Criminal Defense - DUI - Civil Rights

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Sample Cases:

Criminal Defense: "Possession"

Police stopped the driver of an old Cadillac. Other police cars arrived at the scene. Spotting a pipe, one officer ordered the driver out of the car, while other officers searched the car. The driver heard a shout of gun! and fled. The police caught the driver and charged him with possession of the pipe and the handgun.

Lavine argued that the evidence did not establish "possession" of the handgun. First, the driver had only hours earlier borrowed the car. Second, the handgun was hidden in a compartment in the car. Third, the police testified that the driver had made no moves that suggested any knowledge of a gun in the glove compartment. The jury agreed and found the driver not guilty of the handgun charge.

DUI/DWI: Fourth Amendment Violation - Seizure (Arrest)

A student at the University of Maryland was attempting to cut through campus on the way to his residence. As he drove his car to the entrance, the security guard order the driver to the curbside. Because of the design of the entry, no driver could reverse directions.

Lavine successfully argued that the entry way for the University was an illegal roadblock. The Court ruled that the detention or arrest was illegal and the evidence obtained therefrom was inadmissible.

Criminal Law: Fourth Amendment Violation - Search

A clerk at a Maryland hotel called the police. He informed the officer on the scene that the defendant might fit the description of a man wanted by police. The police took the passkey from the clerk and entered the room. The defendant was in the hotel room, along with illegal drugs.

The defendant, represented by another attorney, was convicted in the circuit court. Lavine took the case on appeal and successfully argued that the entry and search violated the defendant's Constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment.