Massachusetts DUI Lawyer Blog

In Marshfield, a couple with a 19-year-old son are defending themselves against charges that they allowed underage kids to consume alcoholic beverages at their home. Jeffrey and Janet Bessemer have been ordered to appear in court on misdemeanor charges of furnishing alcohol to minors and keeping a disorderly home, and violating the Massachusetts social host law. Fortunately, the case does not spring from a death or injury; police called on a noise complaint found a party at the Bessemers' home. The Bessemers told the Quincy Patriot-Ledger that they had had their own party earlier that day, and they had neglected to put away all the leftover alcoholic beverages and shot glasses after it was over because they were tired.

Later that night, their 19-year-old son planned to have a few friends come over to meet his girlfriend, and the Bessemers said that a larger group of young adults showed up after 10 p.m. without their knowledge. Jeffrey Bessemer said that second group must have supplied the alcohol and that he wouldn't have provided it. A neighbor called police complaining about loud music at 11:45 p.m., and when police arrived, they found both garage doors open with about 20 people hanging around there, and another 10 people inside the house. Only three of them were of legal age to drink alcohol, but police said most or all of them were holding beer containers or red plastic cups containing alcoholic beverages. There was a table in the garage holding plastic cups and a large amount of alcohol in open and closed containers, and in the kitchen police found liquor bottles and shot glasses. The Bessemers came downstairs shortly after the police arrived and told them they had been unaware that anyone was drinking. A Marshfield police officer expressed doubt about this.

Read article: Marshfield couple faces social host charges.

A few months ago, I discussed my concern that the social host law could be overzealously interpreted, and it appears that the Bessemers' case may be an example of just that. As a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney, I would look at the situation with a more critical eye than the police officer may have used. There are a number of possible reasons why the Bessemers could have been unaware of their son's party, even if it did generate a noise complaint. Noise complaints aren't always reasonable, and noise can be blocked by well-insulated or large homes. The Bessemers may have trusted their son and didn't realize that his judgment wasn't as good as they thought.

The social host law specifies that "furnishing" alcohol means to provide it or allow its consumption on your property "knowingly and intentionally." Proving this could be an uphill battle in this case. The Bessemers claim they didn't do it knowingly or intentionally, if they did it at all, and there are alternative interpretations of the situation. The law absolutely should hold people responsible for their actions, but in a case like this, prosecutors and officers should investigate carefully before holding parents responsible for the actions of their adult children and those children's friends. As a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense attorney, I'm glad that the drinking at the Bessemers' son's party appears to have been harmless, and that no related drunk driving accidents were reported.

Continue reading "Marshfield Social Host Case Underscores Risk of Injustice From Over-Enforcement" »

In recent months, there have been a number of reports warning the public not to consume caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol, like Red Bull with vodka. For example, this study reported on a CNN blog June 8 showed that student athletes were more likely to binge-drink if they mixed the alcohol with caffeine. In fact, the Scottish arm of the UK's Labour Party is considering a ban on alcoholic drinks with a certain percentage of caffeine. Studies have indicated that people consuming caffeine with alcohol feel less drunk even though they actually are often more drunk than people who have been drinking alcohol without caffeine. This is because as alcohol is metabolized, it reduces glucose available to the brain, which makes you feel tired. But when caffeine is added to the mix, it masks the tiredness with its stimulant properties, so people don't recognize how drunk they are.

However, as a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense lawyer, I was fascinated to read that studies have also shown that caffeine can have a "synergistic" effect with alcohol. British researchers reported in "Interactions of Alcohol and Caffeine on Human Reaction Time," Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 528 (June 1983), that "Caffeine has a synergistic interaction with alcohol...(It) has the effect of potentiating the detrimental effects already induced by alcohol....Motor skills which involve delicate muscular coordination and accurate timing have been found to be adversely affected by caffeine." That means caffeine can increase the symptoms of alcohol intoxication -- not counteract them, mask them, or help you to "sober up." In essence, it makes people seem more drunk than they really are.

This is important for a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney like me to know about, because it could provide an avenue of defense for clients charged with intoxicated driving. For someone pulled over by the police for drunk driving, this means that their performance on a field sobriety test could perform worse than they would have without the caffeine. The caffeine would make them shakier and less able to perform the field sobriety tests than the alcohol alone would have left them. Field sobriety tests are supposed to provide evidence of whether a person is intoxicated, by demonstrating whether they can perform tasks such as "walk-and-turn", "finger-to-nose" and "one-leg-stand." These tests are not always possible for people who are haven't even consumed any alcohol to perform perfectly, so the tests' accuracy is less than ideal. For example, the test results can be affected by a person's age, weight, athletic ability, emotional state, fatigue, and lack of familiarity with the tests. They can also be affected by conditions including passing traffic and by the police officer's communication skills. With the addition of caffeine, the test results could make the person appear to be drunker than he or she really was, and the person would be more likely to get arrested.

Continue reading "Beware of Caffeine: It Can Raise Your Chances of a Drunk Driving Arrest" »

A Cambridge man, 47-year-old William J. Walker, faces OUI and other charges after allegedly nearly striking a police officer with his car just before Memorial Day weekend. Police said that Walker was driving his white 1997 Chevy Lumina up to the intersection of Brattle and Appleton streets in Cambridge, where a police officer was working a detail while wearing a bright green detail vest. The officer put up his hand to indicate that Walker should stop, but the Lumina didn't stop until the officer yelled at him and jumped out of the way. Walker then allegedly slammed on the brakes and stopped.

The officer approached the car, asked Walker if he was okay and whether he was on any medications. Walker said he was not, and the officer noted that his face looked "droopy" and he had glassy, watery eyes. When a second officer arrived, he asked Walker to step out of the car, frisked him, and reportedly found many medications that Walker said belonged to his father. Walker later admitted to having taken a narcotic that day, and police had him perform field sobriety tests. They noted that his body trembled and swayed during the tests. Walker was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with license restriction and possession of a Class B substance.

Read article: Cambridge man cuffed for almost running over cop

In my experience as a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, police and prosecutors often don't take kindly to a suspect who could have hurt one of their own. For that reason, I hope Walker gets experience representation to handle his OUI and other charges. The first police officer was undoubtedly shaken up by nearly being hit by Walker's car, and it would not be surprising if his colleague who arrived later was also upset by the near-miss.

The article doesn't note whether Walker was asked to take a breath or blood test. As a Massachusetts OUI defense lawyer, I would question the results of their field sobriety tests if these form the only basis for the intoxicated driving charge. These tests are notoriously subjective -- they can be hard for some people to perform even if they aren't intoxicated, and the results depend on the police officer's personal interpretation of how the person being tested behaves. If Walker had any kind of medical or even emotional condition that could cause his body to tremble and sway when being questioned by the police, after nearly having an accident, that could have affected his performance in the field sobriety tests. As Walker's case winds its way through the court system, his Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense attorney could argue persuasively for a dismissal of the charges or win a not-guilty verdict by challenging the field sobriety tests.

Continue reading "Cambridge Man Who Nearly Hit Officer With His Car Charged With OUI " »

As a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, I took note of a recent story about a Framingham man, Ronival Pires, charged with negligent endangerment of a child, driving under the influence of liquor and driving without a license. According to Boston's Fox 25 News, someone at a Tedeschi's convenience store in Framingham called police about a young child alone in a parked car. Police arrived and found the vehicle pulling out of the parking lot. They stopped the car and found Pires, age 30, driving with his two-year-old daughter in the back seat with no car seat, sitting next to a 30-pack of beer. Police administered several field sobriety tests to Pires, all of which he failed. He said he had not been drinking, but police noted a smell of alcohol on his breath. Pires was arrested and later was arraigned in Framingham District Court. He pled not guilty and was released without bail ahead of his scheduled July 9 pretrial conference. The daughter was released into her mother's custody.

Read article: Framingham man charged with OUI, child endangerment.

From my experience as a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense attorney, I know that people often get emotional when they are told that a child was endangered. This can cause problems for people who have been charged with OUI child endangerment, because juries may react to the child endangerment charge when deciding on the suspect's guilt on other matters, like the OUI itself. This is why defendants like Pires should have an aggressive, experienced attorney to protect their rights in a court of law. An experienced attorney can move to exclude child endangerment charges and similar prejudicial matters from evidence.

In this case, a lawyer might also move to exclude any mention of the field sobriety tests, which are well known to be unreliable. In order to be admissible in court, field sobriety tests must be performed exactly according to the standards set out by Massachusetts case law and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Even when they are, the tests are easy for stone-cold sober people to fail, making them an unfair basis for convicting someone of a crime. If these tests are the only charges against him, Pires may well be able to get the charges against him dismissed or to get a not-guilty verdict. But to get the best possible chance, he and others like him definitely need professional legal expertise to protect his rights.

Continue reading "Framingham Man Faces Drunk Driving and Child Endangerment Charges" »