Because the Board requires the presentation of certain evidence before it will issue a hardship license, appearing before the Board without a lawyer can be a huge mistake. If the required evidence is not presented in a convincing and credible manner, the Board will likely deny the appeal and affirm the Registrys Decision. If the Board of Appeal decides to affirm the RMVs decision without giving you a re-apply date, as it does in many cases, then you cannot file a new appeal without getting special permission and the Boards decision is final. The only way to reverse it is to file a legal motion or appeal to superior court. Because of the tremendous amount of discretion which the law gives the Board, it is next to impossible to win in superior court. Therefore, your best chance of success is to present a compelling case at your Board of Appeal hearing. The best way to do this is with a lawyer who routinely appears before the Board of Appeal and is familiar with exactly how the Board operates.
Some people are suffering through a license suspension and they cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Often out of work because of their suspensions, they simply do not have the money to pay for legal representation. Although not advisable, it is possible to appear before the Board of Appeal without a lawyer. Many people represent themselves and some of them come out with a hardship license. Although this is absolutely no substitute for qualified legal representation, this will service as a guide for those who cannot afford a lawyer and will try to represent themselves at a hardship license hearing before the Massachusetts Board of Appeal.
You should file your hardship license appeal as soon as possible, as it can take several weeks or even a few months to get a Board of Appeal hearing. The Board schedules cases based on the length of the suspension and when the appeal was filed. The three member Board hears over 6,000 appeals each year, so there is understandably a waiting period. You file your appeal by mailing in the appeal form, which you can download from the Massachusetts Division of Insurance website, along with a check or money order in the amount of $50.00, made out to the Division of Insurance.
Prior to filing your appeal, you should request your Mass. RMV Driving Record as well as your Massachusetts Criminal Record. You must carefully review these records to see whether you have anything that needs to be addressed in advance of your hearing, such as unpaid parking or traffic tickets, outstanding excise tax, out of state suspensions, active warrants, required driving classes which you have not taken, or inaccurate information. You should address as many issues as possible prior to appearing before the Board. Also, keep in mind that the Board will have a certified copy of your driving record, containing every letter which the RMV had sent you over the years. The Board will also have a complete copy of your criminal record, showing every arraignment and the results thereof.
You must carefully fill out the appeal form and note whether you have any pending charges and whether or not you have previously appeared before the Board. You must include with your Board of Appeal hearing application, a copy of the license suspension letter which you have received from the Mass. RMV. If you have previously appeared before the Board, you should be aware that the Board will likely have the records from your prior appeal, including anything you submitted as well as detailed notes regarding your situation. If, without a sufficient explanation, you contradict anything presented at your previous hearing, you will lose credibility with the Board and likely be denied relief.
You should assemble a package of documents containing certificates of completion of any drug or alcohol programs, proof of AA attendance (if applicable), discharge summaries, counseling reports, a letter from probation or parole, drug screening results, letters of recommendation, a letter from your employer stating your work hours and need for a license, and any other documentary evidence which demonstrates that you need a license and you are not a risk to public safety.
When deciding hardship license cases, the Board of Appeal carefully balances the appellants need to drive with the risk to public safety created by putting the appellant back on the road. Having heard thousands of appeals, the Board is very adept at balancing these two competing factors. In order to assess the risk to public safety, the Board considers the risk of recidivism and whether the causes of the past or present violations have been brought under control. You must be prepared to convince the Board that you have effectively addressed the causes of your license suspension. If you fail to do this, the Board will not grant you hardship relief. The Board is rightfully concerned with ordering the Registry to issue a license to a driver who presents a risk to the other motorists on the road. In cases where the Board is not convinced that the driver may endanger the public, the Board will absolutely not afford relief, no matter how severe the hardship may be. The Board will not compromise public safety or in any way jeopardize the lives and safety of others on the road. This is especially true in cases where the appellant has multiple DUI convictions on his or her record.
In order to prove a legitimate hardship, the need to drive must be substantial and the lack of a license must constitute much more than an inconvenience. Also, the need to drive cannot be speculative and it must be based on an actual and present situation. Many people who are unemployed ask the Board of Appeal for a hardship license so they can find work. This is not a sufficient hardship. You must have the job prior to asking for a license. There are only three reasons for a hardship license: work, school, or medical appointments. If you do not have one of these three reasons to drive, the Board will not issue you a license. Also, you must be prepared to explain why public transportation or getting rides from friends, family, and/or co-workers will not suffice. Finally, if you were hired after your license was suspended, you must be able to explain why you took the job knowing that you could not drive.
The Board of Appeal takes a very dim view of operating after suspension charges. Board members view the crime of operating after suspension as evidence of a conscious disregard for the law. If you have any operating after suspension charges on your record, you must explain why you drove and why you will not do it again. These charges often result in the Board voting to deny hardship relief and an operating after suspension conviction will result in a new license suspension. It is therefore very important not to drive on a suspended license. Operating after Suspension may trigger new problems and license suspensions, including possibly a 4 year habitual traffic offender revocation.
The hardship license hearing itself is a formal legal proceeding which is recorded. It begins by the Board of Appeal explaining the process and placing the witnesses under oath. Next, the Registry of Motor Vehicles prosecutor will read into the record the Registrys position on your case and ask that the Board make you serve out your suspension and not issue you a hardship license. Next, the Board members will review your driving and criminal record while asking you to present your case. This is your chance to convince the Board that you have a legitimate and substantial hardship and that putting you back on the road will not endanger the lives and safety of the public.
You must absolutely testify truthfully at your Board of Appeal hearing. The Board is extremely skilled at making credibility assessments and determining when witnesses are sincere and truthful or lying and disingenuous. Having heard thousands of appeals, the Board members have developed a sixth sense and they have become very good at making credibility determinations. If the Board members believe that you are not being truthful with them, they will not grant you relief and you will have to serve out your license suspension.
You can have witnesses such an AA sponsor, counselor, parent, friend, or family member briefly testify on your behalf. Any testimony should be brief, to the point, and narrowly focused on the questions of hardship and risk to public safety. You will be given an opportunity to submit documents and other evidence which the Board will carefully review.
If you have any documents which you failed to submit at your hearing which may help your case, you can ask the Board to keep the hearing record open, so that you can submit the documents at a later date. However, once the record is closed, you cannot submit new evidence or testimony. The Board will make its decision based on the evidence it has before it.
You will receive the Boards decision, in writing, by mail, approximately one week after your hearing. The decision will state whether the Board decided to annul, modify, or affirm the Registrys decision. If the Board ordered the Mass. RMV to grant you a hardship license or reinstatement, you must take the Boards order to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and meet with a Registry hearing officer. The RMV will then guide you through the license reinstatement process. The Boards order does not give you any driving privileges; it only orders the RMV to issue you a license, subject to any conditions imposed by either the Board of Appeal or the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
I have tried to simplify, in a few pages, the complex process of obtaining a Massachusetts Hardship License or full license reinstatement by appealing the suspension or revocation to the Massachusetts Board of Appeal. However, this should not be considered legal advice or a substitute for legal representation. The best way to insure success at the Board of Appeal is to hire a quaffed lawyer who specializes in Massachusetts Board of Appeal cases.
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