Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
It would appear that this Massachusetts driver thought ahead. Realizing that the coming storm would make it difficult to go out and drink, Ms. Tara Tobin (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) got in one last trip just before the snow. The result was not too pretty.
The Yarmouth police say that the Defendant admitted that she had drunk six or seven beers in Dennis before driving.
What happened? The crash took place Tuesday night around 9 p.m..
The unusual part? According to the police, the Defendant, whatever condition she was in, did not cause the accident.
Apparently, a 47-year-old emotionally disturbed man jumped into the path of a Dodge Dakota pickup truck. The truck’s driver swerved to avoid the man and was then rear-ended by the Defendant’s car..
The man suffered serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries and was taken to Cape Cod Hospital, police said.
The Defendant is to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court…whenever it reopens following the storm…for drunk driving.
Let’s all hope she presents a bit better than she did in her “mug shot” which was published at the below link in the original article.
My experience, since 1984, handling drunk driving cases in Massachusetts goes back to my last year at Boston University School of Law as a student prosecutor. The cases, particularly when a breathalyzer is involved come down to issues of perception and prejudice.
I do not mean racial prejudice, but bias based upon indoctrination. Most often, if a police officer pulls you over because he or she feels you are intoxicated, or begins to suspect you are under the influence, you will most likely be charged with
This influence, by the way, can be alcohol, illegal drugs or even legal prescription drugs…to say nothing of any mixture of the three.
In my experience, once suspected of being under the influence, you should assume that the police report will say that you have glassy eyes and slurred speech. Most likely there will also be some kind of odor of alcohol listed.
That said, consider yourself under arrest. Any other descriptive is gravy for the Commonwealth. This is why it is usually a mistake to submit to any tests. Granted, if you pass the breathalyzer, for example, it will help you down the road. However, it will probably not prevent your being arrested. If you do not pass it, it will surely hurt you down the road.
Given the amount of vehicular homicides last year due to drunk driving allegations, victims sometimes being police officers, you are not likely to receive a “break” from the officer.
So don’t ask for one. Said request will simply be treated like an admission of guilt by the prosecution.
And, yes, there will be a prosecution.
The advice in these cases is to not quarrel with the officer, or try to outwit or outrun the officer.
Simply remain polite, do not make statements (except name, license, etc.), and get an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
If you would like to discuss such a matter with me, please feel to call me to arrange a free initial consultation at 617-492-3000.
To view the original story, and charming photograph about which parts of this blog were based, please go to : http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/01/by_john_r_ellem_29.html
