Operating Under the Influence (OUI)

A person's life changes once arrested for operating under the influence (OUI).

From the unique perspective of having arrested people when he was a police officer to now defending people charged with OUI, Attorney Walckner can attest that most people arrested for drunk driving express an overwhelming concern about:

• embarrassment
• fines and loss of license
• incarceration
• job loss
• impact on parental rights
• impact on student loans and scholarships

People arrested for OUI are afraid for good reason. The laws of Massachusetts provide stiff penalties for those convicted of drunk driving that can include incarceration, substantial fines, and loss of license. Repeat offenders face enhanced penalties with mandatory jail sentences and permanent license complications. The imposition of a license suspension can make work impossible for many. As with other criminal charges, those embroiled in child custody battles stand to have their parental rights affected by an OUI charge.

Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Students Against Dangerous Decisions (SADD) have generated unsympathetic societal views of drunk driving. Those views have materialized into zero-tolerance enforcement policies, grant incentives to police agencies, and a categorical rejection by many prosecutors of plea bargain offers.

Successfully defending against a drunk driving charge requires an attorney who understands more than the law. Unlike many other criminal charges, OUI defense is highly technical.  Knowing how alcohol affects the body, how blood alcohol measurement works, principles of retrograde extrapolation, how field sobriety tests are supposed to be performed, and the problems breath test operators face in utilization of the device are some of the issues a competent OUI defense attorney must be familiar with.  An attorney unfamiliar with the many nuances of OUI defense can mistakenly elicit damaging testimony from a trained officer. 

As a former police officer, Attorney Walckner was certified to perform field sobriety tests and administer infrared breath tests. He participated in numerous OUI arrests and knows how sobriety testing is supposed to occur, how breath tests are supposed to be administered, and how what actually occurs often differs from the protocols officers must follow. With this knowledge, Attorney Walckner can place you in a strategic position to win your case.