Aggressive Defense of All DUI Matters
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So you thought the Cincinnati Bengals off field criminal problems were over. Not just yet. Their best cornerback, the player who led the team in interceptions last year was just arrested for drunk driving in Ohio. According to reports, shortly after 3:00 a.m. on Sunday Hall was pulled over, presumably for driving over the center of the road. Police observed him with bloodshot eyes and a moderate smell of alcohol on his breath. Hall was given a breathalyzer test where he blew nearly .15, almost twice the legal limit in Ohio.

DUI Charges For Another NFL Player

Here is what Hall is facing. In Ohio, a first offense conviction requires a three day jail sentence or a three day driver education program. The court will then suspend your driver’s license for anywhere between six months and three years. The penalty for blowing above .10 is a ninety day loss of license. Had Hall refused to take the breathalyzer test he would be looking at a one year loss of license. It might be possible for Hall to get limited driving privileges after fifteen days.

Had this occurred in Massachusetts, Hall would have a thirty day loss of license for the .10 and a forty five day loss of license for the drunk driving conviction, assuming he gets convicted. He would also have to enter into an alcohol education program and pay fines and fees.

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Lucille Gatchell got into her car just over one week ago and while driving around Gloucester, Massachusetts she got into an accident. Apparently she was switching lanes and struck the car in front of her head on. The occupants of the other car were Sandra Bullock and her husband, Jesse James. Gatchell took a breathalyzer test and blew a .20, two and one half times the legal limit in Massachusetts. She was arrested and charged with OUI in the Gloucester District Court. Fortunately for Gatchell no one was injured.

Sandra Bullock Hit By Drunk Driver In Massachusetts

So what is in store for Gatchell. If this is her first offense Gatchell will probably plead guilty or admit to sufficient facts and the “24D” program will likely be imposed. The “24D” program is the abbreviated name for Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 24D. That provision of the law is the alternative sentence for first offenders designed primarily for remedial purposes. Typically when this statute is used the offender will be placed on probation for one year, will have to enter into an alcohol education program and will lose his license for forty five days. In most cases a hardship license will be issued permitting the person to operate within a designated twelve hour period every day.

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Salem, Massachusetts police received a call concerning an accident in a yard of a residential neighborhood. When they responded they found Luis Francis, 26 of Lynn, Massachusetts in his truck stopped in the middle of the road. Concerned about the strong odor of alcohol coming from Francis the police asked him to perform some field sobriety tests. He agreed. This was a mistake. Francis failed. Then Francis was taken to the police station where he was asked to take a breathalyzer test. Francis made another mistake by agreeing to take this test. Once again he failed and registered a .27. This is almost three and one half times the legal limit. Further investigation revealed that Francis drove his car across a lawn and had crashed into a rock causing enough damage to his pickup truck that the airbags deployed. He was charged with OUI in the Salem District Court,.

Read Article: Lynn Man Charged With OUI After Crashing In Residential Neighborhood

In Massachusetts if you refuse to take field sobriety tests and/or a breathalyzer test, the fact that you refused cannot be used as evidence at your trial. In other words, a jury never hears that you refused to take these tests. In a case such as this one, the fact that the defendant failed the tests does become evidence that can be used against him at trial. Here, the evidence is extremely damaging, making this case very difficult for Francis to win.

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At about 2:00 a.m. last Monday a Massachusetts ambulance driver watched a car being driven erratically. He then saw the driver attempt to order food from a closed McDonald’s restaurant. Apparently the man tried to first order from the drive through window. He then got out of his car and stumbled to the door of the closed establishment. The ambulance driver called the police and a stop and arrest were ultimately effectuated. The man was charged with second offense OUI, a misdemeanor in Massachusetts.

Read Article: Ambulance Driver Calls Cops On Drunk Driver

In Massachusetts a second offense OUI is punishable by up to two and one half years in jail. There is a thirty day mandatory house of correction sentence that must be imposed and a two year loss of license. A hardship license may be granted after one year. Here, the defendant’s conduct is the district attorney’s best evidence of impairment. Trying to order food from the drive thru window and then trying to enter a clearly closed establishment will likely suggest to a jury that the defendant was not in a position to operate a motor vehicle that night.

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Around 8:00 p.m. this past Sunday a cell phone caller told police that she observed a man, appearing to be drunk, getting into a car with a baby. Police responded to the call and located the defendant, 26 year old Paul Shaughnessy exiting a store and getting into his car not far from the place where he was initially observed by the caller. Police detected a strong odor of alcohol and asked Shaughnessy to take field sobriety tests. He refused. Police then noticed a child under the age of one in the back of the pickup truck Shaughnessy was driving. The child was not buckled. Shaughnessy was arrested for OUI and child endangerment while OUI. The case is pending in the Plymouth District Court.

Read Article: Man Arrested, Charged With DUI Had Child In His Car

The OUI Child Endangerment law in Massachusetts is set out under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 24V. The law states that anyone who is guilty of OUI in Massachusetts and has in his car a child fourteen years old or younger shall be sentenced to at least ninety days in jail and for up to two and one half years in jail. The penalty for second and subsequent offenders is much more severe and the crime then would be a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

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On March 14, 2009 Dante Stallworth, a Cleveland Browns wide receiver accidentally ran over and killed a pedestrian in Miami. He was driving a Bentley that was heavily damaged from the impact. Stallworth cooperated with the police investigation, took field sobriety tests and provided blood work that was sent to a lab for examination. The result of the test was a .126, more than one and one half the legal limit in Florida. Yesterday, Stallworth was charged with DUI and DUI manslaughter. Reports place Stallworth drinking at a club shortly before the accident. A videotape shows Stallworth taking a field sobriety test known as the Horizonatal Gaze Nystagmus test. Florida law has a fifteen year maximum prison sentence for a conviction of DUI manslaughter.

Read Article: Dante Stallworth Charged With DUI Manslaughter

See Videotape: Stallworth Taped Performing HGN Test

In Massachusetts OUI Manslaughter is a crime under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13 1/2. This is part of Melanie’s Law, Massachusetts’ newest and perhaps most strict version of Massachusetts OUI laws. The Massachusetts Manslaughter has a five year mandatory prison sentence and authorizes incarceration for up to twenty years.

Most likely, the issue facing Stallworth is not whether or not he was impaired when he was driving but whether his actions amount to DUI manslaughter under Florida law. This is a matter of fact that is determined by a judge or a jury.

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On October 18, 2008 New York Yankees ace pitcher Joba Chamberlain was arrested for DUI in Nebraska. The Lincoln resident was pulled over in his hometown for speeding. The trooper who pulled him over smelled alcohol on his breath and observed an open container. Chamberlain was given a breathalyzer test. He failed by blowing a .13, more than one and one half times the legal limit in Nebraska. Earlier today Chamberlain pleaded guilty to the drunk driving charge and was placed on probation. The open container charge was dropped. Part of the penalty requires Chamberlain to pay a four hundred dollar fine, complete an alcohol education program and lose his license for sixty days.

By all accounts this was a first offense for Chamberlain. Nebraska has a DUI statute that permits probation for first time offenders whose blood alcohol level is below a .15. The statute mandates a sixty day loss of license and a four hundred dollars fine. This is virtually identical to the sentence Chamberlain received. In some respects Nebraska DUI laws are more severe than in Massachusetts. There is a provision in Nebraska that requires a minimum mandatory two day sentence if the suspect blows a .15 or higher. In Massachusetts first offenders typically get what we call a “24D” disposition that requires a forty five day loss of license, fines, an alcohol awareness program and probation for one year. First time drunk drivers in Massachusetts can also obtain a hardship license that permits operation within a twelve hour period during the period of suspension.

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