Driving without a License in Maryland

Defending driving without a license in Maryland has become more difficult.  Several years ago Maryland became one of the last states to prohibit illegal immigrants from obtaining valid Maryland licenses.  Put another way, illegal immigrants could get Maryland licenses.  Several years ago the motor vehicle administration required applicants for licenses to prove legal resident status.

The practical result of this was that people in this country without proper documentation could not obtain valid licenses to drive.  They still had their work obligations or school obligations but could no longer legally drive.  Some people chose to deliberately break the law and either out of necessity or some other reason would drive without a license.

When they were pulled over they would be charged at least with violation of Transportation Article 16-101 (a) driving without a license.  Although it is a misdemeanor punishable with up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for a first offense I have seen individuals actually deported from the United States for violating the statute.

The driving without a license statute had several parts.  The first part was a prohibition that you could not drive without a license.  A separate part provided many reasons why you could drive without a Maryland license while in Maryland.  Some of the reasons included fairly sophisticated excuses such as you were a congressman or senator from another state.  Some of the reasons were more mundane such as you were a traveler from another country just visiting or you were in the service and your military installation was in Maryland or you are a student at a Maryland school and simply from another state.  I would argue to the court that the burden of proving the crime is upon the state and the state has the burden of not only proving that the person did not have a license, they needed to negate all of the license exceptions.

In the case of  Tyrone Smith Versus State 40 A.3d 428, 425 Md. 292 (2012) the Court Of Appeals for Maryland, the state's highest court, held that the state only need prove that the defendant did not have a valid license.  The other parts of the statute were affirmative defenses that the defense must raise in their own case.

I have yet to find a client who could legitimately raise the affirmative defense.  By definition an illegal alien cannot hold political office, cannot properly serve in the Armed Forces, etc.

Even though it has become more difficult to defend your attorney can still make a difference.  He can put the state to the test and by having a reputation for taking matters to trial the state might be more inclined to work out a favorable disposition not involving any jail time and perhaps only paying the underlying tickets such as a speeding ticket or a stop sign ticket.