Between the flashing lights and panicked thoughts, a first DU/OUI offense is always a stressful experience. But even if you’re arrested and charged with DUI, it doesn’t mean you’ll be found guilty in a court of law. You’re innocent until proven guilty. Not even a failed breathalyzer test is conclusive evidence of guilt since any number of variables could produce invalid results.
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A first offense DUI conviction will result in a loss of your license to drive. It’s likely that your license was already suspended at the time of arrest from failing or refusing a breathalyzer test. If this suspension has concluded, a conviction will lead to a new and separate suspension. This is the most likely scenario since there’s a 30-day suspension for failing the breath test, and a 180-day suspension for refusing the test (for a first offense). Court cases tend to take longer than this to resolve.
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OUI and DUI laws in Massachusetts follow the same basic guidelines, no matter whether it’s your first DUI or your fifth. Drivers who operate a motor vehicle on a public roadway—or any area with a public right of access—while their ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drugs are “driving under the influence” and can be charged with an OUI/DUI.  
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Declining an OUI or DUI breath test in Massachusetts is not a crime.  Doing so prevents the prosecution from acquiring potentially incriminating evidence that can be used against you if you are charged with DUI/OUI.  Breath test refusal means nothing in court on its own, and the prosecution will not even be allowed to reference the fact that you declined to take the test. 
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Getting charged with a DUI/OUI leaves you in an incredibly difficult situation. Your driver’s license is suspended, you may have just spent a night in jail, and now you’ve got an arraignment to deal with (and eventually, a formal trial to prepare for). If this is your first DUI charge, then you’re also in uncharted territory; you may feel adrift at sea without so much as a compass to point you in a coherent direction.
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Do you lose your license immediately after a DUI / OUI in the state of Massachusetts? Yes. In general, it will not be legal for you to drive immediately after an arrest or conviction for a first DUI in Massachusetts (where the local term is OUI, or “Operating Under the Influence”). Arrests and convictions both involve having your license to drive suspended for a set period of time. 
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A police officer is free to ask anyone—whether you’re in the driver’s seat, passenger seat, or just loitering near a vehicle—to take a breath test. This doesn’t mean you are required to take it, or that the results of such a test would be usable against you in court. There’s a strong argument to be made that a breath test is a search under the Fourth Amendment. Like with any other search, an individual can always consent voluntarily to a breath test. 
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We frequently hear from individuals who have prior DUI / OUI convictions on their permanent record, and are seeking a way to have them removed. Is it possible? In short, the answer is that this is not easy or likely in most cases.  But can a DUI be expunged at all in the state of Massachusetts? Technically, it is possible for any criminal conviction in MA to be expunged if it fits an uncommon and specifically defined set of circumstances.
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Q: How Long Does a DUI Stay on Your Record in Massachusetts? A: Individual state laws always determine the length of time that a DUI stays on your record. However, the first thing to understand is that you actually have two individual records where a conviction for DUI will be recorded: your driving record and your criminal record. 
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If you’ve recently received a notice like this in the mail, you may have questions about its legitimacy or what it might mean for your previous criminal OUI case. First of all, YES, this is an authentic notice from the court system of Massachusetts. It was sent to let you know that you may be entitled to have a prior conviction for OUI in Massachusetts overturned and permanently removed from your record.
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Ignition Interlock Devices, or “IIDs,” are essentially personal breathalyzer devices that are intended to prevent a drunk individual from starting a car. An IID is temporarily installed in the motor vehicles of many people recently convicted of OUI so as to require the driver to pass a breath test of their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) before the vehicle will be able to start.
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It’s well-known that Massachusetts OUI penalties already stand among the tougher sets of consequences in the nation, with the highest maximum potential jail time for first offenders among all U.S. states.  The penalties for a first offense OUI in Massachusetts could potentially include: 
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Massachusetts OUI law is very clear on the status of third offenses. Unlike first and second offenses, there is no possible chance of receiving a lenient alternative 24D disposition—even if your first or second convictions are decades old, out of state, or were resolved with a CWOF (Continuance Without a Finding).
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From license suspensions to courtroom evidence, breath test results can have a massive impact on the outcome of OUI charges in Massachusetts. Generally speaking, there are three possible results of a breathalyzer test as pertains to the court: a failed test, a passed test, and a refused test.
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Out-of-state residents who are charged with OUI in Mass will have to navigate a few unique legal scenarios. This is partially because of the strict nature of the local OUI laws in Massachusetts—the state with the most potential jail time for first offenders—but also because of how Massachusetts interacts with other states. Let’s break it down.
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