Maryland Law Blog

Maryland alcohol taxes have not been raised in the past 50 years. The current alcohol excise taxes on alcohol in Maryland are less than a penny for one beer and less than two cents for wine or spirits. To some, this is an outrage as well as a cause for many health and crime issues in the state.

In a report entitled The Effects of Alcohol Excise Tax Increase on Public Health in Maryland by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, alcohol use is responsible for 1,278 deaths and 7,470 violent crimes in Maryland each year. The report continues to describe the negative effects of alcohol on Maryland residents, including the relatively high number of people addicted to or abusing alcohol.

As a result of such high statistics, many Maryland residents feel that an alcohol excise tax would lower alcohol consumption as well as prevent alcohol-related motor vehicle crash deaths. The report supports this query, indicating that motor vehicle fatalities would decline by seven percent, if the alcohol excise tax increased by ten cents per ounce.

Although no lawmakers have publicly proposed a tax increase, there is always a possibility. Police and officials have begun to crack down on DUI offenders. A test showing less than the legal limit could garner a criminal charge of driving while impaired (DWI).

If you have been charged with a DUI or DWI offense, understand that you are innocent until proven guilty. You may want to seek counsel from an experienced Maryland drunk driving defense attorney who can help you keep your license and your job. Contact the skilled criminal defense attorneys in Maryland at Alpert Schreyer, LLC for a free and comprehensive evaluation of your case. Call 1-301-262-7005 or 1-866-444-6363 today.

Recently, a man was arrested in Anne Arundel County in Maryland and charged with indecent exposure, reports WBAL TV. He was arrested after two teen girls reported he exposed himself to them.

On Wednesday, November 17, at about 3 p.m. a 16-year-old girl reported to police that a blue passenger vehicle stopped near her, and thinking the car was a friend’s, she went over to it. Allegedly she found a man not wearing pants and pointing to his exposed genitalia. The girl ran away and immediately called police. She reported the motor vehicle’s license plate number and gave them a description of the man.

As detectives were interviewing the teen girl, another call reported a similar incident occurring not far away from the first alleged instance. This time the victim was a 15-year-old girl who told police the man pulled his car up next to her and after getting her attention, gestured towards his exposed body.

Eventually, police officers located the man and took him into custody. Police investigators say the man may also be linked to a similar incident in the same area in October involving a 24-year-old woman. The man is being charged with three counts of indecent exposure and is being held on a $30,000 bail.

Indecent exposure by definition is the “intentional exposure of part of one's body (as the genitals) in a place where such exposure is likely to be an offense against the generally accepted standards of decency.” Indecent exposure is also referred to as public lewdness, sexual misconduct, or public indecency, and is prohibited in all 50 states. It is a sex crime that is a criminal offense and is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. Many states require those convicted of indecent exposure to register as a sex offender, which can have life-changing consequences.

If you’ve been accused of a sex crime in Maryland, you have rights. The Bethesda sex offense defense lawyers at Alpert Schreyer, LLC believe that anyone, no matter what they are accused of, has the right to present their defense case in a court of law. We have successfully defended people accused of all types of Maryland sex-related crimes. Call us today at 1-301-262-7005 or 1-866-444-6363 to find out how we can help you.

Attempted murder charges against a 21-year-old man have been dropped for a bar fight that allegedly took place last month in College Park outside of the Thirsty Turtle. The Baltimore Sun reports that the man was suspected of cutting three University of Maryland students and another individual with a pocketknife.

According to the article, the man is facing second-degree assault charges even though evidence from surveillance video demonstrates that he was acting in self-defense during the apparent altercation. As of this writing, it has not been reported whether prosecutors will charge the other four individuals allegedly involved in the bar fight.

Video surveillance has become more prominent than most residents of Maryland realize. What is caught on tape can play a major role in various criminal cases. On the other hand, it takes more than just a video for criminal charges to be dropped, as the aforementioned case demonstrates. An individual can still face serious charges even when video surveillance plays in their favor. It can take a Maryland criminal defense lawyer with years of experience in building effective cases to understand how to properly present this type of evidence during court proceedings.

Being accused of attempted murder or assault presents an individual with many challenges. If convicted of a serious violent crime in Maryland, a person may face years in prison, steep fines, strict probation, loss of employment, and difficultly maintaining personal relationships. To help ensure that your rights are aggressively defended and that a strong case is built on your behalf, contact the Maryland murder and attempted murder defense lawyers at the law offices of Alpert Schreyer, LLC. Call 1-301-262-7005 or 1-866-444-6363 today for a free and confidential consultation.

According to a recent press release, attorneys Andrew D. Alpert and Michael Schreyer have merged their Maryland law practices to form Alpert Schreyer, LLC. Offices will be located throughout the Maryland area, including locations in Bowie, California, and Waldorf.

Long-time Maryland residents, Alpert and Schreyer have provided legal representation to residents in the D.C. and Maryland areas for several decades. The two attorneys formed the new trial law firm in order to provide clients with legal assistance in both criminal defense and personal injury lawsuits. The founding partners have extensive experience and skill at trial, as do their associates Joseph P. Hart, H. James West, and Jennifer F. Hare.

The Maryland law firm will handle personal injury cases that involve ATV, bicycle, boat, car, motorcycle, pedestrian, SUV, train, truck, and 15-passenger van accidents; catastrophic, brain, burn, and spinal cord injuries; nursing home abuse and neglect; and wrongful death.

The firm will defend criminal charges such as assault and homicide, including vehicular homicide; drug and narcotics crimes; DUI and DWI; sex crimes; and weapons and guns violations.

Mr. Alpert received his law degree from George Washington University in 1989, and has been a prominent DUI attorney in the D.C. area and throughout the state of Maryland for many years. He is also a highly skilled and successful personal injury and criminal defense attorney, and has even appeared on national television to offer his legal insight on high-profile criminal defense cases. Mr. Alpert is also one of the few attorneys within Maryland and D.C. that is certified as a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) field sobriety test instructor.

Mr. Schreyer received his law degree from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1988. He has represented over a thousand workers’ compensation and personal injury cases during his years of practice, successfully defending and, in some cases, overturning trial court verdicts by appeals to Maryland’s top courts. Mr. Schreyer has spoken before both the Maryland Trial Lawyers’ Association and the state convention of the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Education Association.

For more information regarding the new law offices of Alpert Schreyer, LLC, or if you would like valuable information about personal injury or criminal defense matters, please call 1-866-444-6363.