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Motor Vehicle Law MPTC – Questions & Answers
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Motor Vehicle Law MPTC – Questions & AnswersCivil Motor Vehicle Infractions (CMVI) c90C §1 ✔️Ans - All _____ are
minor infractions with no provision for imprisonment or arrest. Common
_____ infractions include speeding, equipment violations, and marked lane
violations. An open container of alcohol is a civil motor vehicle infraction.
Commonwealth v. Mansur, 484 Mass. 172 (2020).
Criminal Violations ✔️Ans - _____ motor vehicle _____ are more serious,
with provisions for arrest and imprisonment. Under M.G.L 90 §21, police
can file a criminal complaint via citation and arrest without a warrant for
specific violations.
3 Elements required to charge a person with motor vehicle offense ✔️Ans
- (1) a motor vehicle, (2) being operated on, (3) a public way or a place to
which the public has access, and in some instances, a private way.
Motor Vehicle ✔️Ans - "all vehicles constructed and designed for
propulsion by power other than muscular power constructed and designed
for propulsion by power, including such vehicles when pulled or towed by
another motor vehicle."
include cars, trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, recreation vehicles,
snow vehicles, and vehicles being towed.
NOT considered are
· Railroad and railway cars
· Trolleys
· Vehicles running only upon rails or tracks
· Wheelchairs owned and operated by mobility disabled
· Vehicles operated or guided by a person on foot
· Electric bicycles or motorized bicycles (mopeds) and scooters Vehicles
used for purposes other than the transportation of property and incapable
of going more than 12 MPH, and used exclusively for building, repair, and
maintenance of highways or designed primarily for use elsewhere than on
the traveled part of ways
· Trackless trolleys with exceptions
,Operation ✔️Ans - The "operator" is any person who operates a motor
vehicle. "A person is 'operating' a motor vehicle whenever they are inside
the vehicle and intentionally manipulate some mechanical or electrical part
of the vehicle (e.g., gear shift, ignition, etc.) which, alone or in sequence,
will set the vehicle in motion."1 The motor vehicle doesn't need to be
moving or the engine to be running to establish operation. However, the
suspect must intentionally do some act that makes use of the engine to
meet the definition of "operation." Sitting in a motor vehicle without more
is not enough.
Public Way ✔️Ans - "any street or highway open to the public and
controlled and maintained by some level of government. This includes
interstates, state highways, and municipal streets and roads." In
determining whether any particular street is a _____ _____, you may consider
whether it has some of the usual indications of a _____ ____ for example,
whether it is paved, whether it has street lights, street signs, curbing and
fire hydrants, whether there are buildings along the street, whether it has
any crossroads intersecting it, and whether it is publicly maintained.
2 Factors used to determine a _____ _____ include, but are not limited to, the
following:
• Street signs
• Traffic signals
• Asphalt or concrete surface
• Painted lane and passing zone lines
• Adjacent curbing, sidewalks, and drainage
• Government deeds and certification documents
Right of Access ✔️Ans - All "non-ways" where the general public has a
right of access and upon which regularly drives motor vehicles.
Examples would be:
• parking lots
• areas adjacent to government buildings
• public parks.
Invitee or licensee ✔️Ans - Public access by request, invitation, or
implicit permission from a business establishment or owner
, 4 Types of Citations (Uniform Citation) ✔️Ans - Written warning
CMVI
Criminal
Arrest
The statute of limitations for most criminal motor vehicle offenses is
✔️Ans - six years
Officers should deliver the violator their citation copy ______ at the time of
the offense for charges supported by probable cause. Failing to provide a
violator citation copy is a valid defense in future court proceedings and
may result in the dismissal of charges. ✔️Ans - immediately
There are three authorized delivery methods ✔️Ans - In-hand to
violator (best practice)
In-hand to violator's agent
Mail to the violator
In-hand to violator (best practice) ✔️Ans - In-hand is not literal but the
most effective and definitive means of service. More than 1 hour after the
offense was committed, officers went to the hospital, where the violator
received treatment. Officers left a citation copy inside the violator's clothes
on his emergency room gurney (lower shelf). This satisfied the in-hand
delivery requirement. Commonwealth vs. Russo, 30 Mass. App. Ct. 923
(1991)
In-hand to violator's agent ✔️Ans - In Commonwealth v. Perry, 15 Mass.
App. Ct. 281 (1999), the officer went to the hospital to deliver the citation
in hand to the defendant. The nurse stopped the officer because of the
defendant's condition. The officer spoke to the father and asked if he could
see the defendant. The father said he did not want the officer to see his
daughter because of her agitated condition. The officer handed the citation
to the father. The court found that delivery to the defendant when it was
ready would have been "inhumane and unreasonable because of her
physical or psychological condition." Id. At 283. Under these unusual
circumstances, the court found no violation of MGL c 90C sec 2.
Mail to the violator ✔️Ans - The best practice is to deliver the violator
their citation copy immediately. Officers may temporarily delay the delivery
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