Not Guilty Verdict by Jury in OUI Trial

Brett D. Lovins won an acquittal for his client charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (OUI/DUI) after a jury trial in the Woburn District Court.

On the evening at issue, Brett’s client was acting as the designated driver for a friend and was rear-ended by another driver, suffering extensive vehicular damage and personal injuries, including a concussion. His client was ultimately arrested at the scene. At trial, Brett introduced witness testimony of the passenger in his client’s car, who testified that the client had been the designated driver that evening and any odor of alcohol detected by the responding officer was from the passenger witness, not the client driver. Brett further introduced post-accident emergency room medical records documenting his client’s injuries to corroborate the defense that any difficulties his client faced during the field sobriety tests were the result of the head injuries he had just suffered and the trauma response resulting from the significant accident.  

The jury deliberated for less than a half-hour before returning the Not Guilty verdict in favor of Brett’s client.