If you were arrested in the last few days, read this first: you have 10 days from the date of the notice to request your MVA hearing. Not 30. Ten. Miss it and your licence is suspended automatically, no matter how strong your defence turns out to be in court. Call me at 301-563-9575 before you do anything else.
I’m David Waranch. I’ve handled thousands of DUI, DWI and serious traffic cases across Maryland, and I’m in the District Court in Ellicott City regularly.
A DUI charge is not a conviction. Plenty of the cases I take end in a dismissal, an acquittal, a reduction, or a probation before judgment that keeps the conviction off your record entirely. But the window to protect your licence is short and it starts running the night you’re arrested — so let’s get to the facts rather than the reassurance. If you’re also facing other citations from the same stop, my Howard County traffic defence page covers those.
Your Howard County DUI Is Actually Two Cases
This is what people miss, and it costs them their licences.
| The criminal case | The MVA case | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | District Court, Ellicott City | Maryland MVA, administrative hearing |
| What’s at stake | Jail, fines, a conviction, points | Your licence |
| Your deadline | Your court date | 10 days to request a hearing |
| Runs automatically? | No | Yes. Do nothing and you are suspended |
Winning one does not win the other. I have met people who beat the criminal charge outright and still could not drive, because nobody told them about the 10-day letter sitting on their kitchen table. I handle both sides — see what to expect at an MVA hearing in Howard County.
The temporary paper licence you were handed is good for 45 days. The suspension that follows is not short:
- BAC 0.08–0.14: 180 days
- BAC 0.15 or higher: 180 days first offence, 270 days second
- Refusing the test: 270 days first refusal — two years on a second
Note that refusing is punished more harshly than blowing a 0.14. People refuse believing it protects them; usually it does the opposite. I’ve set out the full Maryland DUI suspension lengths and ignition interlock rules here.
What You’re Actually Charged With
Maryland’s alcohol and drug driving offences all sit in Md. Code, Transp. § 21-902, and there are four of them — not two, as you’ll read elsewhere. Look at your citation and find yours:
| Charge | First offence | Second offence | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUI — under the influence, or 0.08+ per se (a)(1) | 1 year · $1,200 | 2 years · $2,400 | 12 |
| DWI — impaired by alcohol (b)(1) | 2 months · $500 | 1 year · $500 | 8 |
| Drug-impaired driving (c)(1) | 2 months · $500 | 1 year · $500 | 8 |
| CDS-impaired driving (d)(1) | 1 year · $1,200 | 2 years · $2,400 | 12 |
| Any of the above with a minor in the car | Up to 2 years · $2,000 | Up to 3 years · $3,000 | — |
Twelve points revokes a Maryland licence outright. That’s what a DUI conviction carries — which is why the whole fight is usually about avoiding the conviction, not about the fine. For the full breakdown of how these charges differ, read my guide to Maryland DUI and DWI laws.
And if you refused the breath test, § 21-902(g) adds a further 2 months and $500 on top — but only if the State’s Attorney serves notice of the refusal at least 5 days before your District Court trial. That deadline is real, and I check it in every refusal case.
If This Is Your Second DUI, Read This Twice
Almost nobody puts this on their website, and it is the most important sentence in the statute.
Under § 21-902(f), if you are convicted of a DUI within 5 years of a prior DUI conviction, there is a mandatory minimum of 5 days in jail. A third or subsequent offence within 5 years: 10 days minimum. And subsection (f)(6) states that those penalties “are mandatory and are not subject to suspension or probation.”
The judge cannot suspend it. Sympathy does not reach it. The only way to avoid it is to not be convicted — which means the case has to be fought properly from day one, not negotiated at the last minute.
Two prior convictions raises the ceiling to 5 years and $5,000. Three or more: 10 years and $10,000. If you have any alcohol-driving history at all, tell me on the first call.
How I Defend a DUI in Ellicott City
Every case turns on its own facts, but the State has to prove each link in the chain, and each one is contestable:
- The stop. Did the officer have a lawful reason to pull you over at all? If not, everything that follows can fall with it.
- The field sobriety tests. These have strict NHTSA administration standards. Officers deviate from them constantly, and a test administered wrongly proves nothing.
- The breath test. Calibration records, maintenance logs, the 20-minute observation period, the qualifications of the operator. Any of these can exclude the result.
- Bodycam and dashcam. The written report says you were unsteady. The footage often shows something else entirely.
- Your statements. Were you questioned in custody without warnings?
Depending on what that turns up, we’re aiming at a dismissal, a not-guilty verdict, a reduction from DUI to DWI, or a probation before judgment — which means no conviction and no points. I’m a Maryland traffic defence attorney first and foremost, and I bring the same evidence-driven approach to a DUI that I bring to any contested citation.
If You Hold a CDL
Different rules, and worse ones. A DUI disqualifies you from driving commercially for a year — even if you were in your own car, off duty, on a Saturday. A second one is a lifetime disqualification. And federal anti-masking law (49 C.F.R. § 384.226) means Maryland cannot hide it for you: a PBJ will not save your CDL.
If you drive for a living, your case has to be defended on entirely different terms, and I need to know that immediately. See my page on CDL violations in Ellicott City.
How a DUI Follows You Afterwards
The fine is rarely the part that hurts. What lasts is:
- Your job — particularly for teachers, nurses, government employees, and anyone holding or applying for a security clearance.
- Your insurance — increases, and sometimes non-renewal.
- Background checks — a conviction is permanent, and even a PBJ stays on public Case Search for years.
Mitigation matters, and it works: an alcohol assessment completed before your court date, treatment already underway, character letters in hand. Judges notice. So does the State’s Attorney. Starting that early is one of the most reliable ways to change an outcome.
Other Charges I Handle in Howard County
DUI charges rarely arrive alone, and the other counts on your citation can carry consequences of their own. I also defend reckless driving, driving while suspended, driving while revoked, driving without a licence and driving without insurance in Howard County.
If you missed a court date and there’s a bench warrant out for you, that gets dealt with first — before anything else can move. And where a DUI sits alongside a criminal charge, I handle those together as a Maryland criminal defence attorney rather than sending you to someone else.
Where Your Case Will Be Heard
District Court of Maryland for Howard County
3451 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-480-7700
I appear there regularly and I know how the courtroom runs. I represent DUI and DWI clients throughout Howard County — Ellicott City, Columbia, Elkridge, the Howard County portion of Laurel, Fulton, Clarksville, Jessup, Savage, Woodstock and the surrounding communities. If your town isn’t listed and your case is in Howard County, I can still help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to save my licence?
10 days from the date the MVA notice is sent to request a hearing. This is the single most time-critical thing in your case, and it has nothing to do with your court date, which may be months away.
Will I go to jail for a first DUI in Howard County?
It’s possible — the maximum on a first DUI is a year — but for a genuine first offence with no accident and no injuries, jail is not the usual outcome. The realistic fight is over whether you end up with a conviction at all. Where jail becomes unavoidable is a second DUI within five years, which carries a mandatory minimum the judge cannot suspend.
What’s the difference between DUI and DWI?
DUI is the more serious charge — a BAC of 0.08 or higher, or proof you were under the influence. It carries 12 points and up to a year. DWI is a lower threshold of impairment: 8 points, up to 2 months. Getting a DUI reduced to a DWI is a meaningful win.
Should I have refused the breath test?
Generally, no. A first refusal costs you 270 days — longer than the suspension for blowing a 0.14 — and if you’re convicted anyway, refusal adds a further 2 months and $500. But refusing is not fatal to your case, and there are things I can do with a refusal case that I can’t do with a breath reading.
Call Before the Clock Runs Out
The earlier I’m involved, the more I can do — particularly on the MVA side, where the deadline is unforgiving and there is no fixing it afterwards.
Toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Free consultation. Hablamos Español.
More on how I defend Maryland DUI charges statewide.