Southern Maine Criminal Lawyer BlogBy: Portland Maine OUI Attorney Vincent LoConte, With Webb Law Maine Law Firm
Maine OUI laws for drunk driving or drugged driving are very tough criminal charges. OUI arrests in Maine are a nightly event, but fewer are made in the deepest of winter just due to less traffic.
Who needs to know this information about a ME OUI? Anyone who operates a motor vehicle (boat, car, truck, motorcycle, jet ski, SUV, 18-wheeler) is subject to Maine OUI laws. Our OUI attorneys in Maine take phone calls all night, and on weekends to help those facing DUI offenses.
By the end of this article, the reader will be fully aware why those arrested for OUI charges in Maine typically seek an OUI lawyer near me. Being represented is crucial, whether as private legal counsel or by qualifying to have a public defender.
Luckily, 8 of every 10 OUI arrests in Maine will be a first offense, and about 13% of the remaining arrests are for a Maine OUI second offense. Thus, felony OUI cases in Maine are rare.
OUI Laws in Maine: OUI Meaning
First, let’s get past the O.U.I. acronym. This abbreviation is much like DUI (for driving under the influence), but in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, state laws call the crime “operating under the influence.” So, any DUI attorney in our state is commonly called an OUI attorney.
Many states have unique driving while intoxicated statutory abbreviations. Wyoming uses DWUI, An Oregon DUI is called DUII, and Ohio uses OVI. Three states, IN, MI and WI, use OWI as their acronym.
Read the Maine OUI statute.
This link takes you to information on When Is OUI a Felony in Maine?
OUI Portland First Offense OUI Maine Cases
Our aggressive and knowledgeable legal team is made up of four Maine OUI lawyers. If you need legal counsel from an OUI lawyer Portland Maine, the courts in that area are near the author’s home.
The lowest level of criminal OUI Maine (a first offense DUI) can send you to jail for up to 364 days, put you on probation for up to one (1) year, and require payment of a fine of up to $2,000. In addition, that person’s full driver’s license may not be returned for up to thirty-six months.
Repeat offenders in the Pine Tree State have a much more daunting path ahead of them, but only if convicted. By obtaining an immediate law office free consultation with one of our Webb Law Maine attorneys, the issue of administrative suspension of your right to drive will be discussed by one of our Portland OUI lawyers.
What’s an OUI?
OUI, DWI, and DUI are all terms for driving while impaired. In Maine, this is referred to as OUI. OUI can mean either operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants or having a blood or breath-alcohol content of 0.08 grams % or more. Intoxicants can include alcohol, illegal drugs, and prescription drugs.
The Criminal Law Court Penalties, if Convicted
Maine OUI laws first offense. If this is your first OUI offense in any state, and you have not refused a test in Maine in the last ten (10) years, the mandatory minimum license suspension penalty is for one-hundred fifty (150) days license suspension and a $500 fine.
After a first OUI offense, you can seek reinstatement of your license after 30 days if you install and pay for a DUI interlock on the vehicle you drive for one-hundred twenty (120) days. You will have to find a state-approved service center to perform the interlock installation near me.
On any second OUI in Maine case, this reasonably quick availability of driving privileges (that can help save a person’s job) is no longer available.
After a 1st offense OUI, this will allow you to obtain a Maine OUI work-restricted license. Absent this IID installation, however, the initial one hundred (100) days of the driver’s total license suspension will be without a work license.
The Maine BMV OUI penalties: Administrative license suspension for either refusal to submit to a post-arrest forensic test (breath alcohol or blood alcohol), or for taking the State’s test and registering over the legal limit. The BMV operates out of the Maine Secretary of State’s office.
Implied Consent Chemical Testing Laws in Maine
Breath tests must be conducted by persons certified by Department of Health and Human Services and must be performed on equipment approved by that department. A certificate showing a “number” from the forensic tests is admissible in evidence at court and constitutes prima facie evidence of blood or breath-alcohol level. The rules for test procedures are administrative rules adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Full information about the test must be provided to person tested or attorney upon request, after arraignment or filing of the BMV suspension action.
What If an Out-of-State Driver Is Arrested for a Maine OUI?
Maine reports all suspensions and all convictions to an out-of-state driver’s home state, and to Canadian provinces. Some home states will suspend a license for the BMV suspension (example: Massachusetts honors Maine BMV suspensions, even though Massachusetts is not a member of the Interstate License Compact.)
All states will suspend for a Maine conviction. The length of a suspension based upon a conviction will depend upon the driver’s record in the home state. Canadian provinces will suspend for either BMV suspensions or convictions.
Our Maine OUI Attorneys Near Me in Southern Maine
The best thing about a no-cost initial interview is that you can ask important questions and learn about our firm’s legal fees payment plans. Take time to call Webb Law Maine an speak to an OUI attorney in Portland if your case in in that court system. Our Portland Office number is 207-835-7008, and the Saco Office number is 207-283-6400.
Our Law office founder, John Webb, is widely regarded as the best OUI lawyer in Maine. He lives closer to the Saco, Maine office, and he covers a great number of the intoxicated driving cases near the New Hampshire border. But the veteran criminal defense lawyer also will act as a client’s Augusta Maine OUI attorney.
Criminal justice attorney John Webb and his other three skilled criminal defense attorneys nearby in southern Maine focus our legal services on OUI 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 drunk driving defenses.