HAVE YOU BEEN PLACED ON PROBATION BEFORE JUDGMENT?

The State of Maryland enables Judges to grant Probation Before Judgment (PBJ’s) to first-time offenders or to a repeat offender if 10 years has passed since the last DUI.  Basically, a PBJ is an outcome in which the “Guilty” finding is stricken and you get a PBJ instead.  It carries no points with the MVA. If you don’t get a PBJ or “Not Guilty”, you receive 8 points for a conviction of Driving While Impaired, the so-called “B” charge, and 12 points on a DUI charge, the so called “A” charges. Your license would be suspended for 8 points or totally revoked if you receive 12 points.  That’s why a PBJ can be so important.

The most important thing to do prior to trial is to prepare for the possibility that you will not get a “Not Guilty”.  In that way, even if you are convicted, you will get a PBJ and “no points” on your record.

Unfortunately, a PBJ is not expungeable.  The State wants to know that you had a prior PBJ in the event you get a subsequent DUI, even years down the road.  But a PBJ is definitely the next best thing to a “Not Guilty” or “Nolle Pros”, which is when the State drops the charges entirely.

GET THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE SETTLEMENT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.  TALK TO MARK A. EPSTEIN NOW 410.627.2222.  Available 24/7