Hearings are held at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Hunt Valley, Maryland for those who live in the Baltimore area, and throughout the State of Maryland at various Motor Vehicle Administration facilities.

The procedure is that hearings are held at 9:00, 10:00, 1:00 and 2:00. Generally, there are 2-3 cases scheduled per hour. The parties convene at a waiting room area until the case is called by the ALJ. The driver, attorney and any witnesses then go to the individual hearing room. The ALJ introduces their self and advises that the ALJ is an independent tribunal, not associated with the MVA, and explains the hearing procedure.

The driver turns over their driver’s license and any driving privilege extensions provided by the MVA. The driver is sworn in by the ALJ.

The MVA does not send a representative to the hearing. Their case is submitted by documents that are reviewed by the ALJ. After the documents are reviewed by the ALJ, the driver and counsel have an opportunity to respond to the allegations, challenge the evidence, put on testimony and present mitigation if necessary.

The ALJ will then make a decision whether the driver is subject to sanctions, and if so, what the sanctions will be. The ALJ will also decide whether to modify or issue a restrictive license at that time.

There are occasions when the case is postponed to bring in the police officer due to a conflict in the testimony of the driver and the written report submitted by the police officer. In that event, the temporary driver’s license is returned and the driver is permitted to drive until the rescheduled hearing date.