In a recent case, a client came to the Law Office of William T. Bly after being charged with OUI for the second time. OUI stands for operating under the influence and details of this offense are found in the Maine Revised Statues §2411 (2011). If someone is found to be operating any type of motor vehicle with blood alcohol levels of 0.08% or above or while impaired by alcohol, they could be convicted of this offense. The charges and penalties will differ depending on whether they have been convicted of two or more OUI offenses in the past ten years.
In this case, our client had been convicted of operating while intoxicated within the past ten years and could have been facing extremely harsh penalties. He could have been sentenced to 7 to 364 days in jail and was at risk of losing his driver’s license for 3 years. He could have also been subject to a fine ranging from $700 to $2,000. When he came to us for help, it looked to some as though his case was hopeless. After examining the details of his case, however, we discovered that there were some issues with the prosecution’s case.
The client was stopped in his town while riding his 80cc dirt bike. A law enforcement officer stopped him because there were not any marked trails within 500 yards of where he was riding his bike. From there, he asked our client to perform a field sobriety test. He also submitted to a breathalyzer test which showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.13%.
Our firm filed a motion to suppress all evidence because we purported that the police officer violated our client’s constitutional rights by pulling him over. The judge agreed with our stand that the stop had “no reasonable articulable suspicion” and the evidence obtained at the stop was suppressed. Since this meant that there was no evidence against our client, the case was dismissed.
If you were accused of OUI or another crime in Maine, contact Attorney William Bly. He has years of experience in criminal defense and can handle cases ranging from drug crimes to sex crimes to white-collar crimes to domestic violence. When facing criminal charges, it is important that you have a strong legal advocate on your side every step of the way so that your rights are not violated and so that you are able to get your charges dropped. Please, do not hesitate to get in touch with the office to tell us about your case. We will do everything in our power to ensure that your rights are protected. Call today!
