Southern Maine Criminal Lawyer Blog
By: John S. Webb, Traffic Lawyer near me in Saco ME and Portland ME, with the Webb Law Firm, featuring two experienced local traffic ticket attorneys in Portland Maine and Saco Maine
Not all traffic violations justify hiring a criminal defense lawyer near me. In Maine, minor driving offenses are civil legal issues, while serious violations like driving to endanger, OUI and criminal speeding in Maine justify retaining a defense attorney in Portland or Saco to use his or her legal knowledge and relationships with local criminal courts to be your traffic ticket attorney nearby.
By way of example, with a Maine OUI arrest, that driver facing operating under the influence (OUI) charges has only 30 days to file an appeal pf the pending administrative license suspension, under Mainer’s implied consent law. If convicted you may be required to pay for installation and monitoring of a DUI interlock, an electronic device that requires a clean breath sample before your vehicle will start.
Plus, if charged with driving to endanger, you will need to retain one of our best criminal lawyers to try to find a lesser criminal offense than this harshly punished motor vehicle license suspension crime.
We learned in law school that there are few easy answers. It depends on your situation and the circumstances around how and why you got the ticket. When we talk about tickets in this article, we mean civil traffic violations such as failure to signal, speeding (under 30 MPH over the speed limit), failure to stop at a stop sign, and other minor traffic infractions.
If facing a criminal charge, it is time to lawyer up! We are not referring to more serious criminal driving charges like Operating Under the Influence, Criminal Speeding (30 MPH over the speed limit), or Illegally Passing a School Bus. For any criminal moving violation charge, you should always have a traffic lawyer near me.
If you have a Commercial Driver License (CDL), drive for a living, or have any concern that the ticket could cause you to lose your license, you should absolutely speak with an attorney. Any person whose driving record shows an accumulation of 12 demerit points for convictions or adjudications within a one-year period may have his or her license, permit or privilege to operate suspended for a period of up to 15 days.
Here is a short list of examples of some of the demerit point values for common traffic tickets:
Maine Traffic Tickets License Points
Operating After Suspension – Traffic Infraction …………………………………………….. 8
Violations that carry a 6-point weight:
Driving Wrong Side …………………………………………………………………………… 6
Driving Wrong Way …………………………………………………………………………… 6
Speeding But Less Than 30 Miles Per Hour …………………………………………………….. 6
Illegal Transportation Liquor – Minor …………………………………………………………….. 6
Illegal Transportation Drug – Minor ……………………………………………………………….. 6
Improper or Erratic Lane Change ……………………………………………………………………. 6
Improper Passing ……………………………………….. 6
Leaving Scene of an Accident (Property Damage) ……………………………………………… 6
Misrepresentation of Identity or Other Facts to Obtain Alcohol ……………………………… 6
Operating Beyond Restriction ……………………………………………………………………. 6
Operating with Improper License ……………………………………………………………………. 6
Operating Without Corrective Lenses ………………………………………………………………. 6
Operating Left on Curve …………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Other Improper Pass …………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Pass Within 100 Feet of Intersection ………………………………………………………………… 6
Pass on Curve or Hill ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Pass on Right …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Pass Wrong Side …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Violation – Do Not Pass ……………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Violation of Instruction Permit …………………………………………………………………………. 6
Operating Motorcycle Beyond Restriction ………………………………………………………….. 6
Violations that carry a 4-point weight:
Exceeding Posted Speed by Less Than 15 Miles Per Hour …………………………………….. 4
Excessive Acceleration ………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Failure to Keep Right ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Failure to Return to the Right …………………………………………………………………………… 4
Fail to Yield to Emergency Vehicle ……………………………………………………………………. 4
Fail to Yield – No Sign ……………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Fail to Yield to Pedestrian ………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Fail to Yield – Sign ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Fail to Give Way to Other Vehicle ……………………………………………………………………… 4
Fail to Obey Stop Sign ……………………………………………………………………………… 4
Fail to Stop at Red Light ………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Fail to Yield Right of Way ………………………………………………………………………… 4
Imprudent Driving ………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Imprudent Speed …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Operating a Motor Vehicle with Obstructed View ………………………………………………. 4
Operating Without a License (traffic infraction) …………………………………………………. 4
Red Light Violation …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Violations that carry a 2-point weight:
Crossover Violation ………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Displaying a Blue Light …………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Displaying a Red Light …………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Failure to Dim Headlights ………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Fail to Signal ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Fail to Obey Traffic Island ………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Failure to Obey Railroad Grade Crossing ………………………………………………………… 2
Failure to Maintain Control of Vehicle …………………………………………………………….. 2
Failure to Reduce Speed on a Grade or Curve …………………………………………………… 2
Follow Too Close …………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Illegal Left Turn ………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Illegal Right Turn ……………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Illegal U-Turn ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Impeding the Flow of Traffic ………………………………………………………………………… 2
Improper Turn ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Lane Conviction ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Littering ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Obstructing the Flow of Traffic …………………………………………………………………… 2
Obstructing Traffic ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Operating Motor Vehicle Without Tail Lights ……………………………………………………………. 2
Operating Without Lights ………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Other Moving Violation …………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Speed Under Posted Minimum …………………………………………………………………….. 2
Squealing Tires ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Trailer Without Lights ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Trucks Traveling Less Than 150 Feet Apart …………………………………………………………. 2
Can the Legal Services of Traffic Lawyers in Portland or Saco Help?
Sometimes the real question is what can an attorney do to help? Unlike a criminal case, the standard for a civil traffic ticket is not beyond a reasonable doubt. This lower standard of proof makes it is harder to win those cases, even if you have legal counsel. As is stated below, often the value of having a legal advocate intercede for you is from relationships and knowing how to “make a deal.”
For example, in a speeding traffic ticket case, if the officer used radar or a laser device to measure your speed, and that the instrument had been certified for use by the state (through calibration tests), that reading will be admitted. There is a presumption that the technology was working properly.
Then, the burden shifts to you to prove that their radar was wrong. This is no easy task and would require evidence to be produced.
Bringing in an expert witness to show that the radar was wrong is a costly proposition. The cost of this is very often unrealistic and (even if done) no guarantee of winning can be given.
By Meeting With or Contacting the Officer, a Criminal Lawyer Near Me Can Bring in the Human Factor
The biggest benefit to having an attorney in all traffic violation cases is NOT necessarily for conducting a trial, but for negotiating with officers to avoid a trial. Some officers are willing to negotiate an agreement to help our clients avoid a traffic conviction if our legal team member can show facts or issues that may sway his or her decision.
Every client’s personal situation is different. Often, that client’s ongoing family law matter such as a child custody dispute may have some bearing, if the speeding was somehow related. Or, in some cases, what our client does for a living may help (e.g., a front-line medical worker who has been dealing with Pandemic patients, or a national guard member or part of the military or merchant marines).
In some cases, we can negotiate to hold the case in abeyance (i.e., put the case off) for several months and (if you do not get another traffic ticket for an agreed number of months) and pay a fine, the case could be dismissed (at some later date) with no impact on your license.
Not all cases are conducive to such “work outs,” but we never know until our law group tries. However, if an officer is unwilling to agree to anything like this, a lawyer will have an uphill battle to win any traffic trials most of the time.
For a driver facing loss of driver’s license from any traffic ticket, self-representation is unwise. Therefore, it all depends on your individual situation. Wouldn’t you benefit from being able to speak with an attorney near me in a FREE lawyer consultation? You can call us 24 hours a day for that NO COST, initial conversation about your case and your prior driving record.
However, Webb Law Firm does not charge for an initial consultation and would be happy to go over your case with you to help you figure out what your best options are moving forward. See our section of the Pine Tree State in the map above and call today at 207-283-6400 to set up a time to speak with a Maine attorney for a FREE lawyer consultation.
Criminal justice attorney John Webb and his other two skilled criminal defense attorneys nearby in southern Maine focus our legal services on criminal defense. In addition to Super Lawyer best criminal attorney John Webb, Vincent LoConte and Nicole Williamson are trained to assert all of your legal rights and raise all viable defenses.