Every year, tens of thousands of students attend colleges and universities in the Boston area. On their own and away from home for the first time, college students can easily find themselves in trouble with the law.
Underage drinking and Under-21 OUI charges are common in Massachusetts. Courts, colleges, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles all take drinking restrictions very seriously. Massachusetts has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to minors who mix drinking and driving.
If you are under 21 and are caught driving with even a very small amount of alcohol in your system, you face suspension or revocation of your license and the payment of a civil penalty. Although this is not a criminal offense, you will face a hearing at the RMV in Boston to determine whether your license should be suspended or revoked.
Boston Police often go into college-area bars — near or around Boston University, Boston College, Merrimack College, Endicott College, and others — preventing patrons from leaving and check the ID's of everyone inside.
Anyone caught with a Fake ID could face prosecution, including a misdemeanor or felony record and potential jail time. School suspension and expulsion are also possible consequences.
Whether you face criminal charges from use of alcohol in a dorm or frat party, drinking or drug use on campus, or even caught with an open container in your car…you could lose your housing and even be forced to take mandatory drug or alcohol tests while enrolled at school.
How Our College Crime Lawyers Can Make a Difference
College students, graduate students and high school students don't always make intelligent decisions. If a poor choice leads to an arrest, you should engage an experienced and aggressive Boston criminal defense lawyer with a reputation for getting results. At the Massachusetts Criminal Defense Group, our attorneys are experienced, aggressive, and we protect our clients' futures.
If college students face criminal charges and hearings before college disciplinary boards, our attorneys are there to help. Oftentimes we explain how our client is young, away from home for the first time and simply used bad judgment. To help bolster our case, we'll ask that people who know our client well — current or former faculty members, clergy or coaches — attest to their character.
If you have an alcohol or substance abuse problem, we will encourage you to get treatment for it as a way to show that you are taking responsibility for your problem.
Effects of Criminal Convictions on Financial Aid
A conviction for drug possession or sale can render a student ineligible to receive financial aid, including grants, loans or work assistance. Ineligibility periods are harsher for convictions for the sale of drugs. The "sale" of a controlled substance, however, is a broad term under the law, and can include transfers of even small amounts of drugs for no money at all.
How We Work With the Parents of Boston College Students
In addition to helping Massachusetts college students in Boston, we also represent the interests of college students whose parents live out-of-state. We communicate with these parents through email, fax, and telephone when it is necessary to involve them in the many details of the case.
Whether your college student was arrested for OUI/DUI, a theft crime, drug charges, or even disorderly conduct, we are accustomed to handling some of the most challenging cases and have achieved astonishing results. To learn more, call (800) 461-6900.
