breathalyzer test is when a person breathes into a handheld device that measures their BAC. Police officers use them to check if a person is drink driving. Some people also keep them in their cars to check their own BAC levels as a safety precaution. While a test may…
Are Traffic Tickets Fair?
In Maine, your income makes no difference in how much your ticket will cost. The fine scale is predetermined and applies evenly to everyone, which seems reasonable. But is it really fair? That all depends on who you are and how much money you make. For some, a speeding ticket…
Were You Charged with an OUI and Never Mirandized?
Do Police Have to Read You Your Rights? Police have an obligation to read you your Miranda warnings before conducting a custodial interrogation. An interrogation means that the questions are designed to elicit an incriminating response. Meaning, routine questions such as what your name is, your address, and your date…
Avoiding police manipulation of breath tests
Police manipulate breath testing devices (breath alcohol machine) by controlling the way people blow into them. Usually, police officers tell a person taking an alcohol breath test to take a deep breath and to blow into the machine as long as possible. During the test the officers will encourage this…