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In order to get a hardship license from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, you must have completed the appropriate alcohol program. Not all alcohol programs are the same and the Registry’s alcohol program requirements for a hardship license may differ from the program to which you were assigned by the court or probation. First offenders […]

The Board of Appeal has the legal authority to order the Registry to clear a suspension and issue a driver’s license, including a hardship license, even where the Registry has previously denied hardship relief and refused to do so. After a hearing, the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal issues a “Finding and Order,” which

On October 28, 2005, “Melanie’s Law,” became effective. It substantially increased the penalties for Operating Under the Influence (“OUI”) by increasing the chemical test refusal (“CTR”) suspension period from one year to three years for those who refuse a Breathalyzer with a prior conviction. It also increased, from 3 years to 5 years, the penalties for

My office has been inundated by inquiries regarding the case of Souza v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles. I am very familiar with this case, as I have been fighting the Registry on this issue for years and I wrote the amicus brief in the Souza case. In Souza, the SJC adopted the legal arguments which I raised

For years prior to December 10, 2009, the Board of Appeal had been ordering the Registry to reduce breathalyzer refusal suspensions which were increased based on the driver having a prior DUI which was resolved by an admission to sufficient facts and continuance without a finding (CWOF). The basis for reducing these license suspensions was

Changes may be on the horizon for those determined to be habitual traffic offenders in Massachusetts. Last August, Senator Bruce E. Tarr (R) of Gloucester filed Senate Bill 2012, “An Act Promoting Motor Vehicle Safety.” A more appropriate title would have been “An Act to Substantially increase Habitual Traffic Offender penalties in Massachusetts.” Senator Tarr

Sometimes, a person arrested for drunk driving in Massachusetts will refuse to submit to a chemical breath test unless he or she has an opportunity to speak with an attorney. A request by a police officer for a Massachusetts DUI suspect to take a breathalyzer does not trigger constitutional or statutory right to consult with

To avoid a “breath test refusal” license revocation in Massachusetts, those arrested for drunk driving must provide two long and continuous breath samples, so that the breathalyzer registers the air volume as sufficient and produces a BAC result. When the person taking the test provides an insufficient volume of breath, no alcohol reading will register.

There seems to be a major misconception regarding the privacy and confidentiality of driving records, including those containing convictions for DUI, drunk driving, operating on a revoked license, driver’s license fraud, immediate threat suspensions, and other incidents. The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), protects certain “personal information” such a driver’s social security number, age, height,