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Melanie's Law - Massachusetts OUI Law Changes

What is Melanie's Law?

The state of Massachusetts passed "Melanie's Law" on October 28, 2005, which added a number of new, harsher penalties to the drunk driving laws in the state.

The biggest changes are

• An ignition interlock device requirement for license reinstatement after a 2nd or greater offense conviction. Even if a prior conviction is decades old!
• Consecutive license suspension durations adding together the suspension time for any conviction and breath test refusal.
• Harsher license suspensions for underage (under 21) drivers

(For the full list of all Massachusetts OUI Penalties, see my MA DUI laws page.)

Some of the new changes to Massachusetts Drunk Driving / OUI laws are as follows:

For First Offenders (1st Offense) Massachusetts DUI/OUI:

• No longer 15 day temporary license
• May impound your car for 12 hours

If You Refused the Breath Test:

• License Suspension consecutive with any OUI conviction penalty if convicted
• Under 21 Breath Test refusal 1st OUI offense - 3 year license suspension (also see my underage OUI penalties page)

The Breath Test refusal penalty is a 180 day license suspension (no change with Melanie's Law, other than the consecutive license suspension)

If you are Found Guilty:

• Under 21 with BAC of over .20 must attend a 14-day second offender in-house program

For Second Offenders (2nd Offense) Massachusetts DUI/OUI:

If You Refused the Breath Test:

• 3 Year License Suspension, consecutive with any OUI conviction penalty
• Under 21 Breath Test refusal 2nd OUI offense - 5 year license suspension

If you are Found Guilty:

• Not eligible for work/school hardship license for 1 year (+3 additional years of if you refused the breath test)
• As of 1/1/06, Ignition Interlock device installed in your car at your own expense for 2 years as a condition of license reinstatement.

For Third Offense (3rd Offense) OUI Massachusetts OUI / Drunk Driving

If You Refused the Breath Test:

• Under 21 Breath Test refusal 3rd OUI offense - Lifetime license suspension

If you are Found Guilty:

• They can seize, keep, and sell your vehicle for a third or subsequent OUI offense..
• Not eligible for work/school hardship license for 2 year (+5 additional years of if you refused the breath test)
• The Registry may cancel your registration while your license is suspended for a third or subsequent OUI offense.

New OUI Related Laws

• If you live outside of Massachusetts, you may take an eligible treatment program in your state as part of your penalty.
• Committing OUI-related offenses while having a license suspended or revoked for OUI-related reasons (OUI, vehicular homicide, OUI with serious injury,  OUI or homicide in a boat, or vehicular manslaughter)  Penalty for conviction - mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year, to be served consecutively to any other sentence. 
• Your vehicle may be forfeited for a 4th (fourth) offense OUI or subsequent offense.
• Child Endangerment by Operating Under the Influence - If you are convicted of an OUI while a child under 14 is in the car, their is an additional penalty of a license loss of 1 year (consecutive with any other license loss period). Mandatory 6 months in jail for a 2nd offense, and a 3 year license loss (consecutive)

Other Related New Laws Passed As Part of Melanie's Law

• Knowingly hiring an unlicensed person to operate a motor vehicle - Penalty for conviction, license suspension for 1 year
• Knowingly providing a motor vehicle to an unlicensed person - Penalty for conviction, license suspension for 1 year
• Lifetime license revocation for vehicular homicide involving OUI, felony vehicular homicide after a prior OUI offense, or OUI with serious injury, or vehicular manslaughter.
• Increase mandatory minimum sentence for manslaughter by motor vehicle to 5 years in jail.
• First Offense Vehicular Homicide license suspension increases from 10 to 15 years.

Also see my Massachusetts OUI Laws page for the full details on all DUI laws in MA.

Has Melanie's Law made a difference in drunk driving  prevention or deterrence in Massachusetts?

Is the new law working to reduce the number of drunk drivers on Massachusetts roads? This is an interesting question, which no one can really answer so far.  I'd like to see statistics from 2006.

Drunk driving arrests and fatalities have been dropping for years, well before the passage of Melanie's Law.

Some of the many gaps that Melanie's law did not address include:

• no increased alcohol treatment programs for chronic drunk drivers, particularly those in jail,
• no additional cops on the street for deterrence value or additional patrols and arrests

We may find out that one of the factors from the law is simply PR value, and increased public awareness of the consequences of drunk driving. Publicity has been huge. Politicians get significant mileage out of being "tough on drunk drivers". News stories are very popular with the public. The major local newspapers run them frequently.  The Patriot Ledger notes drunk driving arrests every week,  prominently.

The public attention may ultimately be a far bigger factor that any direct value from the law in deterrence or attempts to  keep multiple drunk driving offenders behind bars.

-Russ Matson

For more information about the changes to Massachusetts OUI / DUI / Drunk Driving Laws and Registry of Motor Vehicle license suspension rules, or additional comments on Melanie's Law, contact MA DUI Lawyer Russell Matson at (781)380-7730.

If you've been arrested for OUI in Massachusetts, please contact me for a free legal  consultation. (781)380-7730.

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