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The Massachusetts DUI Law, G.L. c. 90, § 24 provides in part as follows:
Whoever, upon any way or in any place to which the public has a right of access, or upon any way or in any place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees, operates a motor vehicle with a percentage, by weight, of alcohol in their blood of eight one-hundredths or greater, or while under the influence of intoxicating liquor… shall be punished….
The Commonwealth must, therefore, prove beyond a reasonable doubt three separate and distinct elements:
operation of the motor vehicle,
on a public way,
while under the influence of liquor or with a.08 percent or greater blood alcohol level.
The law also discusses penalties and license suspensions for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th offenses as well as breathalyzer refusal penalties and procedures.
This is just a summary of the Massachusetts OUI Law, which is a very complicated and lengthy statute spanning many pages.
It is important to remember that it is not a crime in Massachusetts to drive after you have been drinking. In order to be convicted of the crime of OUI, the prosecution must prove that your level of intoxication diminished your ability to drive safely.
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