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Maine criminal defense lawyer John Webb explains how marijuana has become legal but only in certain situations.
OUI roadblocks are sobriety checkpoints near me where police officers stop every vehicle—or a certain number of vehicles at random—to search for intoxicated drivers. These DUI roadblocks appear more frequently around holidays, when driving under the influence is more common.

This legal article explores a driver’s right to not pass through the police checkpoint. So long as no traffic crime is committed, a citizen can opt to not wait for the line of drivers to be checked, and depart in the opposite direction.

Are OUI Roadblocks Constitutional?

Maine OUI lawyers John Webb, Vincent LoConte, Nicole Williamson, and Conor Todd explain what happens if you blow under the legal BAC limit after being pulled over.
In Maine, many think that if your breathalyzer test comes back under .08, then you have passed the DUI test and are free to go. This is not usually the case. This is because the law in Maine states that at the time of operation, a person had a breath or blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more or, were under the influence of intoxicants.

You Can Still Be Charged With DUI and Arrested With a BAC Under .08

To be under the influence in Maine is to have your mental or physical faculties impaired however slightly or to any extent by intoxicants. This means that if you blow a .07 and the officer thinks that you are impaired slightly, you can be charged with an OUI. Not having the .08 breath test to fall back on makes the case much harder to prove for the State, but they can still use the officer’s observations to try to prove that you were impaired while operating. Book a free consultation with a DUI lawyer near me.

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Maine criminal lawyer John Webb explains what makes a traffic stop legal in Portland and Saco Maine.
By Webb Law Firm, With Law Offices Near Me in Portland Maine and Saco ME

No other nation besides the United States has the Fourth Amendment protections that require a police officer to have information of a crime having been committed before “seizing” a person. When a driver is on the highway, the act of a government law officer seizing that person happens by signaling with emergency lights, using siren or even hand signals, to pull over.

Since the US Supreme Court clarified the issue in 1961, in Mapp v. Ohio, the federal constitutional rule applies to both state and federal officers. Many of the nation’s best criminal cases have been appeals from DUI lawyers near me made after an officer acted on a hunch, and did not have reasonable suspicion.

Maine criminal defense lawyer John Webb explains how marijuana has become legal but only in certain situations.
Is marijuana legal in Maine? The short answer is yes, but not for everybody, and “quantities are limited.”

The excitement over Maine weed legalization (in LD 1719) a few years ago has left several gaping traps for the unwary in recreational marijuana use. Cannabis possession in Maine is limited, and making an error will result in criminal charges.

Plus, possession is legal for “some adults.” Our criminal law firm can provide a marijuana attorney near me in all of the southern counties in Maine, as shown on the map below.

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Portland and Saco Maine Underage Alcohol and Fake ID Lawyers
As summer officially begins, many young adults will find themselves home for the summer or preparing to leave for college for the first time. Of course, college is a place where freedom abounds and, often, this new-found freedom results in an urge to party. This naturally leads some kids to be tempted to purchase alcohol, in order to liven up their nightlife. While for the older collegiate this may be perfectly acceptable, trouble arises when underage students use all too prevalent and easily computer-generated fake IDs.

Maine Fake ID and Underage Possession Penalties

Although most that do so are vaguely aware of some level of risk associated with the presentation of false identification, few realize the serious civil violations that could be facing them should they be discovered. Maine Title 28-A § 2051 stipulates that possessing a fake ID can, as a minor, net you a $200 to $400 fine for a first offense, $300 to $600 for a second, and a guaranteed $600 for the third. In fact, providing any false written or oral evidence (even without having a fake ID) in an attempt to either purchase alcohol as a minor or enter an establishment where minors are forbidden (e.g. a club) can cause you to face the same fines as if you did have a fake I.D., plus (at the judge’s discretion) possible community service.

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OUI Lawyer John Webb serves Saco and Portland Maine.
Since July of 2004, more than 75,000 ignition interlock devices or car breathalyzers have been installed in vehicles. These were installed as a result of the Transportation Restoration Act, passed in 1998. Under Maine statute 29-A §2508 a person convicted of a second or subsequent OUI offense may petition for early license reinstatement if they agree to install an approved ignition interlock device in their vehicle and have satisfied all other conditions for license reinstatement as required by the Secretary of State.

An ignition interlock IID is a sophisticated system that tests for alcohol on a driver’s breath. It is a device that requires a driver to blow into a small handheld alcohol sensor unit that is attached to a vehicle’s dashboard. In Maine the car cannot be started if a BAC of .025% or higher is detected.

The system not only requires a test to start the engine, but also requires a test every few minutes while driving. Termed the “rolling or running retest,” it prevents a friend from starting the car and then allowing an impaired driver from taking over the wheel. It also prevents the operator from drinking while driving.

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By: Portland Maine OUI Attorney Vincent LoConte, With Webb Law Maine Law Firm

John Webb is widely regarded as the best OUI lawyer in Maine. He lives closer to the Saco, Maine office, and he covers a great number of intoxicated driving cases near the New Hampshire border. Attorney Webb also has 3 other criminal defense lawyers near me.
Maine OUI laws for drunk driving or drugged driving are very tough criminal charges. OUI arrests in Maine are a nightly event, but fewer are made in the deepest of winter just due to less traffic.

Who needs to know this information about a ME OUI? Anyone who operates a motor vehicle (boat, car, truck, motorcycle, jet ski, SUV, 18-wheeler) is subject to Maine OUI laws. Our OUI attorneys in Maine take phone calls all night, and on weekends to help those facing DUI offenses.

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OUI Lawyer John Webb serves Saco and Portland Maine.
Seeking a criminal defense attorney Maine? Similarly, if you need an OUI lawyer near me or a sex crimes attorney, the Webb Law Firm has your legal warrior ready and available at a law office location nearby. The COVID Pandemic led to a large increase in domestic violence restraining order cases nationwide, and Maine is no exception to the higher incidence reports.

Our litigation team (John Webb Vincent LoConte, Nicole Williamson, and Conor Todd) wants you to feel comfortable bringing ANY criminal law, juvenile law, administrative law or driver license suspension law or revocation case to our legal offices in Southern Maine. A few years ago, because the crime rate in Portland was 10-fold that rate in Saco, ME, we opened our Portland, ME additional office.

Our many legal professional criminal defense team competencies include avoiding DUI penalties like a suspended driver’s license, and helping you settle related personal injury claims if you caused injury to others. Plus, our advanced DUI-DWI classes in forensic science, such as NHTSA field sobriety test instruction, helps us in fighting an OUI in Maine.

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Maine criminal defense lawyer John Webb explains how marijuana has become legal but only in certain situations.
As a Maine DUI lawyer near me I talk to people every month who were arrested for OUI in Southern Maine. An alarming number of those people are truly surprised at their blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). Many tell me they “paced themselves” to one drink per hour. For most people this pace is a recipe for disaster.

A Brief History of Alcohol Calculations

Scientists have studied alcohol for many years. In the early years of the 20th century a Swedish physician, Dr. Widmark, did extensive research. Based on his research he devised a formula for calculating blood-alcohol levels based on the amount of alcohol consumed, the person’s weight, their gender, and the amount of time that passed since first drinking. This formula then predicts a range for the person’s blood-alcohol level or concentration (BAC.) This is the formula that is used in virtually all smart phone calculators or the “drink wheel/calculators” sold. It is also the basis for the claim that one drink per hour will protect you from driving under the influence.

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Maine criminal defense lawyer John Webb explains why he doesn't believe the Intoxilizer 800 breath test machine accurately measures a person's blood alcohol concentration, or BAC.
For years DUI lawyers near me and breath testing experts claimed that breath test machines (like the Intoxilyzer 5000) read other substances on your breath as alcohol and thus gave a false high reading. These substances are called “interferents.” Examples of interferents are paint fumes, carburetor cleaner, and substances found in many beauty salon supplies. For just as many years the the corporation that made the machines (CMI, Inc.) and the Maine’s breath test staff claimed that was just a Portland ME defense lawyer’s gimmick.

They said the machines were specific for alcohol, would reliably detect interferents, and would subtract any interferents from the final blood alcohol content (BAC) results reading.

So who was right? Was it a gimmick from a DUI lawyer? Were the people whose jobs depended on the machines being right covering something up?

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