Probably saw the late first round reach last night and himself reached for a few more beers.
Bourque/DWI
Bourque/DWI
45 days on top of the administrative 180-day penalty for refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test.Huh? A 45 day license suspension and no guilty charge in exchange for a year probation is hardly standard. And a lot of states have mandatory jail sentences and ignition locks for blowing twice the legal limit, let alone three times it.
Edit: I will amend by obviously stating I don't know the laws in all states, just the ones of lived in, which doesn't include Massachusetts. If that's standard for Mass, that's pretty sad.
Put away the pitchforks, folks. As background, I'm an attorney and a former assistant district attorney.Huh? A 45 day license suspension and no guilty charge in exchange for a year probation is hardly standard. And a lot of states have mandatory jail sentences and ignition locks for blowing twice the legal limit, let alone three times it.
Edit: I will amend by obviously stating I don't know the laws in all states, just the ones of lived in, which doesn't include Massachusetts. If that's standard for Mass, that's pretty sad.
Good stuff. I think PP was saying that MA goes light on OUI offenders relative to other states, though, not that Ray was given the golden pillow treatment.Put away the pitchforks, folks. As background, I'm an attorney and a former assistant district attorney.
Ray's disposition is a standard first time OUI offender plea pursuant to MGL Ch. 90 Sect. 24. Penalties include a menu of fines, fees and offender education classes not specified in any of the reports I've read (they generally aren't). The .249 BAC is NOT the worst I've seen to receive this disposition. (Also, not to quibble, but to say Ray was "three times over the limit" [.08] is, medically speaking, completely wrong for a number of reasons I won't delve into here).
The 45 day suspension is absolutely standard, no surprises there. In fact, should his attorney seek to have his license restored under the hardship provisions (DMV), it's likely Ray could have his license back much sooner. As a prosecutor, when a first-time OUI defendant, or his/her attorney, offered me a green sheet (plea form) with this disposition, I would sign it 100% of the time as this is the maximum sentence a trial court judge would impose even if the Commonwealth prevailed at trial. My opinion is that Ray did not receive the golden pillow treatment by either the District Attorney or trial court judge; he simply got what numerous other OUI offenders receive per the MGL statute.
Yes. I lived in VA for a long time. That would have been a year suspension, 15 days in jail and an ignition lock, even for a first offense. I know VA is known to be somewhat Draconian, but I assumed most states fell somewhere a little south of that. 45 day suspension, especially for a number that high, seems crazy to me. I' in NH now and have a friend that just got busted at a .11 and even he lost it for 6 months.Good stuff. I think PP was saying that MA goes light on OUI offenders relative to other states, though, not that Ray was given the golden pillow treatment.
That's where I am.Yes. I lived in VA for a long time. That would have been a year suspension, 15 days in jail and an ignition lock, even for a first offense. I know VA is known to be somewhat Draconian, but I assumed most states fell somewhere a little south of that. 45 day suspension, especially for a number that high, seems crazy to me. I' in NH now and have a friend that just got busted at a .11 and even he lost it for 6 months.
Don't judge, we've all been there.That's where I am.
If I read the statutes right, Bourquw would have been charged with a felony in NH.
Getting to .25 requires an unbelievable fuckton of drinking. .25 is also within spitting distance of possibly killing yourself.
It all depends on the fact pattern of the incident of course. Mass. may have been settled by Puritans, but jurisprudence has moved away from focusing on the offenders' sin to offender rehabilitation. Obviously, OUIs resulting serious injury, damage or death can result in sentencing multipliers. As I mentioned above, I would accept a first-offender continuance without a finding plea on an OUI, no matter how high the BAC level, without a second thought (note that MA statute already allows for more severe penalties for "second and subsequent offenses" and multipliers like injury or death; too many OUIs = prison time if convicted). (Note: "CWOF", aka admission of sufficient facts -- is not the same as a guilty finding, which remains on your CORI forever; a "CWOF" allows the case to be "dismissed" after successfully completing a certain amount of probation, usually 6 months.)Yes. I lived in VA for a long time. That would have been a year suspension, 15 days in jail and an ignition lock, even for a first offense. I know VA is known to be somewhat Draconian, but I assumed most states fell somewhere a little south of that. 45 day suspension, especially for a number that high, seems crazy to me. I' in NH now and have a friend that just got busted at a .11 and even he lost it for 6 months.
Just a rough estimate, but .25 BAC works out to about 5 shots of whiskey over about 4 hours of drinking for a 220 lb man. Or thereabouts. Certainly nowhere near alcohol poisoning/comatose/near death levels.That's where I am.
If I read the statutes right, Bourquw would have been charged with a felony in NH.
Getting to .25 requires an unbelievable fuckton of drinking. .25 is also within spitting distance of possibly killing yourself.
And this is the reason I always tell anybody that will listen to always fight traffic tickets. If everyone fought their traffic tickets, the system would get bogged down and they would be forced to severely reduce the number of tickets issued.Rarely considered by laymen are the notions of efficiency and time standards. For example, prosecuting every offense to the trial phase would result in a meltdown in the criminal justice system; the district court (jurisdiction in garden variety OUIs) is the filter that flushes out as many cases as possible (via, e.g., pleas) so that such a meltdown/gridlock does not occur. Also, judges are under a great deal of pressure from "Boston" (the Trial Court brass) to meet time standards: cases must make their way through the system within a certain time frame to preserve efficiency. Hence, mechanisms such as Ray's "CWOF" are an effective, if imperfect, means by which to keep the system running smoothly.
Agree. Unlikely this would cause PD stop writing tickets -- police aren't terribly concerned about actually prosecuting cases, that's the DA or magistrate's problem -- but just showing up to contest a citation usually results in the judge/magistrate at least reducing the fine to something less unsavory. Judges tend to adopt King Solomon's baby-splitting method just to get the detritus off their goddamn docket.And this is the reason I always tell anybody that will listen to always fight traffic tickets. If everyone fought their traffic tickets, the system would get bogged down and they would be forced to severely reduce the number of tickets issued.
Police Officers would definitely reduce the tickets they write, they would not possibly be able to show up to court for the amount of time required to defend the citation volume. I mean, they could just not show up, but in that case all of those tickets get tossed anyway.Agree. Unlikely this would cause PD stop writing tickets -- police aren't terribly concerned about actually prosecuting cases, that's the DA or magistrate's problem -- but just showing up to contest a citation usually results in the judge/magistrate at least reducing the fine to something less unsavory. Judges tend to adopt King Solomon's baby-splitting method just to get the detritus off their goddamn docket.
Wow, that's not even remotely accurate. It's not near poisoning/death levels, but the liver handles a drink in about an hour. There's no way a 220 lb man is at .25 BAC after 4 hours and five drinks. I understand you're a prosecutor in these kinds of things, but that's extremely inaccurate. A .25 BAC is a lot of drinking. Five drinks over four hours does not get a man to .25 unless he has a severe problem with his liver.Just a rough estimate, but .25 BAC works out to about 5 shots of whiskey over about 4 hours of drinking for a 220 lb man. Or thereabouts. Certainly nowhere near alcohol poisoning/comatose/near death levels.
This is very very wrong. Death becomes possible around .28Just a rough estimate, but .25 BAC works out to about 5 shots of whiskey over about 4 hours of drinking for a 220 lb man. Or thereabouts. Certainly nowhere near alcohol poisoning/comatose/near death levels.
That is pretty consistent with this and a few other charts I found via google:This is very very wrong. Death becomes possible around .28
5 drinks for a 220 lb man brings you to around .10
You're correct, my rough estimate was off the mark. And I'm not trying to minimize Ray's drinking or culpability. At that level, he was without a doubt intoxicated regardless of the number of beverages, had no business getting behind the wheel, placed lives in jeopardy, and everyone involved was lucky to wake up whole the next day.Wow, that's not even remotely accurate. It's not near poisoning/death levels, but the liver handles a drink in about an hour. There's no way a 220 lb man is at .25 BAC after 4 hours and five drinks. I understand you're a prosecutor in these kinds of things, but that's extremely inaccurate. A .25 BAC is a lot of drinking. Five drinks over four hours does not get a man to .25 unless he has a severe problem with his liver.
They can appear, but most departments have a duty officer assigned to the courthouse to handle motor vehicle violations such as speeding tickets and who appears on behalf of all that department's officers, e.g., in magistrates' hearings. The burden on the issuing officer to appear usually does not apply unless the citation is tied to another charge, such as reckless operation or some other criminal violation and his/her appearance is necessary to further the prosecution.Police Officers would definitely reduce the tickets they write, they would not possibly be able to show up to court for the amount of time required to defend the citation volume. I mean, they could just not show up, but in that case all of those tickets get tossed anyway.