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Appeals court hears challenge to Massachusetts—OUI per-se 0.08 rule
Summary
Attorneys argued whether the 2003 statutory amendment that treats a 0.08 blood-alcohol reading as a separate theory of conviction under the OUI law undermines the prosecution's burden to prove impairment beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard oral argument in Commonwealth v. Saban Saqib (docket 24P0154) over whether the state's OUI statute and post-2003 amendments permit conviction based solely on a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent.
Scott Martin, counsel for the defendant, told the three-judge panel that the statute's per-se 0.08 theory effectively lowers the Commonwealth's burden of proof in criminal trials and should be treated as a civil regulatory limit rather than a separate criminal theory. "We're not arguing that it cannot be regulated," Martin said, "but it's…
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