Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney Lewin’s string of successful defense of Operating After Suspension of License charges continued full steam ahead in August of 2021. Attorney Lewin appeared in Lowell District Court on August 4, 2021 and was successful in having two clients avoid being prosecuted for operating after suspension.
HZ’s Case
HZ’s case: HZ is a 38 year old permanent resident alien from China living in Lowell. He has a Doctorate in Bio Medical Engineering and is employed as a principal research engineer at a bio-tech company. In 2019 Dr. Z got a ticket for a marked lanes violation and he failed to pay the ticket. As a result the Registry suspended his license. He claimed not to have received any notice of the suspension. On August 26, 2020 Dr. Z was operating his car on Route 495 in Chelmsford. Suddenly the car in front of him came to a stop and Dr. Z could not stop in time and rear ended the stopped car in front of him. The police responded to the scene and when they ran Dr. Z’s license it came back as suspended. The police issued Dr. Z a citation for Operating After Suspension of License and for Following too Closely (a civil violation). Dr. Z – to his credit – immediately went to the Registry and paid the outstanding ticket from 2019 and he paid a reinstatement fee and got his license reinstated. Dr. Z also sent the citation in to Lowell District Court to request a hearing. Because of covid-19 getting a hearing date was substantially delayed. Finally Dr. Z received a notice from Lowell District Court that his hearing on the State Police Application for a criminal complaint against him was scheduled for August 4, 2021. Dr. Z sought out a lawyer and met with (via zoom) and hired Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin immediately contacted Dr. Z’s insurance company to make certain that the person whose car Dr. Z rear ended had been paid for their property damage in full. Attorney Lewin obtained written confirmation from the insurance company of the payment in full. Attorney Lewin obtained a copy of the police report. Attorney Lewin also obtained written verification from the Registry that Dr. Z had paid the outstanding ticket from 2019 and that his license was fully reinstated by the Registry.
On August 4, 2021 Dr. Z and Attorney Lewin appeared on the third floor of the new Lowell Courthouse for Dr. Z’s hearing. Because he is not a citizen it was important for Dr. Z to avoid a criminal complaint from being issued against him. At 10:00 am Dr. Z and Attorney L:ewin were called into the hearing room. The State Police Prosecutor read the police report. The Clerk-Magistrate then turned to Attorney Lewin. Attorney Lewin explained the cause for the suspension and presented the records from the Registry that the old ticket had been paid and that Dr. Z had his license reinstated by the Registry. In addition Attorney Lewin presented the documentation from the insurance company to show that the damage to the other vehicle had been paid in full. Attorney Lewin explained that Dr. Z had no criminal record and Attorney Lewin requested that the Clerk-Magistrate not issue a criminal complaint.
The Clerk-Magistrate then made the following rulings: (1) There was no probable cause to issue a criminal complaint for driving after suspension and NO criminal complaint would be issued and (2) the Clerk-Magistrate found Dr. Z NOT responsible of the civil traffic violation of following too closely. It was a complete win.
KA’s Case
KA’s case: KA is a 27 year old woman from Haverhill who is employed as a Registered Nurse. On August 26, 2020 KA was driving home from from work at 12:30 in the morning (having just finished a late shift) when she was pulled over by the State Police on Route 3 south in Chelmsford for speeding. When the police ran her license it came back as suspended. It turns out that her license had been suspended on July 26, 2020 for “seven surchargeable events” for a 60 day period. It turns out that the Registry had sent KA two notices about her license. One notice told her that her license was suspended effective July 26, 2020 for 60 days for the seven surchargeable events. The second notice told her that the Registry intended to suspend her license effective September 24, 2020 but that she could avoid the suspension by taking a safe driver course. The two notices create confusion. One says the license is suspended; and one says the license will be suspended but that suspension can be avoided by taking the course. In any event the police gave KA a citation for operating after suspension (a criminal offense) and for speeding (a civil violation). KA contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover and Attorney Lewin told KA to immediately bring the ticket to Lowell District Court to request a hearing. KA did that. Attorney Lewin also told KA to take the safe driver course and get her license reinstated. KA took the course, paid her reinstatement fee, and got her license fully reinstated. Attorney Lewin ran a copy of KA’s driving record that showed the two notices. Attorney Lewin obtained copies of the two suspension notices.
On August 4, 2021 KA and Attorney Lewin appeared at Lowell District Court for her Clerk-Magistrate hearing. Attorney Lewin had all the documentation from the registry to show that KA had taken her required course, had paid the reinstatement fee, and had got her license fully reinstated. In addition Attorney Lewin pointed out to the Clerk-Magistrate that KA had no criminal record. In addition Attorney Lewin showed the Clerk-Magistrate the notice from the Registry of intent to suspend KA’s license and Attorney Lewin pointed out how confusing it is when a person receives two notices on the same date from the Registry one suspending the license and one saying the license is going to be suspended but the suspension can be avoided by taking a course.
The Clerk-Magistrate then made the following rulings: (1) There was no probable cause to issue a criminal complaint for driving after suspension and NO criminal complaint would be issued and (2) the Clerk-Magistrate found KA NOT responsible of the civil traffic violation of speeding. It was a complete win.
Summary
Both of the above cases were successfully won at the Clerk-Magistrate hearing because both cases were fully prepared. Wins at a Clerk-Magistrate hearing on a criminal case are important because they avoid a criminal record and they avoid having to return to court before a judge charged with a criminal offense. Attorney Lewin – as he always does – had obtained all the necessary papers and presented them to the Clerk-Magistrate in a thorough and convincing way. Both Dr. Z and KA gave Attorney Lewin 5 star reviews on GOOGLE for his thorough preparation. Both clients left the Court with NO criminal record and both were very happy with the result.