Dean Contover and Board Certified DUI attorney Mike Bowser discuss junior licenses and the Junior Operator Law in this video.
What is the Junior Operator Law?
Dean: Let’s talk about real quick, the Junior Licenses. We both have teenagers driving. What should parents do if their child gets stopped?
Mike: Well, under the Junior Operator Law, both in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the first citation, the first moving violation; speeding, stop sign, marked lanes, whatever it may be, will trigger — if they’re under the age of 18 — will trigger a loss of license, even a speeding ticket.
Often times, I’m asked to intervene on behalf of a young driver and we end up marking off the back of the citation requesting a hearing at the local district court whether it be Woburn, or Lowell, or Ayer, or Lawrence. And you have to make the pitch to the clerk magistrate, either on the facts of the case, whether they are, in fact, responsible. But the more likely outcome is you want to argue to the magistrate that the impact here is going to be a loss of license. Then the kid might be in school, working jobs, going to practice, whatever it may be. Sometimes you can convince a court magistrate to exercise some discretion and not find them responsible on that first instance. It’s not easy, but some of the magistrates will exercise some discretion in those first offender type of situations.
