Boston DUI Lawyers Blog
An assistant football coach at Wayland High School was arrested last weekend on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges following his teams victory that evening.
The Wayland coach was charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol at his arraignment in Framingham District Court earlier this week.
According to police, the defendant almost veered into a police cruiser after he allegedly crossed the double yellow lines. The officer pulled over the vehicle and reportedly smelled an odor of alcohol from the vehicle and the operator slurring his words. In his report, the officer also alleged that the defendant admitted to having a few beers prior to being pulled over.
The defendant also reportedly agreed to perform Field Sobriety Tests. Although he allegedly failed two, but passed the Nine Step Walk and Turn Test, which is arguably the most “difficult” of these ridiculous ‘tests’. Nonetheless, the fact that the officer admitted that he ‘passed’ one out of three field sobriety tests does significant harm to the prosecutions case.
Notably, it is within your legal right to refuse to submit to any field sobriety tests.
The reality is that drinking and driving is not a crime. The consumption of alcohol and driving only becomes a criminal act when the alcohol impairs the driver’s ability to operate a vehicle safely. Although evidence of and even an admission of having consumed alcohol is not ideal, that fact is not fatal to a DUI / OUI defense.
In the totality of these circumstances, it appears that the only evidence of erratic operation is the single veering into the opposite lane, for which there could be numerous innocent explanations. For example, the driver could have been distracted with his cell phone; was trying to light a cigarette; was changing the music station; or was simply just tired.
Unfortunately for OUI /DUI defendants, the public immediately convicts anyone and everyone simply arrested for drunk driving, without consideration of all the innocent facts and circumstances and with complete disregard that all criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Boston DUI / OUI Lawyer Lefteris K. Travayiakis is available 24/7 for consultation on all Massachusetts Drunk Driving Crimes, including Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.
To schedule a Free Consultation, Click Here to Contact a Massachusetts Drunk Driving Lawyer or call 617-325-9500.