A CWOF means a conviction for the revocation of a CDL under G.L. c. 90F, § 1. Tirado v. Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds (and two consolidated cases) SJC-11818, July 28, 2015. Today, the Court reasoned that a CWOF is a conviction for CDL purposes because the word CWOF is not found elsewhere in the statute for revoking a CDL. G.L. c. 90F § 1. This is consistent with the decision in Souza v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 426 Mass. 227 (2012), but achieves the opposite result for a driver.
The tender of a plea and CWOF, absent a later entry of dismissal, in Massachusetts courts, meets the definition of a conviction because it has been determined that the defendant has violated or failed to comply with the law. The Court's holding today is further supported by the point that a Judge may enter a finding of guilty and impose sentence without taking any further evidence of the underlying offense after a violation of the conditions of a CWOF.
The Court did not address how violating the conditions of a disposition under G.L. c. 90, § 24D differ from other probation violation proceedings
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