Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

citations

My husband was stopped by the police, when the officer came to the window and asked my husband for his license and registration, my husband gaave it to him. before he even walked away from our window he said to my husband, ''you realize that your vehicle is not insured so that makes your vehicle unregistered'' my husband said he was aware of that because we just got the letter in the mail. My question is why would he have run the license plate before he stopped us? He didn't even give us a reason why he pulled us over, we were not speeding or anything like that.Can they just run your license plate for the heck of it? Also on the ticket he gave my husband there's a box on it that says accident, check yes or no and the officer checked off yes, there was no accident, we had just pulled out of the supermarket parking lot from shopping. What do we do about that because I believe my husband has to go to court because he was cited for uninsured vehicle and revoked registration and I believe it's criminal not civil. The officer also checked of no for the box that said mv search and he informed us that the vehicle was searched. I feel something is wrong somewhere, we did nothing to provoke being pulled over and wasn't told why. thank you


Asked on 1/18/07, 10:58 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
henry lebensbaum Law Offices of Henry Lebensbaum (978-749-3606)

Re: citations

The officer can run plate checks. It is fairly common. There is nothing that I know the prohibits it.

The check box on the accident, could have been a mistake.

Filing these chaeges is not uncommon. I suggest that your husband appear at his arraignment with proff that the car is insured and registered. THis may allow the basis for a dismissal with costs.

If you have any questions, call me.

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Answered on 1/18/07, 11:24 am
Martha Kovner Law Offices of Martha J. Kovner

Re: citations

There is case law right on point that an officer can run any plate they want--there does not have to be a reason. Regarding the uninsured part of case, the outcome will be dependent upon whether your husband has a prior criminal record. If the answer is no, the case will most likely be dismissed at arraignment on some small amount of court costs. If the answer is yes, then he may want to consider hiring an attorney to go to the arraignment with him. I hope that this helps, please feel free to contact me further. Martha Kovner

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Answered on 1/18/07, 12:02 pm


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