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Dedham Drunk Driving Lawyers

1. Brooks & Crowley: Just arrested for a Mass DUI? HereÕs what you need to know right NOW: If you have been arrested for DUI in Massachusetts and the greater Boston area, you need a skilled Boston Mass DUI lawyer with experience fighting DUI cases to help protect your license, bank account, and your freedom. The consequences of a Mass DUI conviction can be significant, and lasting.
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3. DeVito, John: About Operating Under the Influence: OUI /DUI cases are taken extremely seriously by all District Attorney's offices around Massachusetts. It is rare that an OUI case is dismissed. Most District Attorney's offices prefer to go to trial and lose then dismiss an OUI. They take a firm stance because that is what the public has demanded. Operating under the influence of alcohol is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 2 years in a House of Correction unless you are a multiple offender then the matter can be charged as a felony. The Commonwealth must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1. One operated a motor vehicle 2. On a public way 3. While under the influence of alcohol How to Defend an OUI Case: An experienced attorney will know what challenges can be made to each one of the elements of the charge of operating under the influence. Operation and Public Way, two of the required elements, may seem like simple terms to the average person, but the experienced OUI attorney will know whether issues can be presented to the court to challenge these elements. Is a parking lot a public way? Is operation presumed if the keys are in the ignition of a motor vehicle which is not running? The third element, and often the most contested element, that one is under the influence of alcohol, is often based on the opinion of a police officer. All police officers undergo training at a police academy after being sworn in as a police officer. They usually do follow-up training each and every year as a police officer. One area of training involves drunk driving detection. There are a series of police training manuals that outline and describe the methods used by the police in formulating the opinion that one is operating under the influence of alcohol. Those manuals described field tests techniques that are used by the police. The experienced attorney will know the contents of those manuals, the requirements of all field tests and know how to challenge the police officer's opinion. Breath test devices or breathalyzers are machines used by the police to determine ones blood alcohol level. By blowing into these devices a breath sample is obtained, and the device measures one's blood alcohol level from the breath sample. Currently in Massachusetts if one registers below a .05 on the breath test scale they cannot be charged with operating under the influence. If one registers between a .05 and a .07, there is no presumption that you are under the influence of alcohol, but the police can charge one with the crime of OUI. If one registers a .08 or above the presumption is that one is under the influence of alcohol. An experienced attorney will know whether the readings on the machine are correct and meet the required Code of Mass. Regulations. The attorney should know what challenges can be raised if the machine does not comply with the Code of Mass. Regulations. Sometimes experts will have to be employed to challenge the machine and its findings. The experienced OUI attorney will want to meet with the accused and any potential witnesses as soon as possible. The details of the day leading up to the OUI arrest are extremely important to the defense of the case. Memories of the accused and of any potential witnesses can fade in a matter of days; therefore, the accused should contact a qualified attorney immediately after his or her arrest A view of the scene of the arrest is often important, particularly in assessing the conditions of the roadway at the time of the arrest, and the conditions of the area in which the field sobriety tests were conducted. As previously discussed, prosecutors do not dismiss drunk driving cases. It is the rare opportunity that attorney can negotiate with the prosecutor. Negotiations come into play if a defendant has multiple prior convictions; but, mandatory sentences only apply if the prosecutor can prove that the defendant has prior convictions on his record. An experienced attorney may be able to preclude the prosecutor from introducing prior convictions; thereby, negotiating a favorable disposition for a case that the defendant cannot win. Penalties: In recent years the penalties for operating under the influence of increased significantly throughout the country; Massachusetts is no exception. Within the last year, the Massachusetts legislature passed Melanie's law. The penalties associated with Melanie's law are severe, some say to Draconian, particularly as they relate to loss of license, which is more fully described under the Registry of Motor Vehicles section of this website. The following are the current penalties associated with operating under the influence: 1. 1st Offense: maximum penalty 2 years in the House of Correction; no mandatory incarceration required, usually 1 year probation. 2. 2nd Offense: maximum penalty 2 years in a House of Correction; 60 days incarceration of which 30 days is mandatory incarceration, or in the alternative, mandatory two weeks inpatient in a rehab Hospital; usually 2 years probation. 3. 3rd Offense: maximum penalty 2 years in a House of Correction, 180 days incarceration of which 150 must be served; usually 2 years probation. 4. 4th Offense: maximum penalty 2 years in jail if the case is handled in the District Court; or, 5 years in state prison if the case is transferred to Superior Court; 2 to 2 1/2 years incarceration of which 1 year is mandatory incarceration, probation up to 5 years 5. 5th offense: maximum penalty up to 5 years in state prison; 2 years to 5 years incarceration of which 2 years is mandatory, probation up to 5 years. In addition to the jail penalties listed above there are fines and fees associated with each offense. The State Fee for a first offense is $250; the State Fee for a fifth offense can be up to $50,000. There are other costs and fees in addition to the State Fee for each offense. Probation can include alcohol education programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, inpatient treatment programs, and abstinence from drug and alcohol with random urine testing; in addition to a $65 per month probation fee. Related Statutes: There are a number of statutes that are related to operating under the influence. Many of these statutes, as an element to a related crime includes all of the elements of operating under the influence. The following are some of the related crimes: * Motor Vehicle Homicide * OUI Serious Bodily Injury * Operating After Suspension / OUI * Leaving the Scene of Accident / OUI Conclusion: If you charged with operating under the influence of alcohol it is imperative that a qualified attorney be contacted immediately. Any delay in contacting in an attorney can jeopardize a potential defense to that case, as memories surrounding the facts of one's case fade quickly.
4. Pransky, Alan: personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, OUI/DWI defense, negligence, and domestic violence
5. Phillip Arnell:

   An experienced criminal defense attorney in Massachusetts can do many things to challenge and disprove the evidence against the accused. We routinely find defects associated with the traffic stop, field sobriety tests and chemical tests, whether breath or blood, that often results in a dismissal of some or all of the charges. Depending on the circumstances of a case we may:

   1. Review the calibration and maintenance records of the machine. It is falsely believed that these machines are infallible. People forget that these machines are made of up of metal, plastic and silicon. To believe that they always work every time is like believing that your car will neverbreak down. Machines do not always work properly.
   2. File pretrial motions to suppress the evidence. These motions, when argued successfully, may result in the DUI -DWI-OUI case being dismissed.
   3. Retest the blood by a private lab.
   4. Hire an analyst to determine if the driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was rising. This defense may prove that the driver's blood was actually less than the Massachusetts .08 % limit at the time of driving.
   5. Photograph the scene of the arrest. This may be helpful in showing that the ground was not level or appropriately lined when the driver was performing the field coordination tests.
   6. Effectively cross-examine the police officer to expose mistakes and inaccuracies in the gathering of evidence.