Criminal or DUI charges are very serious and a conviction can have a negative impact on multiple aspects of your life for a long time. Don’t allow DUI allegations ruin your life. We are experienced attorneys. By simply taking advantage of our free consultation, we can significantly assist you in mitigating often harsh consequences of an arrest, including excessive fines, the loss of driving privileges and jail time. Don’t make the huge mistake of waiting to hire an attorney, or worse, not hiring one at all! Contact an experienced attorney now!

If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you need an experienced professional with answers. If you don’t know your rights, you will lose them. That’s why you should call upon Richard A. Simmons.

Richard A. Simmons has become a well recognized criminal defense lawyer in Anne Arundel County. As a former Assistant Public Defender, Mr. Simmons knows what it takes to successfully defend all types of criminal cases. His combination of expertise and experience will allow us to develop a strategy that is best for your individual situation.

Being an experienced litigator throughout Maryland, Richard A. Simmons has been a fixture in Anne Anne Arundel County for the last 20 years, as a former county police officer with specialized training and experience in police DUI detection and testing procedures and later an advocate for his clients.

Mr. Simmons has built his reputation by successfully defending and achieving the optimal result for his clients. He is committed to ensuring his clients’ legal affairs will be given the same level of care and attention as he would expect to be given his own.

If you are in the Anne Arundel County area, and you are in need of an experienced criminal defense attorney, please contact this office for a free consultation.

A Maryland criminal conviction can have consequences far beyond incarceration. For example a Maryland Criminal conviction can cause issues with employment, security clearance, child custody and immigration. We are in contact with Maryland immigration attorneys, social workers and other experts to assure that if you are convicted of violating a Maryland criminal statute, the impact on your livelihood will be as minimal as possible.

When it comes to Maryland criminal matters, time is of the essence. We protect your rights and interests immediately. The State of Maryland is required to follow a certain set of rules and restrictions in its effort to build a case against you. Furthermore, they are required to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. From the moment you are stopped and arrested to the time you are on trial, the State of Maryland is gathering information to make their case against you stronger. It is up to us to guide you through this process and assure your constitutional rights are protected.

Pre-Trial Incarceration

1% Bail Reviews

1% Bail Reviews! Maryland law mandates that your bond must be reviewed by the court by the next court session following your arrest. Having an attorney exponentially increases your likelihood of release. If we cannot reduce your bond by amount of our fee, then there is no fee for the bond hearing. Call Now. 410-286-1220

Example:

Neumann Noluck is arrested for disorderly conduct on Saturday night. After seeing the commissioner, he is held over on bond, and committed to the local jail until Monday, when he will see a judge regarding his bond.

Neumann Noluck’s Bond: $100,000.00

You have two choices:

Post the bond, which in most cases means contracting with a surety (bondsman), and paying a fee (max 10% of the gross bond), which you do not get back, but you will be released within hours of posting bond.
Usually Bondsman’s fee (10%), you pay: $10,000.00; or,

Wait until bail review, and engage 1% Bond Review Attorney and you are released or your bond is reduced, and you pay the reduced bondsman’s fee.
Using 1% Bond Review Attorney Fee, you pay: $ 1,000.00 (max fee)

Possible Result(s):

If RELEASED, you saved: $9,000.00
If your bond was reduced to $50,000.00, then
i. Usually Bondsman’s fee (10%): $ 5,000.00;

ii. 1% Bond Review Attorney Fee: $ 1,000.00;

You saved: $4,000.00

If your bond is not reduced, then there is no attorney fee for your bail review representation.

Our maximum fee for any bond hearing is $1,000 (minimum fee is $500). An attorney-client relationship is not established until the flat fee is agreed upon and paid. This flat fee service is related to the bail review hearing only. This fee is earned at the time of the attorney’s appearance before the court. If the bond is not reduced, the flat fee for the bond hearing will be applied to the attorney’s fee for representation in the pending related criminal trial, if the defendant so choses to retain said attorney. Any refund of an earned fee will be at the sole and unfettered discretion of the attorney. This flat fee for the bail review hearing is not contingent upon any outcome. Richard A. Simmons, Esq. is neither affiliated with nor can recommend any surety or bondsman.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
TITLE 5. RELEASE
SUBTITLE 2. PRETRIAL RELEASE

Md. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Code Ann. § 5-203 (2012)

§ 5-203. Bail bonds in circuit courts

(a) Circuit court rules. —

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a circuit court may adopt rules setting the terms and conditions of bail bonds filed in that court and rules on the qualifications of and fees charged by bail bondsmen.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law or rule to the contrary, if expressly authorized by the court, a defendant or a private surety acting for the defendant may post a bail bond by executing it in the full penalty amount and depositing with the clerk of court the greater of 10% of the penalty amount or $ 25.

(3) A bail bond commissioner may be appointed to carry out rules adopted under this section.

(4) A violation of a rule adopted under this section is contempt of court and shall be punished in accordance with Title 15, Chapter 200 of the Maryland Rules.

(5) A person may not engage in the business of becoming a surety for compensation on bail bonds in criminal cases unless the person is:

(i) approved in accordance with any rules adopted under this section; and

(ii) if required under the Insurance Article, licensed in accordance with the Insurance Article.

(b) Seventh Judicial Circuit. —

(1) In the circuit courts in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, a bail bondsman approved under subsection (a) of this section shall pay a license fee of 1% of the gross value of all bail bonds written in all courts of the circuit, if the feeis approved by the court of the county in which it applies.

(2) The fee shall be paid to the court as required by the rules of court and shall be used to pay the expenses of carrying out this section.

(3) Any absolute bail bond forfeitures collected may be used to pay the expenses of carrying out this section.