Facing an Enhanced OUI Charge? Put Two Decades of Experience to Work.
An aggravated OUI charge may involve serious bodily injury, death, or a qualifying prior conviction. Maine uses OUI, meaning operating under the influence, as its statutory term rather than DUI. The alleged impairment, injury, causation, and specific offense all require careful review.
From our Portland office, we represent clients in Cumberland County and across Maine. We handle OUI matters and serious felony cases involving complex evidence, contested hearings, sentencing, and trial preparation.
Call (207) 618-6555 to discuss the allegation and any deadlines that may require immediate attention.
How Maine Classifies Enhanced OUI Allegations
The alleged harm and a person’s prior record can materially change an OUI prosecution. Maine materials identify OUI causing serious bodily injury as a Class C strict-liability crime. The state doesn’t need to prove intent, but it must establish every required element beyond a reasonable doubt.
Depending on the charge and facts, enhanced allegations may include:
Serious bodily injury: Current Maine materials identify a minimum six-month incarceration term, a minimum $2,100 fine, and a six-year court-ordered license suspension. Those minimum sanctions can’t be suspended.
Death: Maine materials describe OUI causing death as a Class B strict-liability crime carrying a minimum six-month incarceration term, a minimum $2,100 fine, and a 10-year court-ordered license suspension. Those minimum sanctions can’t be suspended.
Qualifying prior convictions: A prior felony OUI or qualifying OUI-related criminal homicide conviction may create a lifetime-lookback issue rather than the usual 10-year analysis.
Testing or refusal allegations: Breath or blood results, including a high test result, and an alleged refusal may affect the case. No single fact resolves every legal or evidentiary question.
The applicable charge, available evidence, alleged harm, and prior record control the potential consequences. The criminal prosecution and administrative license process are separate proceedings.
How We Prepare an Aggravated OUI Defense
We begin with what the state must prove. Our review may cover the traffic stop, roadside and body-camera video, field sobriety tests, breath or blood testing, officer reports, medical records, crash evidence, and witness accounts.
Key questions may include:
Whether the stop, detention, arrest, and testing complied with the law
Whether the evidence establishes operation and impairment
Whether the medical evidence supports the claimed serious bodily injury
Whether the state can prove that the alleged OUI caused an injury or death
Whether a prior conviction qualifies for the alleged enhancement
Whether digital evidence or forensic reports require further investigation
When appropriate, we consult investigators, medical professionals, and other qualified professionals. We prepare cross-examinations, evaluate forensic evidence, and develop sentencing and trial strategies. We also assess negotiated resolutions against the evidence, your circumstances, and your tolerance for risk, then explain the options in plain language.
National Criminal Trial Leadership & Appellate Experience
Tim Zerillo is elected to the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, a nomination-based national organization for criminal trial attorneys. He has also served as president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and received its President’s Award.
We have handled appeals before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. We have also obtained dismissals and reduced charges in serious criminal cases, although those results don’t predict the outcome of an OUI prosecution. Throughout your case, you communicate directly with your attorney about hearings, filings, negotiations, and strategic decisions.
Evidence in an Enhanced Maine OUI Case
The state may rely on different evidence to establish operation, impairment, causation, injury severity, death, and a qualifying prior conviction. A high test result or serious accident allegation doesn’t remove the need to examine each element and the reliability of the supporting evidence.
Impairment & Testing Evidence
Officer observations, field sobriety tests, roadside video, breath results, blood analysis, and statements may form the prosecution’s impairment theory. We may examine how testing was requested and administered, whether the records are complete, and whether the reported findings support the conclusions drawn from them.
Injury & Causation Evidence
An injury allegation raises questions beyond whether someone operated while impaired. Medical records, crash evidence, witness accounts, vehicle data, and forensic reports may bear on whether the alleged conduct caused serious bodily injury or death. The legal definition and supporting evidence must be evaluated separately from the underlying impairment allegation.
Prior Conviction Evidence
An enhancement based on criminal history requires careful review of the conviction the state intends to use. The date, offense, jurisdiction, and available court records may determine whether it qualifies under Maine law.
The Separate Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles Process
A Bureau of Motor Vehicles suspension is an administrative matter separate from the criminal prosecution. One proceeding doesn’t automatically determine the other, so the evidence and strategy for each should be evaluated independently and coordinated when appropriate.
Maine law generally allows 10 days from the effective date of a suspension to request an administrative hearing. The notice and surrounding circumstances determine the available options. Criminal court dates may proceed on a different timeline, including in courts serving Cumberland County.
What to Bring to Your Consultation
Bring any available summons, complaint, bail paperwork, BMV notice, testing records, accident documents, photographs, medical records, or insurance correspondence. Notes about the stop, testing, statements, and sequence of events may help us identify issues for further investigation.
We’ll discuss the exact charge, any alleged injury or death, whether testing was completed or refused, and any prior OUI history. We’ll also address immediate concerns involving driving privileges, employment, family responsibilities, or a professional license. There is no universal answer about incarceration, license loss, plea options, or trial prospects because each depends on the charge, evidence, record, and procedural posture.
Get Prompt Review of an Aggravated OUI Charge
Zerillo Law Firm has served the Portland community for more than two decades while representing clients throughout Cumberland County and across Maine. We combine serious-case preparation with direct attorney access and clear explanations at each stage.
Contact us to arrange a same-day consultation about the criminal charge, supporting evidence, court process, and any related license proceeding.
Call (207) 618-6555 to speak directly with our firm about your next steps.
