Baltimore Criminal and Drunk Driving Defense Attorney
James E. Crawford, Jr.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Drugs and Narcotics Charges:
Drugs and Narcotics laws have tried to keep up with the changing perceptions and real dangers of substance abuse. By 1970, over 55 federal drug laws and countless state laws specified a variety of punitive measures, including life imprisonment and even the death penalty. To clarify the situation, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 repealed, replaced, or updated all previous federal laws concerned with narcotics and all other dangerous drugs.

Most states have laws that give different treatment to possession of different categories of drugs (i.e. prescription drugs, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine), and also make a distinction in the offense charged as to whether a small amount of the drug was found with the defendant (personal use) or a larger amount (intent to sell or distribute, trafficking). A conviction on a drug charge of any magnitude, even a small amount of marijuana, can seriously affect your present and future employment chances, your education, your reputation and your freedom.

Sex Crimes:
Sex crimes can include such charges as: Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Date Rape, Failure to register (as a Sex Offender), Indecent Exposure, Internet Porn, Lewd Conduct, Marital Rape, Molestation, Obscenity, Pedophilia, Pornography, Prostitution, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Sodomy and Statutory Rape. Many sex crimes are considered felonies and require convicted defendants to continually register themselves as publicly recognized sex offenders with the local and state authorities where they live and work. Charges of sexual misconduct carry extremely serious penalties and these crimes are commonly punished more severely than any other crime except murder. Sexual misconduct is seldom witnessed by anyone other than the accuser and accused and the risk of conviction of an innocent person is drastically higher in these cases.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)/ Driving Under the Influence (DUI):
A DWI or DUI occurs when someone is operating, or is in actual physical control, of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other controlled substance, to the extent that their mental faculties are impaired and/or their blood alcohol content (BAC) is above the legal limit. Even for a first offense, penalties can include license suspension, substantial fines, community service, mandatory attendance at a state or DMV approved alcohol program, mandatory overnight incarceration and the required installation (at the offender's expense) of a car ignition locking device. In addition, it typically results in higher insurance premiums and an offender may become ineligible for credit.

Driving with a Suspended License:
Driving with a suspended or revoked license is usually charged as a serious misdemeanor punishable by substantial fines and up to a year in jail. Under some circumstances, as where someone is killed or injured in an accident caused by a driver whose license is suspended or revoked, the offense can be charged as a felony, with a high fine and a possible state prison sentence. Fines and jail sentences are typically heaviest in cases where the license suspension or revocation resulted from a traffic offense involving alcohol and/or drugs.

Domestic Violence:
Domestic violence is any physical, emotional, sexual or other violence that takes place between people who may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating. Domestic violence can be criminal and include physical assault: hitting, pushing and shoving, etc., sexual abuse: unwanted or forced sexual activity, and stalking. Domestic violence charges can have a serious impact on your life.

Felony Crimes:
Felony Crimes involve drug and narcotics charges, arson, burglary, armed robbery, murder and/or attempted murder, rape and/or sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault and battery. A felony conviction is a serious matter that can result in a substantial state prison sentence and the potential loss of certain privileges and Constitutional rights of U.S. citizenship, such as the right to possess a firearm or the right to vote.

Misdemeanors:
Misdemeanors are more serious than petty offenses, but much less serious than felonies. Misdemeanors typically result in imposition of such punishments as a fine or a jail sentence not exceeding a year. If a jail sentence is imposed, it is served at a local, city or county jail rather than a state or federal prison (penitentiary). In many jurisdictions and in certain types of cases defendants who can't afford an attorney are not entitled to a court-appointed attorney in a misdemeanor case. Unlike felonies, misdemeanors are usually handled by special courts with abbreviated procedures, such as a city court or municipal court.

Serious Violent Crimes and Murder:
By definition, a violent crime is a behavior by persons, against persons or property that intentionally threatens, attempts or actually inflicts physical harm. The seriousness of the injuries to the victim(s), whether or not guns or other weapons were used and/or whether or not the alleged perpetrator has a criminal record will determine the seriousness of the charge. Most violent crimes are considered felonies and are subject to be considered a "strike" in a state that has adopted three strikes laws. Violent criminal charges can include: aggravated assault, arson, assault and battery, domestic violence, hate crimes, homicide, larceny, rape, manslaughter, mayhem and murder.

One of the most serious areas of violent crime is homicide - killing a person, whether lawfully or unlawfully. Justifiable homicide and excusable homicide are lawful homicides, while criminal homicide, negligent homicide, reckless homicide and vehicular homicide are unlawful homicides. Unlawful homicide comprises the two crimes of murder and manslaughter.

Internet Crime:
Internet crime is defined as any illegal activity involving one or more components of the Internet such as websites, chat rooms and/or email. Internet crime involves the use of the Internet to communicate false or fraudulent representations to consumers. These crimes may include, but are not limited to, advance-fee schemes, non-delivery of goods or services, computer hacking, phishing, pharming, programming worms, viruses or employment/business opportunity schemes.

Reckless Driving:
Reckless driving is operating a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of others or the property of others. It generally involves drastic misconduct on the road, such as driving on the wrong side of the road or driving at dangerously high speeds. It is generally charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and a local jail sentence. It sometimes results in a driver's license suspension or revocation, and it very often results in the cancellation of insurance. Automobile insurance companies know that people who drive “recklessly” are more likely than others to get in traffic accidents. Also, “reckless driving” convictions are commonly seen as part of a plea bargain in which an initial DWI/DUI charge is “reduced” to reckless driving.

Hit and Run Driving:
Hit and Run Driving is a serious offense that involves leaving the scene of an accident without first stopping and identifying oneself to the other driver or drivers. It is, at minimum, a serious misdemeanor punishable by jail time and a high fine. If someone is injured or killed in the accident, hit and run driving is charged as a felony that can result in a state prison sentence. In either case the charge has nothing to do with who was at fault in the accident. Apart from the other penalties, hit and run driving can result in long-term driver's license suspension or, in some cases, actual license revocation.

DWI/DUI – Murder:
Murder is the criminal charge for unlawfully killing someone, either deliberately and intentionally or recklessly with extreme disregard for human life. In some states, when someone driving under the influence causes an accident in which someone is killed the driver may be charged with murder if the circumstances are particularly aggravated.

DWI/DUI – Manslaughter:
Manslaughter is the criminal charge for unlawfully killing someone without actually intending to do so. When someone is driving under the influence and causes an accident in which someone is killed, the driver may be charged with manslaughter.

DWI/DUI with Prior Convictions:
In all 50 states, repeat DWI/DUI offenders face progressively stiffer penalties. In some states, the third or fourth offense may be charged as a felony and, upon a conviction, result in a multi-year state prison term. The elements of the offense are the same, whether or not there are prior convictions.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Prescription Medications:
Most people know that it is illegal to drive under the influence of illegal drugs, but many believe they can avoid a conviction for DWI/DUI by producing a prescription for the drug in question. This is not true.  A DWI/DUI (drugs) charge has nothing to do with whether or not possession of  the drug was lawful. The legal issue in any DWI/DUI case is whether, as the result of "impairment," the driver has lost the ability to drive safely. It is just as unlawful to drive under the influence of a properly prescribed medication as it is to drive after drinking too much alcohol.

Other Traffic Crimes:
Every state has its own set of laws governing the operation of motor vehicles on public streets and highways. Most of these laws classify violations as infractions - relatively minor offenses for which a fine is the only penalty. One cannot be given a jail sentence for an infraction. It can be very important to fight infraction prosecutions in some situations. Many states have “point” systems to track individual driving records and the accumulation of too many points can have serious consequences, ranging from license suspension to revocation. Automobile insurance carriers often cancel the policies of drivers with too many “points.” The decision whether or not to fight an infraction ticket is one that should receive very careful consideration.

Administrative License Suspension Hearings:
Most states provide for administrative driver's license suspension in certain circumstances, but in every case the driver is entitled to a hearing in which the suspension can be contested. If a hearing is not requested within the time provided by law the right to a hearing is waived, and the suspension goes into effect automatically. In some cases the time for requesting a hearing is very short, and the scope of the hearing is usually very narrow and highly technical, from a legal standpoint. Self-representation at a suspension hearing is rarely successful. The different types of administrative suspension include:

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

James E Crawford, Jr.

EDUCATION:

• Frostburg State College. B.S., 1985
• University of Baltimore Graduate School, Master of Arts, 1987
• University Baltimore School of Law, 1992

• Maryland

• Baltimore County Bar Association
• Maryland Bar Association
• American Trial Lawyer Association, previously elected State Central Committee

• Saint Mary's College of Maryland, B.A., 2002
  
• Widener University School of Law, 2005
  

• Maryland