Massachusetts DUI Lawyer Blog

Alcohol taxes may decrease soon, if Massachusetts voters decide to exempt alcohol from the state's sales tax. Last year, taxes on alcohol went up when sales tax began being applied along with the excise tax. While package store owners say the higher taxes have decreased their sales, public health researchers say the higher taxes reduce drunk driving and other social problems. As a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, I agree with the public health researchers that our society should prevent drunk driving. In addition to stopping OUI-related injuries and deaths, this could reduce police overreaching intended to stop drunk drivers. Police are sometimes so vigilant for drunk drivers that they violate drivers' rights when they stop them on suspicion of drunk driving. The more we prevent drunk driving, the less of an issue this could be.

Prevention of drunk driving is not the only benefit that would come with keeping the tax on alcohol high, according to University of Florida public health researcher Alexander Wagenaar and his colleagues. The team conducted its own research and also examined that of 50 other papers in scientific journals. They found that when alcohol taxes double, deaths from traffic accidents drop by 11 percent, sexually transmitted infections go down by 6 percent, violence decreases by 2 percent and crime decreases by 1.4 percent. As alcohol taxes increase, rates of death, injury, drunk driving, car accidents, drug use, risky sexual behavior, crime and violence decrease. These changes happen because when alcohol prices go up, alcohol use goes down. The only social ill that was not alleviated by higher alcohol taxes was suicide.

Read article: Higher alcohol taxes linked to fewer deaths.

Though higher alcohol taxes do reportedly drive down alcohol sales, it would be wise for package store owners to consider Massachusetts dram shop laws. In some cases, package stores can be held responsible for a customer's drunk driving if they sell alcohol to a customer who has clearly already been drinking. Losing a few sales because of higher taxes may be worth preventing drunk driving accidents, which could cost them huge sums in lawsuits from victims of drunk drivers.

As a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense attorney, I'm interested in reducing drunk driving as a social problem too. I know that police are dedicated to getting drunk drivers off the road, as they should be. But sometimes, they can be so focused on that goal that they see guilt when it's not really there. Once a police officer has pulled a driver over on suspicion of drunk driving, that officer has probably made up his or her mind, and is just looking for evidence to confirm that suspicion. The tools that police have to confirm their suspicions -- breathalyzers and field sobriety tests, most frequently -- are scientifically dubious at best. A driver's presumed innocence is out the window as soon as the police pull the driver over, and the punishments for drunk driving are wildly disproportionate to the punishments for equally or even more dangerous behaviors like texting while driving.

Continue reading "Higher Alcohol Taxes Could Prevent Drunk Driving and Protect Drivers' Rights" »

A series of articles and videos in the Quincy Patriot-Ledger about a rise in the number of women being convicted of drunk driving caught my eye recently. The videos describe the struggles of two women to put their lives back together after their drunk driving arrests. As a Massachusetts drunk driving criminal defense attorney, it's my view that these women's stories demonstrate how important it is for all drivers to use good judgment before getting behind the wheel -- and also, how important it is to make sure that you have expert legal counsel if you get into trouble. It's hard enough to handle the psychological and physical consequences of alcohol abuse without adding legal troubles to the mix.

It's not clear why, but the Patriot-Ledger reported that as nationwide drunk driving arrests for men fell over 8 percent from 1999 to 2009, they shot up by nearly 42 percent for women. In Massachusetts, over 30 percent more women were arrested for OUI in 2009 than in 1999. Sarah Allen Benton, a mental health counselor, suggests that it may have to do with police having decided not to go easy on women drivers. In the past, police may have felt more sympathetic toward and protective of women drivers, she suggests -- but not anymore.Two women profiled in the Quincy Patriot-Ledger's articles and videos said that their OUI arrests forced them to get help for their alcohol problems and get their lives together.

One in 12 American adults abuses alcohol or is alcohol-dependent, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol problems can develop over the course of decades, starting in adolescence, before anything serious enough to involve legal consequences happens. By that point, a chronic alcoholic may need serious medical and psychological treatment to manage the damage that has been done. Unfortunately, the legal penalties for drunk driving don't necessarily mandate such treatment, even though it would go a long way toward making sure that such dangerous behavior doesn't happen again. For a first-offense OUI, the alternative "24D" disposition sentence includes an alcohol education program. But otherwise, the offenders are on their own to solve any problems they have with alcohol.

Anyone charged with OUI should immediately contact a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney to help them maintain all their personal and legal options. If you have been charged with OUI, with the help of a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense lawyer, your case is much more likely to win a dismissal of charges or a not-guilty verdict. Then, if you are dealing with the psychological and physical effects of alcohol dependence, you can get help for it without also losing your freedom, your job, and your driver's license.

Continue reading "Special Report on Women and Drunk Driving Says Arrests Have Increased" »

A new Massachusetts law went into effect on September 30, forbidding texting while driving for all drivers, and both texting and cell phone use for drivers under 18. As a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney, I've noticed that some news reports have called the penalties for texting "harsh." This is interesting, since the penalties for texting are nowhere near as harsh as they are for drunk driving, even though studies have shown that texting while driving is actually more dangerous than drunk driving.

Lawrence Police Chief John Romero told the Merrimack Valley Eagle-Tribune that the texting law is "long overdue," since texting has been the cause of many "tragedies." The law punishes texting offenses with fines of up to $500 and up to a one-year loss of license. Romero notes, however, that it will be difficult to enforce the law because police can't be certain what drivers are actually doing with their phones behind the wheel. Dialing while driving is still legal for drivers over 18. If police pull over a driver who appears to be texting, drivers can simply say they were just dialing a phone number. Without a warrant, police may not be able to check the drivers' phones to find out whether they're telling the truth.

Read article: Driving while texting incurs new penalties

What's most striking to me, as a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney, is the gap between how the law perceives the dangers of texting compared to that of drunk driving. Britain's Transport Research Laboratory found that texting drivers' reaction times were 35 percent worse than when they weren't texting, while the reaction times of drivers who were at the legal limit for alcohol consumption only deteriorated by 12 percent. Even drivers who had used marijuana performed better than texters, with a 21 percent slower reaction time. Texters were also 91 percent more likely than non-texters to veer out of their lanes, and were less able to keep a safe following distance from the vehicle ahead of them. Yet when a texting driver causes a fatal crash, Utah is the only state that subjects that driver to the same penalties a drunk driver would pay, with up to 15 years in prison.

In Massachusetts, a first offense for texting by drivers over 18 is punishable by a $100 fine. Drivers under 18 pay the fine, lose their license for 60 days, and complete a court-assigned driver attitude course. In contrast, the penalty for a first offense OUI is much steeper: It may include a jail sentence of up to 2 and a half years, a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000, hundreds of dollars in fees, and a license suspension of one year. The alternative "24D" disposition for a first-offense OUI is much harsher than that for texting too. A 24D judgment involves probation for up to two years; completion of an alcohol education program; a 45-day loss of license; and hundreds of dollars in fees.

There are lots of possible reasons for this disparity in penalties. Perhaps not as many people have lost loved ones to texting drivers as to drunk drivers, so the political will to do something about the problem has not developed. But even though the scientific evidence makes clear that texting is at least as much of a menace on the roads as drinking and driving, people charged with OUI face much more serious potential consequences than texters do. That's why it's so important for anyone charged with OUI to work with an experienced and knowledgeable Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense lawyer to help them navigate the system and get the best outcome -- a dismissal of charges or a not-guilty verdict.

Continue reading "Penalties for Distracted Driving Are Still Light Compared to OUI Criminal Penalties" »

Many of the cases of intoxicated driving that I've written about include good examples of what not to do and what not to say if you're pulled over for drunk driving. For example, telling the officer you've been drinking and popping pills all day is not the best idea. As a Massachusetts intoxicated driving defense attorney, I encourage people who are pulled over for drunk driving to not only keep in mind their rights, but to think strategically about what to say and do in order to ensure that the police report contains as little incriminating evidence against them as possible.

A police officer who pulls someone over probably already thinks that person is guilty -- but they still have to collect enough evidence to legally show guilt. This is why police officers ask drivers questions about whether they have been drinking and how much, and request that they perform field sobriety tests and breathalyzer tests. Officers then record the details that they observe, the answers that drivers supply, and the results of field sobriety tests and breathalyzers in the police report, so that it can serve as evidence and they can refer to it when they testify in court against the drivers.

Many drivers don't realize that even though police routinely ask them to take tests and answer questions, they cannot be forced to comply. You are not legally required to take a breathalyzer test, but there are consequences for refusing. If you're over 21, you can lose your license for 180 days refusing to take a breathalyzer test. If you are later found not guilty or your case is dismissed, you can apply to the RMV for early reinstatement before the 180 days are up.

The same is not true for field sobriety tests, which you are free to refuse with no legal consequences in Massachusetts. Police officers' interpretation of field sobriety tests is subjective, and the tests are difficult for sober people to perform correctly in relaxed settings, never mind for people who are nervous and standing on the side of the road, as I have written recently. Similarly, breathalyzers can also yield highly inaccurate results. Thus, it may better to deprive the police report of the police officer's subjective evaluation of your performance of these faulty tests.

One of the biggest reasons to consider refusing to answer questions and taking the tests is that officers will record evidence that can be held against you, but are unlikely to record any evidence that exonerates you. Let's say you had one drink but you're not drunk. If your breath smells of alcohol, the officer will notice it, put it in the police report, and interpret everything else you do and say through that lens. You may not be able to stop them from noticing the smell of alcohol on your breath, but you can politely decline to answer questions about how many drinks you have had and where you have been, perhaps adding that you cannot answer any questions until you've spoken to a Massachusetts OUI defense attorney. Then, the officer may write in the police report that you refused to answer questions, but he or she will not be able to write that you admitted to drinking before driving.

If you do refuse to answer questions or take the tests, it's extremely important to be polite and respectful about it. Do not challenge police officers' authority or give them a bad "attitude." Your goal is to avoid being charged with drunk driving, and making the officer angry does not help. It could also make the officer portray you more negatively in the police report and subsequent court testimony.

Continue reading "Drivers Pulled Over for OUI Should Use a Strategic Approach to Police Encounters" »