FREE CASE EVALUATION

Question: What happens if I plead guilty to DUI/DWI in court in Maryland?

Answer: If you plead guilty to a DUI in court that does not necessarily mean that you will walk away with a conviction. If it is a first time offense, capable counsel should be able to talk the judge into giving you the benefit of a probation before judgment and a probation before judgment is not considered a conviction in Maryland, and therefore one would not get the 12 points on their license and the disposition would not be considered a conviction.

So if employers were to ask if you were ever convicted of anything, the answer in that regard continues to be no. So, before pleading guilty in court, one must be careful to review the record and see if you have defenses to the case. But if pleading guilty is the appropriate remedy in a particular case because the state has offered a potentially useful disposition or a potentially useful deal, that certainly is an option in many cases and that would not necessarily result in a conviction. It’s particularly if the defendant has prepared himself appropriately prior to going to court.