What to expect when arrested for Operating Under the Influence

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR A FIRST OUI

So you have been arrested for an OUI, here’s what to expect:

You will be booked and held at the Police Station until someone comes to bail you out. The person bailing you out will need to pay $40 cash to release you.

The next day, or next business day, you will be arraigned in the Court where the offense took place. At the arraignment you will be called before the judge and charged.

If you are not able to afford and attorney one will be appointed to you. For which you will have to pay a fee depending on your income.  If you are able to afford an attorney depending on the circumstances it will cost around $3000.  

At that time your license will be suspended for 30 day if you submit to and fail a breathalyzer res, meaning your breath alcohol content was over the legal limit, which is 0.08%. If you do not take a breathalyzer test, which we recommend, your license will be suspended for 180 days or until your case is resolved.

After that 30 days or 180 days you may be able to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), and meet with a hearings officer to get your license reinstated.  This will cost $500.  Your local RMV may not perform hearings. You will have to go online, or call, to see where the closest Registry that does perform hearings is.

There may be several court dates to decide how to proceed with your case.

If you plead guilty, admit to sufficient facts that would support a guilty finding, or are found guilty of the OUI offense, your license will then be suspended again for another 45 days. You will be ordered to take a 90 24D Program, a 14-day out-patient program that meets once a week, for which there is a fee of around $750.00 depending on your income, and placed on probation, for which there is also a fee of $65.00 per month for at least 6 months. Other fees you will have to pay are: 

$50     Victim Witness Assessment

                                                                                                                                                 

$50     OUI Victims Assessment

                                                                                                                                                 

$250   OUI Sec 24D State Fee  

                                                                                                                    

$250   Head Injury Assessment

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   HOW TO GET A HARDSHIP LICENSE also called a CINDERELLA LICENSE      

During the 45 days you may be eligible for a Hardship license, also called a Cinderella License from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. This license usually allows you to drive during a 12 hour block of time, for instance 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. In order to get a hardship license you will have to have another hearing at the RMV.  

To get a hardship license you must meet certain requirements:

1.     There cannot be any evidence that you have been operating during suspension.

2.     Documented entry or enrollment, on program letterhead, verifying that you are enrolled in a 9024D Program.

3.     A documented legitimate hardship.  You must provide a letter from your employer, on letterhead, which cannot be more than 30 days old.  The letter must state the applicant’s need for a hardship license and work hours.

4.     If self-employed you must present proof of self-employment such as a business certificate, tax forms indicating self-employment, or a current professional license.  You must also write a letter explaining your need for a hardship license and the hours requested.

5.     If you applying for a hardship license for school, or medical treatments you will need third party documentation of the hardship.

6.     Finally, you must provide proof regarding the availability of public transportation. This proof may be included in the employer’s letter, or you may use local bus/transit routes, or Mapquest etc.              

If you are granted the Hardship License you will have to pay another $50 to reinstate your license after the 45 days.

Contact the criminal defense team at Boyle & Carbone, P.C. if you or anyone else that you know is arrested and charged with OUI. (978) 342-3422 or contact us through our website: www.bclawma.com.

What is a CWOF?

What is a Continued Without a Finding (CWOF)?

A Continuance Without a Finding (CWOF) is a legal action where a defendant agrees that the Commonwealth has enough evidence to support its case, however, the judge does not find the defendant guilty, at the sentencing stage in a criminal matter.

A continued without a finding, CWOF, is a request that a guilty result not be entered into the court record. Instead the case is continued without a finding, or judgment, until a future date at which time the case will be dismissed.

The dismissal will take place if specific terms and conditions are met, which usually means that the defendant is placed on probation until the dismissal date. If the probation period is successful without further incidents the case will be dismissed.

The CWOF will count as a prior offense, if the defendant is charged with a crime during the waiting period while on probation.  If the defendant is charged with a crime during the probation period there will be a probation violation hearing.  At this hearing the Judge may revoke the CWOF and enter a guilty finding, order additional conditions of probation, order a probation extension, or maybe even order jail time.

Will a CWOF Show up on a CORI Report Requested by an Employer, Landlord, or Professional Licensing Board?

When the case is dismissed the defendant, or defendant’s attorney, may ask the court to have the record sealed, as long as the probation period has been completed successfully. You will have to show the Judge that your interest in having your record sealed is greater than the public’s interest in not having it sealed. Being rejected by an Employer, Landlord, or a Professional Licensing Board on a CORI record check is a good argument to support your record being sealed.

This means that people looking at your CORI record, who are not law enforcement, are told that you have no record.

A CWOF is not considered a conviction.  The defendant can answer NO if they are asked if they have been convicted of a crime.

Even though a CWOF appears as a dismissal on a record, it remains on the Board of Probation record that law enforcement accesses.

What are the Other Effects of a CWOF?

If the CWOF is the outcome of Operating Under the Influence (OUI), or another motor vehicle violation, the CWOF will count as a first OUI offense, and your motor vehicle insurance rates will increase.

A CWOF may result in the potential loss of a firearms license.

If you are not a U.S. Citizen a CWOF may cause immigration issues.

Finally, a CWOF for an OUI or other crime may stop you from entering Canada.

Contact Boyle & Carbone

If you are wondering if you may be eligible for a CWOF for your criminal charge, or if you have any other questions about the CWOF process please contact Boyle & Carbone at (978) 342-3422.

Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 278 sec. 18