Concord OUI Lawyer

When you have been arrested for OUI in Concord or one of the surrounding towns, the most important call you can make is to an attorney who has actually stood in front of the judges and juries who will decide your case. Attorney Michael DelSignore has tried numerous OUI cases — bench trials and jury trials — in the Concord District Court. He knows what leads to not guilty verdicts in this specific courthouse, and he uses that knowledge every time he prepares a case for trial.

Most people who are charged with OUI in Concord are facing their first criminal charge of any kind. They read the police report and believe the case is hopeless. Attorney DelSignore has been sitting across from people in that position for more than 20 years, and the first thing he does is show them what the report does not say — because what an officer leaves out is often as important as what an officer includes.

Dismissed — Motion to Suppress Allowed. The client was stopped at a roadblock in Concord. Attorney DelSignore filed a motion to suppress, arguing the client was unlawfully seized and detained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The motion was granted, and the OUI charge was dismissed entirely.

This result illustrates one of the most powerful defenses available in OUI cases: the challenge to the constitutionality of the stop itself. Concord District Court was selected as the host court for a recent statewide breath test hearing challenging the reliability of the Alcotest 9510 machine. Attorney DelSignore has worked on cases involving this issue, and many clients whose cases were pending during that litigation had their cases stayed or their breath test results challenged as a direct result.

After years of trying cases in Concord District Court, Attorney DelSignore has identified the factors that consistently lead to not guilty verdicts. Understanding these can help a client make an informed decision about whether to take a case to trial:

• Lack of meaningful bad driving. A brief lane violation or forgetting to turn on headlights is not evidence of impairment. People speed every day without being drunk. Judges and juries in Concord know this. What matters is not what the report says the driving looked like, but what a witness can actually testify to in court — and those two things are frequently very different.
• Minimal evidence of alcohol consumption. When a client admits to two beers over the course of an evening, that admission, standing alone, is often not enough to prove impairment beyond a reasonable doubt. The Commonwealth carries the burden of proof. A careful defense holds them to it.
• What happens after the lights come on. From the moment blue lights activate, everything matters: how quickly someone responds and pulls over, whether the stop is gradual and controlled, how a license and registration are retrieved, how someone exits the vehicle. These are the hidden tests officers are trained to observe — and they frequently go in the defendant’s favor. Attorney DelSignore brings these facts out on cross-examination because they do not appear in the police report.

Cases from Concord, Lincoln, Maynard, Lexington, Acton, Stow, Bedford, and Carlisle are all heard in Concord District Court, and each department handles evidence differently. The Lincoln Police Department typically provides video of the booking process. Maynard Police also maintain booking video, though without audio. Knowing this in advance allows Attorney DelSignore to request and review the right materials before making any strategic decisions about the case.

State Police cases within the jurisdiction of Concord Court follow their own procedures for documentation and video preservation. In civilian roadblock cases, the 911 caller or civilian witness may or may not appear in court to testify — and without that testimony, a key piece of the Commonwealth’s case may be unavailable. Attorney DelSignore reviews all of this before advising on the best path forward.

Concord District Court primarily handles misdemeanor charges, including the vast majority of first offense OUI cases. The First Session courtroom — where arraignments and pretrial hearings are heard — is directly to the left when entering the building. The probation department is located directly across from the First Session courtroom. It is essential to check in with probation before court begins on any arraignment date so that the case is properly called.

If a case proceeds to a jury trial, it will be heard in Concord District Court’s trial session, which handles the full jury trial process from selection through verdict. Attorney DelSignore has tried numerous cases through that process in this courthouse.

Attorney DelSignore has published two books on Massachusetts OUI defense, including Understanding Massachusetts OUI Laws, which is available as a free download from the firm’s website. He teaches other lawyers how to defend OUI cases at seminars attended by attorneys from across Massachusetts and around the country. He has been quoted by the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and has appeared on television news segments discussing OUI defense issues that directly affect how cases are tried in courts like Concord.

When other Massachusetts lawyers have a difficult OUI case, they call Attorney DelSignore. That kind of professional recognition reflects not just knowledge, but a commitment to this area of the law that clients can see and feel from the first consultation.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case. Every case is decided on its own facts and evidence. Results may vary depending on the specific circumstances of your situation.