DUI Lawyer in Plymouth, MA

A traffic stop on Route 44 or near the waterfront can move fast. One moment you are answering questions through your window, the next you are asked to blow into a device or step out for field tests. If you are now facing an OUI charge, what happened in those few minutes matters more than most people realize. Working with a DUI lawyer in Plymouth, MA, early gives you a real chance to understand what the evidence shows and where it may fall short.

What the Breath Test Does and Does Not Prove

The Device Is Not Infallible

Massachusetts uses the Draeger Alcotest 9510 for breath testing. Courts here have scrutinized this device extensively, and for a period, breath test results were excluded from evidence statewide due to calibration failures. That history matters.

Even when a result comes in, we examine whether the device was properly certified, whether the officer followed the required observation period, and whether anything in the testing environment could have skewed the reading.

When There Is No Breath Test at All

Some people assume that refusing the breath test removes the state’s case. Under M.G.L. c. 90, § 24, prosecutors can still pursue a conviction based on observed impairment: how you drove, how you spoke, how you performed on field sobriety tests, and what the officer documented. A DUI lawyer in Plymouth, MA, with courtroom experience knows that no breath test changes the case, but it does not end it.

Refusal Has Its Own Consequences

Driving in Massachusetts means you have implicitly consented to chemical testing if arrested for OUI. If you refused, the RMV treats that as a separate administrative matter, independent of your criminal case.

For a first refusal, adults face a 180-day license suspension from the RMV alone, whether or not they are ever convicted. A second refusal tied to a prior OUI history jumps to three years. The suspension and the criminal charge run on separate tracks, and both need attention at the same time.

As a DUI lawyer in Plymouth, MA, we handle both sides. Getting ahead of the administrative process early can affect your ability to seek a hardship license while your criminal case is still pending.

What the First Few Weeks Actually Look Like

Most people charged with OUI in Plymouth are released the same night and told to appear in Plymouth District Court for arraignment. That first date is where formal charges are entered, and bail conditions are set.

We pull the police report, dispatch logs, and any available video. We look at whether the stop was lawful, whether field sobriety instructions were given correctly, and whether the charge level reflects what happened. A DUI lawyer in Plymouth, MA, who starts working early is in a far better position than one who gets involved at the last minute.

Reach Out to Riccio Law Today

You do not have to sort through this alone. Riccio Law represents clients facing OUI charges in Plymouth and across Massachusetts. Call (617) 404-8878 or reach out through our contact form to talk through your situation.