Your Massachusetts DWI Lawyer wants you to be well informed. These 5 myths about Drunk Driving, by William C. Head, should give you food for thought when selecting you own OUI attorney.

Note: These article is for informational purposes only. Please consult your Stephen Jones for legal advice if you are facing issues with the OUI (also known as DUI) law in Massachusetts.

This article was reprinted with permission of TRIAL (March 1993)
Copyright the Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Another consideration is the use of roadside sobriety checkpoints (roadblocks) at which drivers are briefly detained to determine if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. More than 40 states permit this, and the U.S. Supreme Court has given its stamp of approval to this encroachment on our Fourth Amendment rights. A few states like Louisiana and Texas have ruled that their state constitutions provide protection against such arbitrary searches and seizures.

Manifestly unfair judicial decisions have been rendered in many other areas in an effort to stamp out drunk driving. A book could be written about these unfair and unconstitutionally premised state court decisions. Suffice it to say that the judicial system has erected difficult hurdles for practitioners who defend drunk-driving cases.

No attorney likes to hear the word "malpractice." However, I am convinced that faulty representation in these cases is blatant attorney malpractice. Often, the attorney's negligent handling of a drunk-driving case is attributable to a defeatist attitude.

Lawyers must take these cases seriously. Either they must fully educate themselves on this subject so they can provide an effective defense, or they must refer these cases to lawyers with expertise in the field. This will protect these clients from great harm and provide the lawyers with many peaceful nights, free from the concern that they may have improperly advised a client.

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