Not Guilty: OUI Acquittal After Massachusetts State Police Sobriety Checkpoint Stop
By Attorney Michael Patrick Murray | April 17, 2026
Today, April 17, 2026, my client was found Not Guilty of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol (OUI) after trial in Commonwealth v. Defendant, Docket No. 2562 CR 2358. The charge arose from a stop at a Massachusetts State Police Sobriety Checkpoint Saturation Initiative — commonly referred to as a roadblock.
OUI roadblock cases present unique challenges for both the defense and the prosecution. Unlike a standard traffic stop, which requires reasonable suspicion of a motor vehicle violation, a sobriety checkpoint operates under a different legal framework. Every vehicle passing through the checkpoint is stopped. Every driver is observed. The interaction is brief by design, and the officers conducting the screening are trained to make rapid assessments about whether a driver may be impaired. That compressed timeline — a matter of seconds in most cases — can work for or against either side at trial.
The question in every OUI trial is whether the Commonwealth can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. A checkpoint stop, an odor of alcohol, even poor performance on field sobriety tests does not automatically answer that question. The details matter. The observations matter. And the credibility of the witnesses matters most of all.
A Word About the Massachusetts State Police
I want to take a moment to say something that criminal defense attorneys do not say often enough.
I am never surprised, but I remain impressed and grateful for the honesty, integrity, and professionalism shown by the Massachusetts State Police and other law enforcement professionals in Massachusetts whom I am often tasked to work against in this adversarial system. In this case, as in many others, the troopers testified under oath and spoke the truth without reservation — even when the truth was inconsistent with their position or opinion seeking a conviction.
That is not a small thing. The adversarial system works only when both sides operate with integrity. A prosecutor who overcharges undermines justice. A defense attorney who misleads the court undermines justice. And a police officer who shades testimony to secure a conviction undermines justice. What I have seen consistently from the Massachusetts State Police and local police departments is the opposite: officers who take the stand, answer the questions put to them, and tell the truth. When the evidence supports a conviction, their testimony reflects that. When the evidence does not, their testimony reflects that too. They let the facts speak and trust the system to reach the right result.
That is truly admirable, and it deserves to be acknowledged publicly.
What This Means If You Were Stopped at a Sobriety Checkpoint
If you have been charged with OUI after being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Massachusetts, you should know that a checkpoint stop is not a conviction. The Commonwealth must still prove every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. There are legal challenges available to the checkpoint itself — including whether it complied with the constitutional requirements set forth in Commonwealth v. McGeoghegan, 389 Mass. 137 (1983), and its progeny — as well as challenges to the field sobriety tests, the officer’s observations, and the sufficiency of the evidence as a whole.
Every case is different. The facts of your stop, the observations of the officers, your performance on any field sobriety tests, and whether you submitted to or refused a breath test all factor into the analysis. An experienced Massachusetts OUI defense attorney can evaluate the specific circumstances of your case and advise you on the strength of the Commonwealth’s evidence and the defenses available to you.
About Attorney Michael Patrick Murray
Attorney Michael Patrick Murray is a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney whose practice focuses on OUI defense, drug crimes, and serious felony matters. He has tried OUI cases in courts across the Commonwealth and is admitted to practice before all Massachusetts courts and the federal courts.
If you have been charged with OUI in Massachusetts — whether after a traffic stop, a sobriety checkpoint, or an accident — contact the Law Office of Michael Patrick Murray, P.C. at (508) 393-4162 for a consultation.
The Law Office of Michael Patrick Murray, P.C. is located in Northborough, Massachusetts and represents clients in OUI and criminal defense matters throughout Worcester County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Essex County, and across the Commonwealth.