Maine DUI Law & Lawyers: DUI-Web

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Maine’s drunk driving offenses are labeled as OUI (operating under the influence), OWI (operating while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence). Maine defines being under the influence as: a person's mental and physical facilities being impaired to the slightest degree as the result of consuming alcohol.

As with almost every other state, an alcohol related driving offense in Maine is two separate cases. First there is the criminal case which can result in criminal penalties, like fines, alcohol education classes and even jail time. Secondly, there is the administrative case with Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles, dealing solely with your privilege to drive.

You only have 10 days to appeal the suspension of your driver’s license with Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles. After the appeal period has lapsed, you will receive a Notice of Suspension from the Maine Department of Motor Vehicles within three weeks of your arrest. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles can suspend you license even if you are eventually acquitted of the criminal charge. The suspension periods are the same as the court suspensions. If you refuse a breath test the Bureau of Motor Vehicles can take your license for up to six-years, with 275 days suspension being the penalty for a first refusal.

Maine has a 10-year “wash-out period” in which the state determines whether your arrest was your first, second, third, or more offense. This means that the state can only look back 10 years from the date of your arrest to see if you have any previous offenses. Repeat offenders are subject to increased penalties, sentence enhancements and longer suspension periods.

A first offense OUI, with no aggravating circumstances, carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 90 days license suspension and a $400 fine. The first sixty days of that suspension are without a work-only license.

If there are aggravating circumstances like a BAC of .14% or higher, excessive speeding or an accident, there is a mandatory two-day jail sentence. If a person refuses to take a chemical test the mandatory minimum sentence is four days in jail and a $600 fine.

A second offense carries a minimum seven-day jail sentence (twelve days for a refusal), a $600 fine ($800 for refusal) and an 18-month license suspension without a work-only license.

A third offense carries a minimum thirty-day jail sentence (forty days for a refusal), a $1,000 fine ($1,300 for refusal) and a four-year license suspension without a work-only license.

A fourth offense, or an OUI involving an accident with a serious injury or death of anyone, is a felony even if the OUI did not cause the accident. It carries a possible 5-year sentence and a minimum jail term of six months (six months and twenty days for a refusal), a minimum fine of $2,000 ($2,400 for a refusal) and a six-year license suspension without a work-only license.

A driver who causes the death of another person because the driver is OUI faces 20 years in prison, a $20,000 fine and a lifetime license suspension.