Rick Dyer is a passionate attorney who has practiced law for 33 years in the areas of Criminal, Civil, and Family Law. Experienced in many areas of criminal law, Rick specializes in the litigation of OUI, alcohol, and drug defense, trial, and strategy. The law office provides a variety of criminal legal services including CORI sealing and expungement, appeals, new trials, commutation, and parole representation. Rick’s passion is in helping others, especially those with substance use disorders. He has had great success in charge and sentencing mitigation for cases where addiction is a factor, in large part due to the recovery opportunities he provides in collaboration with his team of recovery professionals who are skilled in navigating treatment access, case management, intervention, and prevention. We believe that justice should be seriously pursued with compassion, integrity, and the right to equal and fair access. In representing clients, we bring a broad spectrum of personal and professional experiences, having been on both sides of the law.
Rick’s team has a winning approach in law and advocacy by fighting for your rights with detailed preparation, conviction, and strategy.
Rick is a member of the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Federal Bar Associations, as well as a panel member of the pro-bono group Suffolk Lawyers for Justice. .
“Prevention, intervention and rehabilitation save lives, communities and money. Public safety is synonymous with rehabilitation. We are faced with a new epidemic with addiction to legal and illegal drugs. We have not even begun to realize the depth and severity of the problem or the means to heal it. We are watching friends and family suffer, communities and the workplace suffer from ignorance and denial. It is easier than one thinks to embrace the present epidemic than stay silent and ignore the problem. We can make change – addiction may not be a choice, but recovery is.”
Latest News
March, 2021:
A statewide hearing was conducted to determine the scientific reliability of breath test results using the Draeger Alcotest 9510. As a result of that hearing, all breath tests administered in Massachusetts between June 2011 and April 18, 2019 have been excluded from use in criminal prosecutions.
As a result, an opportunity may exist for you to challenge the disposition in your case if a Draeger Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer machine was used in your case for which you were convicted or admitted to sufficient facts for Operating Under the Influence of Liquor (OUI).
Additionally, the Commonwealth is in the process of reviewing 74,800 still remaining narcotic certifications conducted by convicted drug lab chemists, Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak. Suffolk County District Attorney, Rachael Rollins, has pledged to vacate all cases tied to any of the drug certifications conducted between May 2003 and August 2012. As part of the Hinton Lab Initiative, anyone who was convicted of a drug crime during the dates listed can apply to have their conviction vacated due to the tampering and fraud committed at the State’s two narcotics testing labs – and potentially have corroborating related cases reopened and/or vacated also.
If you’ve been previously convicted of OUI alcohol in a case that involved evidence collected using a Draeger Alcotest 9510 or if you’ve been previously convicted of a drug crime where evidence used against you was inspected by either crime lab chemist Annie Dookhan or crime lab chemist Sonja Farak please contact my office so that we can explore your options in restoring your name.
Publications
Over 80% of all criminal cases involve drugs and alcohol. With Rick’s contribution as co-author, the LexisNexis Massachusetts Criminal Practice Guide has published a formative, first-of-its-kind chapter addressing the important and widespread issue of substance use, substance abuse, and addiction in the courts. Topics addressed by the Chapter include Defining Addiction, Understanding Alternative Disposition, and Developing a Recovery Management Plan.
Rick’s work on substance abuse and the law has sparked increased interest around the issue and shed light on the relevance of client addiction to the work of lawyers, social workers, judges, and other staff in the criminal justice system. Rick now conducts a course on the subject, based around the Lexis-Nexis book chapter, for legal professionals and law students. More information about the course can be found on the For Professionals page.