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24D Disposition: This refers to G.L. c. 90 § 24D, the law that allows the penalty for a first offense OUI to be reduced to a 45 day loss of license, alcohol program, fines, fees, and probation.
Absorption Rate: The rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. There are various factors which affect the alcohol absorption rate. This factors include food consumption, individual physiology, and the alcohol consumption rate.
Administrative License Revocation: This Massachusetts OUI Law allows the registry to suspend or revoke your driver’s license when you register a BAC of .08 or above if you are over 21 years old, or .02 or above if you are under 21 years old. The Registry will impose this suspension after learning of your breathalyzer results and it does not matter whether you are found guilty or not guilty of the underlying OUI charge.
Alphabet Test - A field sobriety test consisting of reciting the alphabet forwards from various starting and stopping points.
Appeal - You have a right to appeal a guilty finding in an OUI within 30 days of your conviction. Mass. DUI Appeals must be based on legal grounds and are often very difficult to win. You can also appeal license suspensions to either the courts or the Board of Appeal. Contact Attorney Brian E. Simoneau for information on license suspension appeals.
Arraignment - This is your first formal court appearance. At your DUI arraignment, you will be called in front of the judge or magistrate, the charges will be read, and you will be asked if you plead guilty or not guilty. You will then be given a date to come back to court. If you fail to appear, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.
BAC: Short for “blood alcohol concentration or content.” BAC refers to the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream and it is expressed as a decimal. BAC can be measured either by breath, blood or urine testing. These tests are referred to as chemical tests. Refusing these tests will result in an automatic chemical test refusal suspension (CTR).
Breath Test: A test of blood alcohol level that is performed by measuring the suspect’s breath alcohol level. The accuracy of this test depends on the accuracy of the breath testing device which measures the alcohol content of the suspect’s deep lung air. The breathalyzer then uses a mathematical formula to determine the blood alcohol level based on the breath alcohol level.
Breathalyzer: A scientific test instrument used to measure the alcohol content of deep lung air and extrapolate that measurement to report the test subject’s BAC. In Massachusetts, most police departments use the Draeger Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C.
Burn off Rate: The rate at which alcohol in the body is metabolized. During metabolism, the blood alcohol level drops. It has been scientifically and judicially accepted that the average burn off rate is .015 BAC per hour. This equates to roughly one drink per hour.
Chemical Test: As it relates to DUI, a test of the alcohol or drug concentration in a person's blood. A Breathalyzer, blood analysis, or urinalysis can be used as chemical tests for alcohol. If other drugs are suspected, a blood test or urine test is used.
CWOF (Continuance Without a Finding) - A CWOF can be used against you for some reasons and not for others. For example, a CWOF for a first offense DUI will could against you if you are arrested a second time for DUI. A CWOF is usually the result of an admission to sufficient facts, where you do not admit guilt, but admit that the facts are sufficient to obtain a conviction. If you have a CWOF, you can answer "no" in any job application which asks if you have been convicted of a crime. Also, a CWOF will not disqualify you from holding a Massachusetts License to Carry Firearms.
Dismissal- If your OUI is dismissed, that usually means the was thrown out by the judge. There are many reasons for a DUI dismissal and there are two types: dismissed with prejudice or dismissed without prejudice. A case dismissed with prejudice cannot be re-filed. A case dismissed without prejudice can be re-filed in the future. However, DUI cases are rarely re-filed.
DUI, DWI, OUI, Drunk Driving. These terms all refer to the crime of Operating Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor, a violation of G.L. c. 90 § 24.
DUI School: DUI schools are drug and alcohol education programs approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Registry of Motor Vehicles. There are 3 types of alcohol programs in Massachusetts, a 16 week outpatient program for first offenders, called the 24D program, a 14 day in-patient program for 2nd offenders, and a 90 day in-patient program for 3rd offenders.
Felony: A crime which carries a state prison sentence. Second and subsequent DUI convictions are felonies in Massachusetts.
FST: Field Sobriety Test or evaluation. A series of physical and mental coordination tests designed to help an officer decide if a driver is intoxicated. These may include walking the straight line, reciting the alphabet, standing on one foot, standing straight and touching finger to nose with eyes closed, etc. These are highly subjective, not very reliable, and depend on the officer to administer them correctly.
Hardship License - A hardship license is also called a work license, Cinderella License, or a 7 to 7 license. It is a license which is valid for 12 hours each day, the purpose of which is to allow the DUI offender to get to work, school, or medical appointments. Your ability to apply for a hardship license, which is not automatically granted, depends on the facts and circumstances of your case and your record. Attorney Brian E. Simoneau is a Massachusetts Hardship License Expert. You can obtain a hardship license from either the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles or the Mass. Board of Appeal.
Ignition Interlock Device: An ignition interlock device is an in-car alcohol breath screening device that prevents a vehicle from starting if it detects a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over a pre-set limit of .02 (i.e., 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood). These devices are required for all 2nd or subsequent OUI offenders in Mass. Ignition Interlock Violations carry stiff penalties.
Implied Consent Law: The Mass. Implied Consent Law requires to you submit to a breathalyzer test if you are arrested for OUI or have your license suspended for 180 days up to lifetime.
License Revocation: This term is used interchangeably with the term “license suspension.” It means that your right to drive in Massachusetts has been taken away by the Registry. Driving a vehicle during a suspension or revocation period may result in arrest or jail time.
License Suspension: The same as License Revocation, see above.
Melanie's Law - A Mass. DUI Law passed to increase penalties for DUI. It requires use if the ignition interlock device in some cases.
Misdemeanor: A crime which carries a sentence of up to 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction, as opposed to state prison.
Motion to Suppress Hearing - A court appearance where your attorney will argue that certain evidence should be thrown out because it was illegally obtained. If the police obtain evidence in violation of your constitutional or statutory legal rights, the evidence or statements must be excluded from your OUI trial.
Open Container Law: A Mass. law which prohibits drinking from an open container of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle. It is a $500.00 civil motor vehicle infraction.
Operating to Endanger - Operating/Driving to Endanger is a criminal traffic charge which alleges that the defendnat drove in such a manner so as to endanger the lives and safety of the public. In some cases, this offense will be charged along with DWI. An operating to endanger conviction carries a mandatory license suspension.
Operating on a Suspended License - A criminal charge for driving while your license or right to drive has been suspended or revoked. This can be a serious crime, a conviction of which may involve mandatory jail time.
Out of State License - The Massachusetts OUI Law counts DWI, OUI, and DUI offenses committed anywhere in the world. It does not matter if you were on an out of state license or if you were a Massachusetts resident.
OUI - This stands for Operating Under the Influence of Liquor, which is the same as DUI, or DWI.
PBT - Portable Breath Test device. This is a small and hand-held "breathalyzer" which is used at the roadside to determine blood alcohol content. Like the ignition interlock device, it does not use infrared technology and it is therefore not admissible at any DUI trial. Further, refusing to take a PBT will not result in a CTR license suspension.
Regurgitation: Ejecting some stomach contents up into the throat or mouth. This can cause high BAC readings and sometimes happens in cases where the suspect has acid reflux or GIRD. To prevent this from causing a false BAC result, Massachusetts has 15 minute observation period, where the police are supposed to observe the test subject to make sure that he or she doesn’t burp, hiccup, belch, or put anything in his or her mouth.
Sobriety Checkpoints: A system where police select a particular time and place to screen drivers for signs and symptoms of intoxication. If these signs and symptoms are detected, field sobriety tests are conducted. These are also known as DUI Roadblocks.
Urine Test: A laboratory chemical test of the suspect’s urine to determine the suspect’s blood alcohol level. Can be inaccurate because of the mixing of higher alcohol level urine from earlier with lower alcohol level urine closer to the driver’s being pulled over. Urine tests can give an artificially high reading for that reason.
Walk-and-Turn – Is a divided attention field sobriety test. It requires the suspect to get into position, listen to instructions, and take nine steps, along a real or imaginary straight line, touching heel to toe. The suspect is then supposed to turn, while keeping his or her foot on the line, and repeat the 9 steps. Weight and physical problems can affect performance of this test.
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