On December 27, 2007, Plaintiff was charged with driving while under the influence "per se," in violation of MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 21-902(a)(2). On September 16, 2008, the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County found Plaintiff guilty of that offense. He accepted PBJ, a disposition authorized by § 6-220. Then, on October 14, 2008, the Motor Vehicle Administration ("the Administration") mailed to Plaintiff a "Notice of Commercial Driver's License Disqualification." Plaintiff requested a hearing, which was conducted by an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") of the Office of Administrative Hearings, who rejected Plaintiff's argument that a PBJ disposition is not a "conviction" under the applicable state and federal laws. Plaintiff then filed a petition for judicial review of the ALJ's decision. The Circuit Court reversed the Administration's decision on the ground that MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 16-803 is inconsistent within itself because a PBJ is a vacated adjudication of guilt and not a final unvacated adjudication of guilt. Thereafter, the Administration filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Court of Appeals.

In 1999, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act, which includes provisions requiring that the holder of a Commercial Driver's License ("CDL") be prohibited from driving a commercial motor vehicle if he or she has been convicted of certain violations of a state's motor vehicle laws. 49 C.F.R. § 383.51 identifies the offenses that "disqualify" the holder of a CDL from driving a commercial motor vehicle. The Court examined the definition of the word "conviction" in 49 C.F.R. § 383.5 and MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 16-803(d). These statutes define the term "conviction" as meaning an "unvacated adjudication of guilt."

Plaintiff argued that there was no unvacated adjudication of guilt in his PBJ. He argued that the District Court's disposition was to strike his finding of guilt before the entry of judgment. The Court found no merit in this argument, which ignored the important distinction between (1) a finding that the defendant is guilty of a crime, and (2) the decision to "stay" the entry of judgment of conviction. The Court stated that it was clear that Plaintiff's adjudication of guilt had never been vacated. The Court noted that Plaintiff received PBJ only after he (1) was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and (2) waived his right to appeal that finding. Moreover, the record showed that a fine was imposed of $1,000.00 on Plaintiff. The Court has previously made it clear that the imposition of a fine payable to the State may only be done if there is a conviction which necessarily requires a finding of guilt. Therefore, the Court held that MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 6-812(a)(1)(i) requires that the Administration "disqualify" Plaintiff from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of one year because – as the term "conviction" is defined in the applicable state and federal law – plaintiff was "convicted" of a violation of MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 21-902.