DUI Arrest Records in Maryland

DUI arrest records in Maryland is usually a police report that is not available to the public. However, the information from the citation is publicly available. This information will include the name, address, and date of birth of the arrestee, and basic information about the citation, including the date, time, and location of the alleged offense, the officer who issued the citation, and the alleged infraction for the which the citation was issued.

Further documents related to the arrest are generally not made public. If any such documents were to be published as an exhibit during a trial, then the document could become available to the public in that manner.

The records are going to be stored at the county courthouse in whatever jurisdiction that citation was issued. Most of the time, the records will be at the courthouse where the hearing will be held or in a central repository in the main courthouse within the county. Reach out to an experienced DUI lawyer for more information.

Are There Any Consequences of Having a Public Arrest Record for a DUI?

There are a few different consequences of having a public DUI arrest record in Maryland. For one, having it publicly available means other people could find it. However, most of the time, a Google search will not return information within the Maryland case search database. Another general consequence of just having that information publicly available is that the person will be solicited from attorneys trying to get a hearing. The attorneys may claim to get the defendant’s records clear. All they have to do is pay the lawyer a significant amount of money and provide information. Fortunately, a seasoned and legitimate lawyer could address all these issues and professionally handle them.

Legal Options Regarding Arrest Records

The primary way to deal with an arrest record is through an expungement. If a person goes to trial and is found not guilty, then the case is eligible for expungement. Similarly, if a case is dismissed or entered nolle prosequi, it is eligible for expungement. Additionally, anyone who received a Probation Before Judgement 15 years after the date they were discharged from probation is able to expunge a DUI. Expungement removes not only records from court proceedings but also the arrest record itself.

Maryland does not have a method to seal records. The main process is expungement for clearing things off a person’s record and that is different from sealing a record. Expungement is actually the destruction of the record. It gets physically shredded in addition to the online records being erased. Record sealing is where the file is retained but the record of it is sealed and the contents of it are sealed to the public.

What Happens After a DUI Acquittal

When a person is acquitted of a DUI, the publicity of the arrest record is not affected. It will remain public just as it was before acquittal. The record of acquittal will also be public. Any record of the arrest will also include the outcome of the case if there is an acquittal so that will also be publicly available. In that case, if a person is acquitted, then they are now eligible to have the case expunged. An expungement will result in a complete erasure from the record of the arrest, and any court proceeding and record of the acquittal will be destroyed as well.

For more information about DUI arrest records in Maryland and expungements, reach out to a knowledgeable lawyer today.