>>I was under the impression that Constitutional protections didn’t apply in these cases because a DUI offense is a motor vehicle violation, not a crime.
How in the world could you ever come up with that?
DUI IS a crime. Motor vehicle violations are almost always a crime as well.
my co-worker has been arrested 3 times for OUI.
each time he has been sentences as a first offender.
The third time, all within a 15 year span, the court again gave him a 1st offender sentence, drunk school and 90 days suspended or whatever.
the DMV on the other hand said NO, THIRD offense and suspended his license for 8 years.
The DMV here in MA is above the law.
A DUI by itself (I’m not talking about vehicular homicide, for example) is not a criminal offense in my state. I’ll bet it’s not a criminal offense in MOST states. There’s a legal distinction between a violation of a criminal statute and a violation of a motor vehicle code.