IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brockton MA – May 1, 2005 –
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles recently decided to interpret the rules on license suspensions after an OUI (Operating Under the Influence) guilty finding or plea that includes a refusal to take a breath test. The length of time for a license suspension after a breathalyzer/breath test refusal is now run concurrent with a license loss period for the conviction.
For example, a first offense breath test refusal carries a 180 day license suspension penalty. Pleading guilty or continuation without a finding to a 1st offense OUI charge carries a statutory 45-90 day license loss. The Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) now runs those suspensions concurrent, meaning most people only have a 180 day loss of a driver’s license. In the case of a second offense, the breath test refusal license suspension is for 1 year, and the 2nd offense OUI guilty determination calls for a license suspension of 2 years, so the total license loss would only be 2 years when run concurrent.
“This decision by the Registry of Motor Vehicles streamlines the license suspension process, and makes it fairer for everyone”, noted Attorney Russell Matson, a Massachusetts DUI Lawyer. He went on to say “Previously, lawyers such as myself with great experience defending Massachusetts OUI cases would always ask a judge to agree and sign a motion to run the license losses concurrently. Now that step is unnecessary, and the process is fairer to people who didn’t happen to hire a lawyer with the experience and knowledge of handling hundreds of DUI cases. ”
For more information about legal issues in Massachusetts, License Suspension Rules, or Registry of Motor Vehicle Hearings, contact Russell Matson at (781)380-7730, or refer to his web site, http://madrunkdrivingdefense.com
