Massachusetts Operating on Suspended License

If I’ve I've been caught driving on a suspended license due to an OUI, what happens?

If you are caught and convicted of driving on a suspended license due to an OUI you are going to end up doing 60 days in jail.  This is a mandatory jail sentence of 60 days in jail if someone is caught after their license is suspended after an OUI. The Commonwealth is extremely serious about license suspensions after a drunk driving charge, and they penalize accordingly. 

However, we have had clients who have been in this situation who have ended up not doing jail time. 

How do you avoid doing jail time and what are the legal defenses?

We have had some clients whose license is suspended for OUI, but they were only initially only charged with driving on a suspended, which carries no mandatory jail time.  When we have a client in that situation, we try to work out a deal as quickly as possible, before the prosescutor catches on to the mandatory 60 days in jail that they are subject to.

That's why if you are charged with an OAS, you should contact us immediately, and see if we can solve this problem quickly and avoid the jail term.

Now what happens if somebody is actually charged up front with OAS-OUI (driving after a suspended due to an OUI), with the mandatory jail sentence?

There are still a number of defenses that we have successfully deployed. There are some cases where if you have no other record and its only a first offense OUI,  sometimes we can find a sympathetic judge or a sympathetic District Attorney that doesn’t really want to throw you in jail. We will negotiate to get the charge reduced for that reason and our client ends up not doing jail time.

Advanced Legal Defenses for OAS after OUI

There are also some technical legal defenses depending on the exact specific reason for the license suspension after the OUI offense.

For example, we have successfully argued to some judges that if our clients license is suspended because they had refused a breath test and not suspended for an actual OUI conviction, we've had our clients have avoided doing the mandatory 60 days in jail.

Also the previous OUI for which the license was suspended has to be from Massachusetts, if it is a Massachusetts OAS charge. We can also fight the case on the technical grounds on the previous triggering offense was in another state so it technically wasn’t an "OUI". OUI, or Operating Under the Influence is the legal term for drunk driving only in Massachusetts (and Maine).

So if the other State calls its drunk driving offense another phrase, whether it is DUI charge in Rhode Island, or a DWI charge in New York, we can use that as a potentially successful defense.

Also you can if we push the Operating on Suspended case to trial, we have successfully argued that they need to get the paperwork from the previous OUI to show that that is what they were convicted of, and we have had judges reduce the charges specifically for that reason.

Contact Us For Help on a Operating on A Suspended License After OUI Charge

If you are charged with an OUI or if your license has been taken away due to an OUI you shouldn’t drive. Really, you are asking for serious trouble.

But if you have been caught driving on a suspended license due to an OUI and your looking at a mandatory sentence of 60 days, there are legal defense options we car pursue. There are no guarantees, but we have successfully found a numbers of possible ways to dispose of the case in a way so that you don’t end up doing the jail time.  
 
 If you are accused of Operating on A Suspended Driver's License after an OUI Charge, please call me for a consultation. My experience in these specific cases can be a huge benefit to you.

 Call me now for a free consultation at (617) 614-9813, and I'll let you know how your cases compares to the many that I've beaten in court.

Sincerely, 

Russell Matson, Attorney at Law

Call Russell Matson's cell phone to talk to a drunk driving / DUI / OUI attorney anytime at (617) 614-9813.