Maine Statutes OUI: A Review of DUI in Maine Aggravated OUI

By: Vincent LoConte, Criminal Defense Attorney With Webb Law Maine

Portland ME DUI attorney Vincent LoConte represents local citizens and people who are visiting The Pine Tree State. If you were arrested for operating under the influence you need a good lawyer who can idemtify inconsistencies in police procedures, imc;uding was the traffic stop legal.

Like all other states, many types of driver license suspension statutes exist under Maine Laws. The Pine Tree State sets apart higher punishment and extensions of suspensions or revocations, if the driver caught driving while suspended was doing this in violation of a conviction of an OUI in Maine.

Penalties under Maine Revised Statutes 29A-Section 2412-A are ramped up dramatically for a 2nd DUS (driving under suspension) or 3rd DUS. This article reviews most of the important Maine statutes OUI, for those facing prosecution in Maine.

Maine Operating While License Suspended or Revoked Law

This language applies to the first driving under suspension, when the loss of driving privileges is based upon an OUI-DUI conviction:

If the suspension was for OUI or an OUI offense, the court shall impose a minimum fine of $600, a term of imprisonment of 7 consecutive days and a suspension of license of not less than one year nor more than 3 years consecutive to the original suspension. The penalties may not be suspended except as provided in subsection 3A.  

The important part of this statutory language is that Maine laws mandate that this new crime and its additional suspension periods follow the already existing OUI license suspension periods.

RED ALERT! You only have 10 DAYS after an OUI arrest to file a critically important ADMINISTRATIVE license suspension appeal, to try to save limited driving privileges.

John Webb is widely regarded as the best marijuana criminal lawyer in Maine. He lives closer to the Saco, Maine office, and he covers a great number of drug possession cases near the New Hampshire border. Attorney Webb also has 2 other criminal defense lawyers that handle Maine illegal search and seizure cases.

Summary of Maine DUI Penalties for First Offense DUI and Subsequent Convictions

Any conviction for an OUI in Maine must be challenged aggressively, since convictions for OUI-DUI can NOT be removed from your criminal record—EVER. This is why our legal team has gone to many hours of additional DUI trial training sessions on these topics, to facilitate our criminal lawyers near me in southern Maine to be able to win, when most other OUI lawyers just “throw in the towel.”

The subsequent crucial aspect to note is that a 1st offense DUI typically possesses the HIGHEST probability of a decrease in the criminal charges. Moreover, not contesting the initial OUI-DUI offense poses significant “risk” (for instance, imprisonment, as well as revocation of all driving rights) to the driver if a 2nd DUI offense is subsequently alleged.

Webb Law Firm in Saco and Portland ME is your 24-hour lawyer firm that handles OUI and DUI cases.

Queries about the possibility of a Maine OUI plea bargain (to a lesser driving offense) in your situation will depend on a comprehensive examination of all the State’s proof or OUI driving, including:

Roadside police footage from the vehicle-mounted camera or body camera video data.
Any confessions or admissions (e.g., to driving 6 beers) given to the police by our client, which does occur in certain instances.
Evidence from the field sobriety test, derived from the police narrative report or car camera video footage.
Any testimonial proof of poor driving, if present, including a wrecked vehicle (in some cases).

All states originally utilized “lookback” periods to ramp up punishments for repeat OUI-DWI offenders. Over the last 50 years, though, NHTSA has suggested doing away with these arbitrary “reset” statutes and have pushed states to make a 3rd lifetime OUI a felony. Most states still have “lookback” periods, but about 2% of states have followed NHTSA’s recommendation.

So far, the Pine Tree Legislature has kept its 10-year look-back period. After ten years, the slate is cleared, and the driver gets the new ability to first get a 1st offense DUI, and no reference to her or his prior OUI record can be used by the prosecutor to force mandatory repeat offender penalties or lengthier loss of driving privileges.

Do not forget, though, that this is a statutory “fix,” but in no way is that DUI-OUI criminal record “erased.” OUI convictions in Maine cannot ever be erased from or “restricted” from criminal histories, in Maine. About a dozen other states like Mississippi, Michigan and California have such state “expunction” laws, for a person’s initial drunk driving or drugged driving crime.

Maine OUI Penalties Chart

Image Credit for the above graphic was taken from Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A, Section 2411. Image showing Maine DUI Laws and the 10-Year Lookback Period

Maine’s Civil Sanctions for Administrative License Suspension

Pursuant to guidelines handed down to all states by N.H.T.S.A. ( federal highway safety agency), the Maine Legislature has enacted laws that more harshly penalize drivers under the age of 21 for OUI-related license suspensions. This applies to either the underage driver’s first offence DUI or for a 2nd offense OUI.

The yellow highlighted areas identified below will show those harsher total license suspension provisions. What is readily apparent is that no IID (ignition interlock device) options are made available to younger drivers as opposed to adult drivers ages 21 and older.

Maine’s Forfeiture of Motor Vehicle Law

Those who are convicted of a Maine OUI offense, and then later get convicted of operating while suspended or revoked, can have their vehicle seized and sold, with the money going to the agency within the State of Maine that made the new arrest. Under Maine Revised Statutes 29-A, Section 2421, once the new driving after suspension for a DUI is verified, the seizure can take place in order to prevent additional risky driving violations.

Section 8 of this statute calls for the Attorney General to see to it that the money goes to the correct state, county or municipal agency that made the new arrest:

“The Attorney General shall adopt rules in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, for the disposition to state, county and municipal agencies of forfeited motor vehicles”

Contact Our Legal Firm for Criminal Cases in Southern Maine

By limiting how far away we travel from southern Maine, this strategy helps our criminal attorneys near me to keep strong connections to prosecutors in our legal practice area. This “local” connection assures that our criminal law professionals will have the best results for our clients, by concentrating on this limited geographic area, within southern Maine.

If a client calls for legal assistance outside our 10-county area, however, our legal team can make referrals to northern Maine, or even to other States, since our firm is nationally known. Because the call and initial legal advice is FREE, what are you waiting for? Dial 207-283-6400 now, even if on a holiday or weekend.