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Presented by Attorney Sean Cleary, Personal Injury Lawyer
 The State of Massachusetts takes drunk driving or drinking while driving very seriously, with severe penalties accruing to multiple offenders. If you have been pulled over and arrested for DWI (driving while intoxicated or driving while impaired), DUI (driving under the influence), or OUI (operating under the influence), that is a grave matter and you definitely need a good criminal defense attorney in your corner.
DUI law is highly complex, with a confusing array of penalties for first time and subsequent offenses for driving under the influence of alcohol. Numerous factors come into play when defending a drunk driving charge, such as whether an accident was involved, and whether there was any injury to the inebriated driver, passengers, another driver or rider, pedestrians, or bystanders.
You can be picked up and placed under arrest for a DUI while operating any type of vehicle: cars (including SUVs; cabs, taxis, and limousines), motorcycles (from scooters to Harleys), and trucks (pick-up trucks, semis, flatbeds, dump trucks, and others). You can even be arrested for DUI for driving drunk in a boat! You might have attracted an officer’s attention by driving erratically, or were perhaps caught at a roadblock or a sobriety checkpoint. You might also have had an open alcohol container in the vehicle, which is a separate legal issue, as that is its own crime.
With a DUI arrest, there are both administrative penalties, including actions the Mass. DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) will take against you and criminal penalties such as fines, community service, and jail or prison time. At the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) hearing (with the Mass. Executive Office of Transportation), the defendant bears the burden of proving their innocence. DWI laws are state-specific, and Massachusetts drunk driving laws are stringent. Like other states, Mass. has a “zero-tolerance” policy, imposing especially severe penalties to those under the drinking minimum age of 21 who are caught driving under the influence (the legal alchohol limit for minors is a blood alchohol level at or above 0.02%).
Massachusetts’ “per se” law dictates that a blood or breath alcohol level (BAL – or BAC, for blood alcohol content) over 0.08% is proof of intoxication and grounds for arrest. But even without the breathalyzer tests, any patrolman (state trooper, local cop, or UMass police officer) can positively determine that you are unable to safely operate a motor vehicle or that your abilities are significantly impaired by the consumption of alcohol, based on your behavior or performance on the sobriety exam (even if you pass the breath test).
Another relevant statute passed in 2005, called Melanie’s Law (named after a young girl killed by a repeat drunk driver), imposes especially serious penalties and license suspensions on repeat DWI offenders. An OUI conviction remains on your record for life.
Refusal to take a breath test and/or a field sobriety test at the scene can not be used in court as evidence of guilt, so it might be a wise course not to take them – but such a refusal automatically incurs driver’s license consequences, with a mandatory 180-day suspension in a first offense case. (A second-offense refusal results in a three year suspension.) If you fail the breath test, your license will be suspended for 30 days. In either case, the arresting officer will confiscate your license on the spot. If you fail a breath test (Draeger Alcotest) at the police station, however, that fact WILL be used in court.
Regardless of how much research you do into DUI law, it is vital to retain a criminal defense lawyer to represent you if you want to get the best deal possible given your circumstances. The web is a wondrous source of information, but a skilled attorney’s training and experience are irreplaceable. Vigorous representation by an experienced drunk driving lawyer dramatically increases your chances of avoiding a conviction, or of obtaining a favorable deal with the district attorney’s (DA) office. Juries acquit DUI defendants in about half the cases, so the situation need not be seen as hopeless. Furthermore, the earliest possible intervention improves your odds of preserving helpful evidence, obtaining fresh witness testimony, and preparing for the DA's case against you. This is not a decision to postpone or delay. You should consult with a qualified attorney as soon as possible. Your lawyer will take you through the entire process, from arraignment to pre-trial conference (where a disposition might be considered or even agreed on), through motions, hearings, trial (if necessary), and sentencing (if there’s a guilty verdict). We can even assist you with probation, parole, and supervised release programs if you require.
At the Law Offices of Sean J. Cleary, we have over 15 years of experience in Western Massachusetts dealing with drunk-driving charges and have tried countless OUI cases for first-time and repeat offenders. A former court-appointed public defender, long-time private criminal defense lawyer, and Past President of the Hampshire County Bar Association, Attorney Cleary will personally handle or supervise your case, and will strive to obtain an innocent verdict or get the charges reduced or dropped. Whether or not you think you want to fight your charge in court, call us to set up a free, no-obligation consultation at our office in Amherst, Mass. If you are incarcerated in jail or prison, we will come to the facility to meet with you.
We accept MasterCard and Visa for payment of Drunk Driving criminal defense charges.
Please feel free to contact me for a free, no obligation consultation regarding your personal injury case.
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or (413) 549-7600.
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