After an OUI arrest in Massachusetts, the license can go before the case is decided

SWANSEA A driver arrested for operating under the influence in Massachusetts can lose a license within hours, long before a judge or jury decides the case. Chapter 90 of the General Laws sets those early suspensions, along with what happens at arraignment and the penalties for a first conviction.

Two South Coast OUI cases from this week are headed into the courts. A Swansea man charged after his pickup struck a Route 6 home on Saturday, Oct. 24, is expected to be arraigned Monday, Oct. 26, in Fall River District Court, WPRI 12 reported. (Read that story.) In New Bedford, police charged a 73-year-old North Dartmouth man with OUI after a crash with a school bus carrying 15 children on Oct. 21. (Read that story.) The rules below describe the law, not the outcome of any case. Each person charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

At the station: the breath test

Anyone who drives on a public way in Massachusetts is deemed to have consented to a breath or blood test if arrested for OUI, under Section 24 of Chapter 90. A driver may still refuse. When that happens, no test is given, and the officer suspends the license on the spot after warning the driver that a refusal brings a suspension of at least 180 days and up to a lifetime loss.

For a driver 21 or older with no prior OUI record, a refusal means 180 days without a license. The law sets three years for a driver under 21 or with one prior conviction or program assignment, five years with two, and a lifetime loss with three or more. A driver whose license is taken for a refusal may ask the Registry of Motor Vehicles for a hearing within 15 days.

A driver who takes the test and blows .08 or higher, or .02 or higher for anyone under 21, faces a different suspension. It starts the moment the officer hands over a notice of intent to suspend and lasts until the case is resolved, but no longer than 30 days.

At arraignment

An arraignment is the first court date, where the charges are read and the defendant enters a plea. Under Section 24N, if police did not already take the license, the judge does it at arraignment when the prosecutor shows a test result of .08 or more, backed by certification from the person who gave the test. That suspension also runs until the case ends, capped at 30 days. If the prosecutor instead shows that the driver refused the test, the judge takes the license for 180 days for a first-time driver 21 or older, and for longer periods for younger drivers and those with prior convictions.

If the case ends in a conviction

A first OUI conviction carries a fine of $500 to $5,000, up to two and a half years in jail, or both, under Section 24. The law adds a $250 assessment that a court cannot reduce or waive, and $187.50 of it goes to the state Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund.

A conviction also revokes the license. For a first offense, the registrar does not restore it until one year after the conviction. After three months, the driver may ask the registry for a hardship license limited to the same 12-hour stretch each day, for work or school.

First-time defendants, and those whose only prior OUI was 10 or more years earlier, can take a different route once in a lifetime: the program set out in Section 24D. A person charged or convicted who agrees to it is placed on probation for up to two years and must complete a driver alcohol education program. The license is suspended for 45 to 90 days, or 210 days for someone under 21. A judge may also order treatment, and the probation comes on top of any penalty imposed under Section 24.

What happens next in the local cases

The Swansea defendant is expected in Fall River District Court on Monday. The New Bedford court date in the school bus case has not been announced. South Coast 360 News will report each court step as the records become public.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.