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Springvale Maine OUI / DUI Attorneys

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OUI / DUI Defense Lawyers in Springvale, ME

Springvale Maine Operating Under the Influence (OUI) Lawyers

Springvale Courtroom Location

If you’re in Springvale, Maine, when you get arrested for operating under the influence (OUI), then your case will be handled in the Springvale District Court. This court is located at 447 Main Street, in downtown Springvale, Maine, right next to the library.

The courthouse is a modern-looking, boxy building that seems to have been built using half a dozen different building materials. You can find driving directions online, using either the court’s website or Google Maps.

Parking

For your court appearance, you can either park on the street, or in the parking lot behind the courthouse. This lot is shared with the Springvale Career Center, though, so parking can be tight.

Prepare to get to the courthouse a little bit early, just in case you strike out in this back lot and have to search for street parking. You don’t want to be late for a court appearance.

Courtroom

There is only one entrance to the Springvale District Court. It’s located on the side of the building facing Route 109, at the western corner.

Once you’ve entered the building, you’ll be directed through an entryway and into another room.

There, you’ll find the court security detail. To go any further, you’ll have to empty your pockets and pass through a metal detector. Any metallic items in your pockets, along with any bags you’re carrying into the building, will be scanned separately, so be mindful of what you’re bringing into the building.

All of the court proceedings at the Springvale District Court take place in the building’s only courtroom, located on the first floor. This courtroom is small, though, so seating is limited. After calling the list for arraignments or for trial, defendants will be asked to sit outside the courtroom in a small seating area. Seating is limited here, as well, however, so you may find yourself standing for an hour or more. Bring a book and some patience. Everyone has to go through the same ordeal.

Process

If you have a conference at the arraignment with the district attorney assigned to your case, you’ll meet with them in a tiny room next to the courtroom, on the first floor of the Springvale District Courthouse.

You’ll be packed into this tiny room with people from the district attorney’s office, as well as law enforcement personnel responsible for your case.

This is where you’ll argue your side of the situation. Typically, though, cases can’t be resolved at the arraignment, and your case will be given a date for a bench trial in front of a judge at the Springvale District Court.

If you request a jury trial, however, your case will be transferred, and assigned a trial date in the nearby Alfred Superior Court.

Prosecutors

Because Springvale is located in York County, Maine, it is under the jurisdiction of the York County District Attorney’s Office. This office is headed by District Attorney Kathy Slattery. However, two Assistant District Attorneys, Linda Donovan, and Johanna Gauvreau, tend to make the decisions in Springvale. They’ll likely be the ones that end up handling your case.

OUI / DUI Penalties in Springvale

If the OUI investigation gathers strong evidence of an OUI crime, you could end up getting convicted on drunk driving or drugged driving charges. The penalties of an OUI conviction have been increasing over time as politicians try outdoing each other to cater to special interest groups that want to punish drunk drivers. As a result, the sanctions for an OUI conviction, even one that does not involve a crash or injury, are shockingly high for the severity of the crime:

No. of Offense (Last 10 Years) License Suspension Jail Time Minimum Fine
1st Offense 150 Days No Minimum $500
2nd Offense 3 Years 7 Days $700
3rd Offense 6 Years 30 Days $1,100
4th Offense 8 Years 6 Months $2,100

These penalties increase if there are aggravating factors. For example:

  • If you refuse to take a chemical BAC test like a blood test or a breathalyzer, you will spend at least 96 hours in jail and 275 days will get added to the license suspension.
  • If you had a passenger under 21 years old in the car, there will be a minimum jail sentence of 48 hours and the license suspension will be 275 days longer.
  • If you try fleeing police, had a BAC of 0.15% or higher, or were driving more than 30 miles per hour over the speed limit, there is a minimum 48-hour jail sentence.

There can also be severe collateral consequences of an OUI conviction. Finding a job can get more difficult with the blemish on your criminal history, and keeping your current one while dealing with the license suspension can be tough.

Defending Against an OUI / DUI in Springvale

There are several ways you can defend against an OUI charge in Maine. Raising whatever defense is available to you is essential if you want to avoid these serious penalties of a conviction:

  • There was no probable cause for the traffic stop. Police need to have probable cause to search for evidence or make an arrest. Because a traffic stop is a type of arrest, police need to have probable cause to believe that a crime is being committed. While they do not necessarily have to think that the crime is OUI, police have to suspect something. They cannot just pull people over for no reason. If they do, the evidence they find can be excluded from court.
  • BAC or field sobriety tests were improperly given. BAC tests are not foolproof. They have to be calibrated and administered properly. If they aren’t, the readings they provide can be inaccurate and innocent people can get into legal trouble. Field sobriety tests are even less reliable. Police can even manipulate them so drivers are more likely to fail.

Contact an OUI / DUI Defense Lawyer in Springvale Today

If you’re facing OUI charges in Springvale, contact William T Bly online, and tap into his knowledge of the area and the local practices or call the office at (207) 571-8146.

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