Legal Question in DUI Law in Massachusetts
complicated dui question
I was found by campus police out side my car which had crashed, intoxicated. I was not driving and the cops believed me, but the driver had ran from the scene. I was not arrested but am now summoned to court for property damage since it was my car. Can I be charged with a DUI if i do not give up the name of the driver?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: complicated dui question
You could be charged with a DUI regardless of whether you give up the name of the driver. The question is whether you can be CONVICTED of a DUI on these facts. The burden of proof is on the commonwealth. Both you and the driver should be speaking to (separate) attorneys, and you should do so before going to court to answer the summons.
complicated dui question
You can be charged with anything in which the police have probable cause to believe that you did.
The burden of proof is on the Commonwealth prosecutor. If you are being charged with property damage, the inference is that you were the driver or were sufficiently involved to be liable.
There are facts absent from your description. If you could provide me with them, including the substance of the police report, it would be easier to understand the problem.
What ever you do, you should not be speaking to the DA or the police until you speak to an attorney.
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