When the police pull you over and end up arrested and charing you with OUI, they are witness to the fact that you were operating your vehicle.
But sometimes a person is accused of an OUI even though no one has seen you driving.
This can happen in cases such as:
[Read more…]Marijuana possession and use is completely legal in Massachusetts. It was passed in 2016, by ballot initiative, and, finally, in 2019 retail stores selling cannabis are opening all across the state.
But regardless of whether it is legal to buy, possess and smoke, it is still illegal to drive while impaired by marijuana, or any substance.
California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, and Vermont also passed marijuana legalization bills recently. With the previous legalization of marijuana in Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington state (as well as DC), and expansion of decriminalization, marijuana use is becoming more accepted and more open than ever. The legalization trend will continue nationwide.
Smoking marijuana openly and legally is likely to increase, which could lead to more incidents of arrests for driving under the influence of marijuana. Are lawyers ready for the new legal and scientific challenges that will be necessary to defend these cases?
States will try to push new arguments and tests to get convictions for DUI marijuana. But evidence that proves impairment by cannabis or THC is extremely hard to prove, and we win virtually ALL of our OUI Marijuana cases that we defend in court.
[Read more…]If you are accused of leaving the scene of an accident (hit and run), with or without a DUI(OUI) charge, we can help.
People often panic after an accident. You may not have known what to do next, or you may have simply been scared of what could happen to you if you stopped. This is especially true if you’d be drinking and were in an accident, even if you don’t think you were drunk.
We hear stories similar to this almost every day. As well as drunk driving defense, my firm represents more clients facing leaving the scene of an accident charges than any other law firm in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts State Senator Michael D. Brady was arrested and charged with OUI while driving home through Weymouth. He was spotted driving erratically on Route 18 by a citizen who called 911, and the police also observed him swerving between the two southbound lanes.
The police report notes that Senator Brady admitted to having been drinking, and told the officer he was a State Senator. The officer did not suggest that the Senator tried to use his position to influence the investigation or arrest.
All the evidence does suggest he was significantly impaired. The officer performed several field sobriety tests, including many that have no scientific consensus to prove impaired driving ability and aren’t generally admissible in court, such as the horizontal gaze nystagmus, alphabet, and counting backward. He also failed the 9 step walk and turn and the one leg stand, which are validated and accepted by NHTSA as having a high correlation with impairment.
But claims of seeking special privilege are totally unsupported by the facts. A Boston Globe reporter suggesting he was “effectively pulled rank” on twitter, and a MassGOP spokesman accused him of “leveraging the influence of his taxpayer-funded public office”.
But identifying yourself as a Senator and presenting an ID is hardly an implicit threat. And he literally said nothing else about it, nor at any time was he belligerent, according to the police report. If he HAD been difficult or tried to intimidate the officer, you can be sure the officer would have noted that in the police report. But that didn’t happen.
It is clear from the news reports that the Senator got zero special treatment because of his status as a prominent state politician. And that is how things almost always work, and how they should work. Everyone did their job ethically and correctly.
However, this case plays out, the most likely outcome being a 1st offense CWOF, which is standard in these cases, the public should know that Brady was treated like any other citizen would be. And all evidence shows he is extremely remorseful, taking responsibility, and had admitted himself to an alcohol treatment program.
And it remains true that virtually anyone can find themselves facing a criminal charge for OUI. It is often the result of one or more regrettable bad decisions or even a mistake by the police. After all, literally everyone who is arrested is not guilty of a crime. That should be obvious, or we wouldn’t need courts at all.
But even when the person admits guilt, it is rare for another arrest or incident to follow. Almost everyone learns their lesson and never finds themselves drunk behind the wheel again.
There have been quite a few drunk driving stories in the news lately where people have been accused of DUI with an exceptionally large number of prior offenses and arrests alleged. There was just an alleged 10th offense in Salisbury (for which he was indicted and faces a maximum sentence in superior court). And there have been recent alleged high multiple offenses including an 11th offense in Worcester, a 7th offense in Revere, an 8th offense in Rehoboth and a 10th offense in New Bedford.
I am often asked questions by people with justifiable outrage about these cases.
There are a number of possible, quite reasonable explanations for this. [Read more…]
If you are a military veteran accused of a criminal charge, there is an option to avoid a conviction available under the Valor Act of 2012, passed by the Mass legislature.
And as of April 2017 in Commonwealth v. Morgan (SJC 12114), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that this applies to 2nd offense OUI charges specifically, and that a CWOF is an option for a 2nd offense, which is not typical for most defendants.
The court also emphasized that this pretrial diversion act is available by judicial discretion, and that a judge may choose to dismiss the charge after completion of the program, even if the prosecution objects. [Read more…]
Massachusetts has legalized marijuana use, and many police departments are concerned about a rise in Marijuana DUI incidents and the possible risk to public safety. Still, marijuana use is hardly a new phenomenon, even if it just became legal. It’s been decriminalized for 8 years, there is still no legal retail supply increase, and their won’t be for a couple of years. So is little reason to believe there will be an epidemic of new pot smokers getting behind the wheel while high.
However, to the degree that it is a real public safety problem (which is debatable), actually proving that someone is too high to drive is a challenge for the police and prosecution and may get even tougher.
On January 6th, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reviewed 2 issues about what evidence is admissible in a Marijuana OUI prosecution. [Read more…]
2016 Update: The Massachusetts House declined to take up the interlock bill this year before the Legislative session ended on 7/31/16.
While it did pass the Senate, since the lower chamber did not act on the bill, it looks like it is dead for another year. No reason was giving why the House never took up the bill.
4/27/16: Attorney Andrew DiCarlo Berman calls this proposed law “draconian” in a Boston Globe news story by reporter Laura Crimaldi. Attorney Berman is Senior Trial Counsel at the Law Offices of Russell J Matson.
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The Massachusetts State Senate is considering a bill to require an ignition interlock device for any first offense drunk driving conviction. State Senator James Timilty is behind the bill, and will bring it before the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation.
The new law would require all first-time OUI offenders to install the device in any vehicle they drive for 1 year, or have their license remain under suspension for a year.
This bill would be absolutely devastating to anyone who makes a one-time mistake and has to drive company vehicles to earn a living (see below). [Read more…]
I often say my clients are frequently regular people who made a one time mistake. Today in the news, we see a highly respected middle school principal from Dedham arrested for OUI. She was not only a well-regarded professional, but she was named middle school principal of the year in 2015.
When we see stories of well regarded, prominent community and local leaders into Massachusetts courts on DUI charges, that should illuminate the fact that a drunk driving charge could happen to practically anybody.
It should evoke empathy, not scorn and finger wagging.
[Read more…]
You can be faced with a criminal charge by receiving an OUI citation in the mail, and never being arrested. This can happen in a number of different circumstances where the police officer didn’t actually see you behind the wheel or driving.
If you were in a car accident where you were sent to the hospital, then you would later receive an OUI citation, which is a criminal citation, and not be arrested. In other accident cases, if the officer comes upon the scene of the accident, but there are multiple people at the scene, and they can’t prove who was driving, you may be cited but not arrested.
[Read more…]
