Massachusetts DUI Law : Mass Lawyer & Attorney for Drunk Driving Arrests in Boston, Worcester, Framingham

The Highway Safety Division of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security has announced the availability of $1,450,000 in federal grant money for Massachusetts police departments, to be used for traffic enforcement, DUI patrols, “speed traps” and similar initiatives which will result in drunk driving arrests, license suspensions, and the issuance of traffic and speeding tickets.

The goal of the grant program is to reduce speeding and impaired driving, and to increase safety belt use through high visibility measures.  The program urges Massachusetts police departments to take a zero-tolerance approach to DUI and other traffic violations. The grant funding is being made available to all Massachusetts City and Town police departments as well as qualified university and college campus police agencies.

Departments are required to conduct a minimum of 3 documented motor vehicle stops per hour; if less than the historic statewide average of 2.5 car stops per hour. Failure to comply with this may result in loss of funding. In addition to having to stop a certain number of motor vehicles per hour, the program encourages “zero tolerance” and it encourages departments to submit a signed a zero-tolerance policy for enforcement during all the mobilizations. This strongly suggests that officers will not be allowed to use discretion and instead will be pressured to write citations instead of warnings and make arrests in situations where they otherwise may not have done so. 

Police Departments can use the traffic enforcement grant money to pay officers overtime and to buy equipment such as LIDAR units, Radar guns, and preliminary breath test devices (PBTs). The grant can also be used to purchase breathalyzer supplies and staff DUI sobriety checkpoints, which are also known as drunk driving roadblocks, which are conducted with the Mass. State Police.

Except in emergencies, officers assigned to the program will be dedicated in total to traffic law enforcement, which means writing tickets and making arrests for motor vehicle violations such as DUI, drunk driving,  driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, negligent operation, driving without insurance, speeding, and failure to stop for a red light or stop sign. Convictions for any of these violations will result in substantial insurance premium increases, in the form of insurance surcharges and they may result in license suspensions as well as other unforseen but expensive consequences.

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The lifetime lookback law has been unsuccessfully challenged numerous times. Massachusetts appellate courts have repeatedly determined that the law is not “ex post facto” and it does not violate the “double jeopardy” clause of the Constitution. Challenging the law on these grounds is a complete waste of time. It is unfair that a plea to a first offense OUI from some twenty or thirty years ago will now come back to haunt a DUI defendant and old drunk driving cases can now result in severe penalties in the form of very long, and even lifetime, license suspensions. However, the law cannot be successfully challenged. There is considerable confusion, even on the part of Massachusetts DUI Lawyers, regarding the lifetime look-back procedures which the suspension unit of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor  Vehicles now uses to determine the length of DUI license suspensions, which are calculated independently of whether the a subsequent offense DUI charge was reduced by the court.

Motor vehicle violations for which there is a lifetime look-back include: DUI Alcohol, DUI Drugs, both of which are also referred to as operating under the influence, OUI, or driving while intoxicated, OUI Boating, DWI Alcohol / drugs, DWI causing serious bodily injury, CDL DUI Liquor, CDL DUI Drugs, Vehicular Homicide, by reason of alcohol intoxication. These violations count whether they were committed here in Massachusetts or in any other states.

Since November 28, 2002, the Massachusetts DUI Law has required that DUI and related offenses remain on Massachusetts Driving Records for permanently, for life. Prior to this law, there was a 10 year DUI look back period, and prior to that there was a 6 year drunk driving look back period. Now, however, all drunk driving and related convictions, regardless of age, are to be considered for purposes of calculating multiple DUI offenses.

What this means is that prior to November 28, 2002, if a Massachusetts license holder was convicted of an offense of Vehicular Homicide, the Mass. RMV would only "look back" at the drunk driving and/or vehicular homicide findings within a 10 year period. The suspension period would be determined by the individual’s driving record within that 10 year "lookback" period. The Registry uses these old DUI convictions for determining the length of new drunk driving license suspensiosn and for deciding whether a driver is required to have the ignition interlock device. 

Like Melanie's Law, the lifetime lookback law has been unsuccessfully challenged numerous times. Massachusetts appellate courts have repeatedly determined that the lifetime look-back DUI law is not “ex post facto” and it does not violate the “double jeopardy” clause of the Constitution. Challenging the law on these grounds is a complete waste of time. It is extremely unfair that a plea to a first offense OUI from some twenty or thirty years ago will now come back to haunt a DUI defendant and old drunk driving cases can now result in severe penalties in the form of very long, and even lifetime, license suspensions. However, the law cannot be successfully challenged.

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Under the Massachusetts Safe Driver Insurance Plan, insurance companies sharply increase automobile insurance rates for those who have been convicted of drunk driving, operating after suspension, driving to endanger, or a variety of other traffic violations. Insurance companies will also increase your car insurance rates for 6 years if you have been found to be more than 50% at fault in a motor vehicle accident, no matter where the accident occurred. Massachusetts car insurance surcharges can cost thousands of dollars for those who have any DUI convictions, surchargeable accidents, or traffic tickets on their driving records.

One of the ways to avoid these expensive surcharges is to win your DUI case and appeal any citations and at fault accidents with the help of a surcharge appeal lawyer. My office is committed to helping our clients keep their insurance rates down by fighting DUI cases and other automobile surchargable events. Motorists have 20 days to appeal a civil motor vehicle citation and 30 days to appeal car accident surcharges. The instructions for both of these types of appeals are printed on the back of the traffic ticket or surcharge notice. Massachusetts surcharge appeal lawyers are available to help.
 

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As of March 22, 2010, the Board of Appeal of the Division of Insurance of Consumer Affairs and Business Administration will be moving from its South Station location to the 8th floor of 1000 Washington Street, the former Teradyne Building in Boston’s South End.

The RMV Board of Appeal hears Massachusetts license suspension and reinstatement appeals, as well as ignition interlock violation appeals, and hardship license requests.

At the new location, the Board of Appeal will join other state agencies such as the Division of Banks, Division of Professional Licensure, and the Mass. Dept. of Telecommunications and Cable.

As a Massachusetts DUI Lawyer and hardship license specialist, I appear before the Board of Appeal at least on a weekly basis.

The Board’s new mailing address will be: 1000 Washington Street, 8th floor, Boston MA 02118-2218. However, hardship license and accident surcharge appeal forms will still be mailed to the post office box addresses appearing on the forms. In addition to holding hearings at its new Boston location, the Board will continue to hold hardship license, ignition interlock, and license suspension hearings at its other off-site locations such as the Marlborough District Court.

This move represents and effort on the part of the state to consolidate offices, increase efficiency, and save money on rent. The state executed a 10 year lease for the office space.

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In the case of Commonwealth v. Dennis Bauer, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided today that the practice of allowing judges to review, and potentially vacate, breathalyzer refusal suspensions in Massachusetts DUI cases is proper and constitutional.

After being arrested for operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor (OUI), Bauer refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. Because he had 3 prior OUI convictions, his license was revoked for life pursuant to G. L. c. 90, § 24 (1) (f) (1). After a jury trial, Bauer was found not guilty and his DUI lawyer filed a motion to have his license returned. The judge denied Bauer’s motion.

Bauer challenged the judge’s authority to uphold the license revocation on the grounds that the judge’s order violated the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers mandated by art. 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Bauer claimed that the authority to suspend and restore a driver’s license or right to drive lies only within the exclusive purview of the executive branch of government.

In deciding Bauer’s case, the highest court in Massachusetts declared that, “[t]here is nothing unconstitutional about the legislative allocation of authority over restoration decisions described in G. L. c. 90, § 24 (1) (f) (1).” A judge’s power to review and possibly reverse a chemical test refusal suspension has been judicially affirmed.

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The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles sometimes commences DUI license suspensions years after the driver has been convicted of the offense. These late suspensions often occur due to a court's failure to notify the Registry of the conviction. Without the necessary conviction information, the Registry is unable to add the suspension to the driver's record. In order to address this issue, in partnership with Massachusetts Courts, the Mass. RMV implemented a computerized notification system whereby the court clerk's office can now efficiently and electronically notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles of a DUI, drug, or motor vehicle law conviction.

This system will undoubtedly streamline and improve the notification process. This is one example of the major technological improvements which Registrar Rachel Kaprielian has implemented. Other such improvements include free electronic license expiration notifications and providing enhanced services through the Registry's website, such as the ability to instantly obtain your Massachusetts Driving Record.

Prior to the implementation of the new electronic notification system, the Registry relied on paper record which were supposed to be mailed in by the courts. This did not always happen and conviction information sometimes never made it into the Registry's computer. In some cases, the Registry added DUI convictions and automatically imposed OUI license suspensions years after conviction. The Registry was without the legal authority to do this.

In no less than five (5) Massachusetts Superior Court Decisions, in Massachusetts OUI cases, it has been unanimously and emphatically stated that the defendant's license is revoked immediately upon conviction, no matter what the Registry does. It is the DUI conviction which automatically and instantly revokes the license, not the Registry. Consequently, years later, the Registry cannot suspend someone's license after the suspension window has been closed. For example, a 2nd offense DUI conviction results in a 2 year license revocation. The RMV only has the legal authority to suspend that person's license within a 2 year window after conviction, and the suspension must expire exactly 2 years after the conviction date, no matter when the Registry imposed it. The plain language of the Massachusetts DUI law supports this. The statutory language reads, in pertinent part, as follows: "[a] conviction of a violation of subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) shall revoke the license or right to operate of the person so convicted..." Noticeably absent is any mention of the Registry having to do anything. Indeed, it is the conviction and not the Registry which triggers the automatic DUI license revocation.

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Prominent Needham, Massachusetts attorney and Mass. DUI Defender Timothy M. Burke is the author of The Paradiso Files: Exposing Boston's Unknown Serial Killer. Burke, a former Suffolk County Homicide Prosecutor artfully tells of how Leonard "the Quahog" Paradiso was suspected to be a serial killer who operated undetected in the Boston area. Based on his knowledge and experience as a homicide prosecutor, Burke believe that Paradiso killed several young women including Joan Webster, who mysteriously disappeared in 1981.

The Paradiso Files chronicles Burke's investigation of "Lenny the Quahog" and describes how he and his partner, Massachusetts State Trooper Andy Palumbo doggedly pursued the suspected killer. Paradiso died in prison only 9 days after the book was published.

After leaving the Suffolk District Attorney's Office, Attorney Burke went into private practice and he now operates a very successful law office in Needham, Massachusetts. Attorney Burke has successfully prosecuted and defended numerous OUI cases throughout the Commonwealth. You can contact Attorney Burke by completing the contact form on this site. The Paradiso Files is available in hardcover, paperback, and electronic versions. Attorney Burke is currently working on his second book.

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I am writing this post because of the high number of clients who have had their licenses suspended because they made an uninformed decision regarding the payment of a citation or pleading out to a criminal offense such as OUI, drug violations, driving on a suspended license, and operating to endanger. These motorists were unpleasantly surprised by sharp insurance premium increase and license suspensions as a result of their decisions.
 

Unbeknownst to most Massachusetts drivers, getting a speeding ticket or another surchargable moving violation can have unforeseen and severe consequences. Violations are reported to the Massachusetts Merit Rating Board, which maintains a database of speeding citations, traffic citations, and other motor vehicle related offenses such as OUI convictions. Courts also report drug offenses to the Mass. Merit Rating Board, whether they are motor vehicle related or not.
 

When a motorist pays a Massachusetts Uniform Citation (traffic ticket), he or she is admitting responsibility. This means that the Mass. RMV can count the violation against the motorist for insurance and license suspension or revocation purposes. Payment of a citation is an admission of “guilt” and it cuts off the right to appeal. It is, therefore, not possible to contest, challenge, or appeal a speeding ticket or other traffic citation once it is paid. Neither the Registry of Motor Vehicles nor the Massachusetts courts will accept these appeals.
 

To appeal a citation, you must check off “box 2” on the back of the citation and mail it to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles using the envelope provided. The Mass. RMV will then notify the district court having jurisdiction over the location where the motor vehicle violation allegedly occurred. You will be notified by mail of the hearing date. In most cases, your hearing cannot be rescheduled and, in all cases, you must appear in person. Hiring a lawyer to represent you does not excuse you from personally appearing.
 

Consequences of a traffic violation can include: a 30 day suspension for getting 3 speeding tickets in any 12 month period, an indefinite suspension for getting 5 surchargable events within any 3 year period (this requires taking the NSC Driver Re-Training Class to avoid a suspension), 7 surchargable events within any 3 year period (this triggers an automatic 60 day suspension), or a 4 year Massachusetts Habitual Traffic Offender for getting 12 minor violations, certain major violations, or any combination thereof.
 

Additionally, convictions for DUI, driving on a suspended license, driving to endanger, and driving an uninsured motor vehicle will result in automatic license suspensions. These violations are among the 64 ways to lose your Massachusetts Drivers License.
 

It is a complete misconception and falsity that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is bound by anything that a court does with respect to the counting of prior convictions or sentencing. The Mass. RMV follows Massachusetts License Suspension Laws which dictate that certain convictions, guilty pleas, breathalyzer refusals, and alcohol program assignments automatically trigger certain license suspensions. No judge can overrule, override, or supersede these laws. Massachusetts courts and judges only have jurisdiction over breathalyzer refusal suspensions if the individual is found not guilty of OUI or the alcohol related charges are dismissed. In all over cases, excepting administrative appeals from Mass. RMV or Board of Appeal decisions, Massachusetts courts have no jurisdiction over license suspensions.
 

When deciding whether or not to appeal a citation or “plead out” to a criminal motor vehicle offense such as driving on a suspended license, it is critical to consider the consequences. You cannot depend on the police, court, judge, or prosecutor to inform you of these consequences. Many lawyers who do not understand the complex laws governing license suspensions also do not understand the consequences which a plea, conviction, or citation payment can trigger. The decision of whether or not to pay a citation or plea bargain a case should only be made after a thorough review of your criminal and driving record by a qualified attorney; anything short of this may result in an unpleasant surprise in the form of a substantial increase of your automobile insurance premium or, worse, a license suspension or revocation.
 

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