Reading Your Massachusetts DUI Police Report

If you have your Massachusetts DUI police report, it is important to understand that without having read hundreds of drunk driving police reports, without knowing what the police are looking for when they make a drunk driving arrest and without knowing the tendencies of the judges in the court where the case will be heard, you cannot accurate access the strength of your case.

In all OUI police reports, the officer only puts the facts that support the decision to arrest you; anything that is favorable to your defense is left out of the police report. Typically, at trial, the police officer will be forced to acknowledge that if something was not mentioned in the police report, it is a sign that you were not under the influence of alcohol. This is referred as impeachment by omission by lawyers.

• Police Training on OUI cases

When I question a police officer at trial, many of my questions are based on what I know about the officers training. For example, I understand that the officer is taught to look for a motorist having trouble getting out of their car, fumbling for their license and registration and not responding promptly to questions of the officer. If there is no mention of a motorist having any of these difficulties it helps undermine the officer’s opinion that the motorist was under the influence. The key to reading police reports is to understand the officer will rarely come out and say what a motorist did correctly or what evidence was inconsistent with the arrest decision. It is my experience handling these cases and knowing the police training that helps me to challenge the officer’s opinion.

When I review a police report, I have hundreds of cases to compare your case with and other cases that I have won at trial before a judge or juries. It is important to understand that only an experienced Massachusetts DUI attorney can provide you with an accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your case.

Call Massachusetts DUI attorney Michael DelSignore at 508-455-4755 or 781-686-5924 to discuss your case. Most calls are answered personally.