Massachusetts DUI Lawyer Blog

According to the Quincy Patriot-Ledger, a Hull man has been sentenced to two years in Plymouth County jail and another four years of probation for a first OUI charge. Derrick D. Jones, 39, admitted that he was drunk when he drove his Chrysler 300 sedan at about 70 miles per hour the wrong way down Summer Street in Hingham on Feb. 19, 2009. Jones crashed head-on into the Toyota Sienna minivan of Courtney Palek, 30, of Hingham, and her three small children. The minivan ran off the road and Jones's car rolled over onto its roof on the sidewalk. Luckily, everyone involved survived the crash with minimal injury, which police said was because they were all using seat belts or age-appropriate child car seats.

Read articles: Hull man gets 2 years for drunken driving crash in Hingham and Cops: Seat belts saved family in crash with alleged drunken driver

I took note of this article, as a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, because a sentence of two years in jail and four years of probation seems quite harsh for a first-offense OUI, for which the maximum is 2.5 years. In fact, the article says that Jones was originally charged with second-offense OUI, but he agreed to a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to first offense drunken driving, driving negligently, speeding and failing to stay in marked lanes. Jones has a history of legal trouble in addition to the first OUI. He has served time in state prison for breaking and entering in the night and larceny, and he is currently awaiting disposition of similar charges in two recent incidents in Hull. In addition, he had been cited earlier on the day of the crash for failing to wear a seat belt while he was a passenger in someone else's car.

The news reports do not say whether Jones was represented by a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney, but the stiff sentence Jones received in this case demonstrates how important it is to have expert legal representation if you're in a situation like this. Of course, an experienced attorney can help clients like Jones defend themselves vigorously against the most recent charges, or if a plea bargain is offered, advise them on whether the bargain is fair and worthwhile. In addition, I suspect that Jones's previous record played a part in the judge's decision to hand down the unusually harsh sentence. If Jones had been able to defend himself successfully from his first OUI or the larceny and break-in charges, he may have been able to avoid having them on his record. That might have weighed in his favor during the sentencing for this incident.

Continue reading "Hull Man Receives Two-Year Jail Sentence for First OUI Offense" »

Because I'm a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, I regularly follow the news about drunk driving cases, and a recent article about an alleged drunk driving case in Fall River caught my interest. Robert Rebello, 40, of Fall River, is being held in Bristol County jail because the prosecutor argued that he is too dangerous to society to be released on bail. Because Rebello had three OUI convictions from 1988, 1990, and 1996, Bristol County Judge Brian Gilligan agreed to keep him in jail pending a dangerousness hearing. At that hearing, the judge will decide whether to keep Rebello in jail until he can be tried.

Rebello was arrested at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 3, and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol. Fall River firefighters had alerted police that their fire truck was almost hit by a Toyota pickup truck, so police were looking for an erratic driver. A Massachusetts state trooper saw Rebello's truck swerve across the road several times and pulled him over. The state trooper reported that Rebello smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and slurred his speech. During a field sobriety test, he was unable to recite the alphabet. Police found several empty beer cans in the truck. He was charged with a fourth OUI, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 2.5 years and a maximum of five years.

Read article: Fall River driver held pending dangerousness hearing.

As a Massachusetts OUI defense lawyer, I think it's important for drivers to be aware that they can be kept in jail without bail for drunk driving before they're even convicted. Usually, judges set bail to ensure that accused drivers will appear at their next court hearings. But Massachusetts law allows judges to deny bail and keep drivers in jail until trial if they are charged with an OUI after three previous drunk driving convictions. Dangerousness hearings can be used in non-OUI cases as well, such as a recent Bridgewater case in which a man was held without bail after allegedly attacking his estranged wife with a hammer and attempting to strangle her and her father in front of her toddler. Such suspects may be kept in jail for up to 90 days before a trial must be held.

Keeping someone in jail without bail requires a dangerousness hearing, at which the judge weighs whether the person is too much of a danger to others to be allowed to go free. Defendants can be represented by an attorney at this hearing, and as a Massachusetts intoxicated driving criminal defense lawyer, I recommend it very strongly. People face serious hardships and disruptions to their lives when they are jailed for three months. Even if they wind up not being convicted of the crime, or having the charges dismissed, being kept in jail for 90 days could cause them to lose a job. If people in this position have children or pets, who would take care of them during this period? Keeping up with financial obligations like rent or mortgage payments while in jail and unable to work could be pretty difficult as well. That's why it's essential to mount the best defense you can at any dangerousness hearing.

Continue reading "Dangerousness Hearings Can Lead to Unexpected Jail Time and Hardships" »

As a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney, I was interested in a story recently reported by several different news outlets in the Boston area. A grandmother arrested for drunk driving while taking her nine-year-old grandson to school last month was found in violation of her pre-trial probation conditions after she failed to remain alcohol-free. On March 18, Sharon Faulkner, 63, of Marblehead, was arrested at the Glover School after she dropped her grandson off. Faulkner's grandson had endured a wild ride to get to school that day: Faulkner's 2001 Toyota Camry jumped a curb and smashed into a tree hard enough to cause both airbags to deploy. Faulkner and her grandson were still 1.3 miles away from his school, so they began walking to it, and then she hitched a ride for them. An off-duty police officer discovered Faulkner's abandoned car and had the police search for its operator.

Marblehead Police Department Chief Robert Picariello said that the police received a call tipping them off that the car belonged to Faulkner and she was at the school. When police caught up with her at the school, Faulkner failed field sobriety tests, and a Breathalyzer test showed her blood-alcohol concentration at 0.141, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08. She explained that the accident occurred when a gold SUV passed her, "causing me to go off the road," even though she said she was driving only 20 miles per hour. Police interacted with the grandson and noticed a bump on his forehead, and the boy complained of minor chest pain. He was taken to North Shore Children's Hospital for medical attention and was later released. Faulkner pleaded not guilty to third-offense OUI, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, wanton and reckless child endangerment, child endangerment while operating under the influence of liquor, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

After her release on bail, on March 25, a Breathalyzer test showed that she had violated the terms of her pre-trial probation by consuming alcohol. Consequently, in Lynn District Court, she was ordered held without bail for the duration of her court case.

Read article: Marblehead grandmom violates probation

Judging from the account of her crash in the press, Faulkner is going to need the help of a Massachusetts DUI criminal defense lawyer to ensure that she is treated fairly by the legal system. This will be a complex and serious case to defend, particularly since it involves a child and a third offense DUI charge. If Faulkner's defense isn't done with the utmost precision, she could wind up spending a lot more time in jail. A third-offense DUI is a felony carrying at least 150 mandatory days in jail, and the sentence can go as long as five years in state prison. You will also lose your license for eight years, with a hardship license available no sooner than four years, and face up to $15,000 in fines. Someone who is already unemployed and near retirement age, like Faulkner, could be financially devastated by having fines like this levied against her, and personally devastated by an extended stay in a correctional institution. Conviction on the child endangerment charges would add steeper penalties to the ones she already faces. A defendant like this should get help from an aggressive, experienced Massachusetts drunk driving defense lawyer right away.

Continue reading "Grandmother Facing Her Third OUI Jailed for Failing to Stay Sober Before Trial" »

As a Massachusetts intoxicated driving criminal defense attorney, I was saddened to read about an accident in Lynn that took a young woman's life. Julie Gauthier, 19 and of Salem, died March 21 while her allegedly drunk boyfriend was driving her home from a party. Christopher Maxson of Marblehead, also 19, is accused of drinking before he ran two stop signs, hit another vehicle and collided with three parked cars before overturning and hitting a fourth. Gauthier was ejected from the vehicle's sunroof and died at the scene, while Maxson and two other passengers sustained only minor injuries. The Boston Globe reported March 23 that Maxson has pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence.

Lynn police and school authorities highlighted the fatal accident when they began speaking to parents about the importance of safety during the school district's upcoming proms. The Daily Item of Lynn reported March 31 that authorities held the first of three Parent Prom Safety Information Nights at Lynn Classical on March 25. Just four days after the crash, police officers emphasized that it could have happened to anyone -- even kids who weren't drinking or doing drugs. Police officers who spoke said prom is a time for students to make wise decisions, and emphasized the dangers of drinking and driving.

But a local prosecutor also emphasized the Commonwealth's "social host" laws. Enacted in 1998 after a fatal OUI accident, social host laws penalize people who provide alcohol to minors. In fact, the prosecutor said, parents don't need to have bought the alcohol themselves, or even be home, to be criminally prosecuted for knowingly allowing kids to drink alcohol under their roofs. If convicted of furnishing alcohol to a minor, parents and others face up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000 or both. And regardless of whether they are convicted, the presentation said, they can also be sued in civil court, an expensive and emotionally difficult prospect even if they win the case.

As a Massachusetts OUI criminal defense lawyer, I'd like to discuss this law further, because it allows criminal prosecution in several situations that most people would not consider criminal. Parents are allowed to serve their own minor children alcohol in Massachusetts, but under the social host law, they may not furnish alcohol to other minors. Nor may they knowingly allow their minor children to furnish alcohol to other minors. The definition of "furnish" includes intentionally allowing someone under 21 to have alcohol on property under your control. An overzealous prosecutor could interpret this as allowing criminal charges for parents whose teenagers get into alcohol left in plain view, even when they didn't expect or give permission for their kids to drink it. In cases where the parent can prove they didn't provide the alcohol themselves, teenagers can still be criminally charged for giving alcohol to their friends.

The social host law can be used even when there was no car crash or other harm from the drinking. That means parents can be criminally penalized for doing something that's no big deal in most other Western nations -- allowing a young adult to have a drink with dinner. As a Massachusetts drunk driving criminal defense attorney, I know very well that drinking and driving can have life-altering or even fatal consequences. As prom season approaches, teenagers and parents should remember that. But the social host law applies to any situation in which a minor under 21 is given alcohol -- not just dangerous drunk-driving situations. Safe, responsible drinking by someone who just happens to be under 21 shouldn't expose a teenager -- or a parent -- to a criminal record.

Continue reading "Fatal OUI Accident Spurs Lynn Police to Educate Parents on Social Host Laws" »