In 1990, the Massachusetts legislature passed St. 1990, c. 256, § 5, known as the “Lacey Packer bill.” The bill was named after a 10 year old girl who was killed by a drunk driver who was driving on a New Hampshire license, while his Massachusetts license was suspended. The Registry suspended the driver’s Mass. license because of an operating under the influence conviction. The law led to greater information sharing between the states. It also resulted in increased access to criminal records maintained at the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles.
The part of the law regarding public access to DUI records states as follows: “[T]he registrar shall maintain, in the main office, a record of all convictions of persons charged with violations of the laws relating to motor vehicles, and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, such record shall be public, open to the inspection of any person during reasonable business hours, and subject to regulations promulgated by the registrar.”
This law gives the public access to conviction data regarding motor vehicle laws, which may be another reason to hire a Massachusetts DUI Attorney and fight your drunk driving charge rather than pleading guilty.
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