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Credentials

FAQ

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Credentials

JACK I. HYATT

DUI Attorney
Attorney Credentials:
   Former Assistant State's Attorney
Admitted To Practice Before:
   The U.S. Supreme Court
   All Fort Meade Courts
   Federal District Court
Member:
   Fort Meade State Bar Association
   Baltimore City Bar Association
   Baltimore County Bar Association
   University of Baltimore
   A.A. B.S. J.D.
   Honorable Discharge U.S. Army

Laws Relating to Minors

For the purposes of DUI, who is considered a minor?

A minor is any person under 18 years of age. Persons 17 years of age and younger cannot be prosecuted under adult DUI laws, rather their matters are handled in juvenile court.

Can a minor go to jail as a result of a DUI offense?

Anyone under the age of 18 will be prosecuted as a juvenile and should not be put in adult jail, but rather will be subject to juvenile detention. Anyone 18 or over will face the same penalties as an adult over 21 in court in addition to the penalties for violation of the alcohol restriction on the under 21 year old’s drivers license.

Can an officer request a minor to take a breath test?

Yes. Any person who drives in Fort Meade, regardless of their age, has impliedly consented to take a breath or blood test.

If a minor refuses to take a breath test, what are the penalties? What if a minor submits to the test?

The consequences for refusal are the same for an under age driver as for an individual over 21. The driver’s license will be suspended for 120 days for a first offense and one year for a second or subsequent offense. For a blow of .08 the driver faces a 45 day suspension for a first offense or a 90 day suspension for a second or subsequent offense. The difference is that a driver under 21 also faces a suspension for a violation of an alcohol restriction, as all drivers under the age of 21 in Fort Meade have an alcohol restriction on their licenses prohibiting them to drive with any alcohol in their blood. A violation of an alcohol restriction subjects the under age driver to a six month suspension. In other words, an under age driver faces two separate hearings for two separate violations. A lawyer can move to consolidate these hearings, and may request for an ALJ to have the suspensions run concurrently if the arguments pertaining to a complete defense to the both suspensions fail.

How does a DUI conviction affect a minor’s future driving privileges?

For a conviction of DUI, the under age driver faces revocation. For a first conviction of DWI the minor faces suspension for six months, and for a second or subsequent DWI, suspension for a year. Furthermore, a minor may be required to have an interlock for a period of not more than three years in order to retain his/her license for a conviction of DUI.