Welcome to the Massachusetts DUI-Drunk Driving Lawyer website. Kantrovitz & Associates.  Our lawyers are committed to protecting the rights of citizens accused of DUI (Driving Under the Influence), DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and OWI (Operating While Intoxicated).

While Kantrovitz & Associates DUI attorneys in no way condone the act of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, we stand by each citizen’s constitutional right to a fair trial and effective legal representation. The following information is provided to help people understand the impact of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the punishments associated with the offense, and the defense strategies that a skilled attorney can provide.

The Law and Penalties

As of March 2003, all fifty states set a limit at which a person is considered “under the influence” or intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle. This limit is determined by an individual’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). BAC is related to a combination of factors including the amount of alcohol consumed, the rate at which it was consumed, the time period for consumption, and the type of alcohol ingested. Currently, thirty-four states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have set their BAC limit as .08%. Nationwide, there is a movement to make the .08% BAC the standard by which intoxication is measured.

If you are charged with DUI, your BAC was .08% or more when arrested and if you are convicted there are serious and face long-term consequences. The loss of your driver’s license, vehicle impoundment, increased insurance costs or cancellation of your policy. You will be responsible for attorney fees, court fines and may face jail time. A DUI conviction can impact your existing and future employment. Many states have “per se laws” that allow licenses to be taken prior to conviction if a driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test. These administrative license suspensions are completely independent of your conviction of drunk driving. Once convicted, most states permit offenders to drive only if their vehicles are equipped with ignition interlocks (to analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition when alcohol is detected).

Prior DUI convictions, speeding and involvement in an accident increase the seriousness of the sentence. If there were “enhancement” factors such as a child passenger in the vehicle, or driving while intoxicated in a school zone, penalties will increase accordingly. The charge may be elevated to a felony in many states if any significant personal injury was inflicted. If someone dies as a result of DUI, manslaughter and in some states, murder charges can be filed.

Suspicion and Arrest

In order to detain you, police officers must have a reason to suspect you of driving under the influence. Suspicious behaviors range from speeding, to failure to maintain lanes (weaving), to failing to signal lane changes and erratic driving. An officer is not required to have an articulable suspicion to stop you for DUI at a sobriety checkpoint (provided the roadblock followed prescribed legal procedures).

Once stopped, the officer will request (and you must provide) your driver’s license and proof of car insurance. If the officer detects the odor of alcohol, you will probably be asked if you’ve been drinking. This may be followed by a combination of field sobriety tests. These standardized tests usually consist of a combination of: 1) the One Legged Stand, 2) the finger-to-nose test, 3) the Walk and Turn Test, or 4) the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test. Blood, breath and urine tests may also be performed. States vary in the penalty for refusing to submit to blood, breath or urine tests including; automatic suspension of your driver’s license for a period of time (even if you are found innocent of the DUI charge) or additional criminal charges.

Defending Your Rights

If you have been cited for DUI and have thought about defending yourself – think about the police and prosecution whose job is to know the law and prove your guilt. Your life and future can be severely affected by the outcome of this process, so it is critical to have knowledgeable counsel by your side to:

• analyze the facts of your case and how they relate to the law,

• ensure that proper procedures were followed in stopping, testing and charging you,

• maneuver through a complicated maze of procedural, evidentiary, constitutional, sentencing and administrative issues, and

• negotiate a lesser charge or reduction of penalties.

At any phase of the DUI process, an experienced attorney may find an error to help in your defense. You may have been stopped for reasons that are unrelated to alcohol or drug consumption, and were then arrested for impaired driving. While the police will provide detail on driving violations that led to your initial stop, your lawyer can counter by illustrating that your driving problems were not due to alcohol-related impairment.

A skilled attorney recognizes that many factors can contribute to failure in field sobriety tests. Did the police follow the correct standards for test administration and scoring? Were you asked to recite the alphabet with no instruction as to speed – then failed because your recitation was too slow? Perhaps you passed several tests, but were convicted because you failed one. Chemical tests can be flawed or unreliable.

Perhaps the breath test machine may not have been properly calibrated or maintained. Inadequate lighting, uneven pavement, poor weather, or any number of factors may have contributed to your test failure.

Sobriety checkpoints are particularly complex problem requiring expertise on appropriate procedures. Only an expert in the field of DUI law can defend your rights and evaluate the strength of proof against you. Kantrovitz & Associates DUI Law attorneys respect our constitution’s presumption of innocence. This is our premise for providing compassionate, truthful and objective representation to our clients. Contact us today at  Please contact us in Boston today at (800) 295-1115, or reach us via email at: info@kantrovitzlaw.com.