What’s The Damage For A Fourth Offense OUI?

Being accused of OUI is always a serious situation but what happens if you’ve been accused and convicted of this same charge in the past? This can be an overwhelming situation and one that has very high stakes in the form of serious penalties. It can also be more challenging for you to fight back against this charge if you believe that you were wrongly accused because you have been previously convicted of a similar charge. The support of an experienced Massachusetts OUI defense attorney is necessary.

A fourth offense OUI in Massachusetts involves mandatory jail time on conviction, a possible request for a dangerousness hearing to hold a defendant without bail or a request for bail at the arraignment process. This is alongside the fact that you should be aware of the following things when charged with a fourth offense OUI.

• The arraignment typically includes a bail request and could even include pretrial detention.
• Fourth offenses for OUI in the state of Massachusetts are often connected directly with a jury trial.
• The fourth offense OUI in Massachusetts comes with mandatory jail time and the likelihood of a two-and-a-half-year sentence to the house of correction.

Your fourth offense conviction also means that you could lose your driver’s license for up to 10 years and a fourth offense is a felony in the state of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth is eligible to pursue an indictment and have the case brought to Superior Court in which you would face a higher sentence including state prison time as long as five years.

Respond to an OUI arrest immediately or the penalties, including the loss of your license, can be applied immediately. Any subsequent offense has administrative penalties that might take place immediately.

With these stakes on the line, you can’t afford to make an error and you should always pursue the support of an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer.