Joseph D. Bernard

Joseph D. Bernard has been practicing in Massachusetts for over 20 years and has built a cutting edge practice focused on OUI defense. His practice delves deeply into the science of impairment, the forensic standards of breath and blood testing for both alcohol and drugs, and the accuracy and precision of forensic laboratories. Attorney Bernard has been the lead defense counsel in Commonwealth v. Ananias, et. al., 1248CR001075, the statewide consolidated litigation challenging the scientific reliability of breath testing in Massachusetts, where he not only persuaded the court that proper calibration protocols are necessary for reliable breath test results, he exposed the egregious misconduct of the Massachusetts Crime Laboratory, ultimately resulting in an eight year exclusion of breath test results from evidence. Attorney Bernard is the only lawyer in Massachusetts to have completed the world renowned Robert F. Borkenstein courses in both alcohol and drugs, teaching subjects relating to the principles of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and the effects of alcohol and drug, standards in the forensic laboratory, and the advancement of testing for impairment. He has also completed multiple courses in gas chromatography and standardized field sobriety testing. Attorney Bernard has been nationally recognized for Trial Advocacy in 2018 by the National College of DUI Defense, named Lawyer of the Year in 2018 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and been locally honored by the Hampden County Bar Association in 2018 with the Kent B. Smith Award given to an outstanding citizen of the law community and a dedicated contributor to the advancement of the practice of criminal law. Attorney Bernard’s work has been featured in the New York Times television series The Weekly, and has been chronicled in the Boston Globe. He is the author of the Massachusetts practice series volume 50 on Drunk Driving Defense (West – Thompson Reuter). He speaks regularly at seminars across the state on operating under the influence issues, the science of OUI cases, and the standards for forensic laboratories. I am the lead attorney in the statewide consolidated litigation challenging the scientific reliability of breath testing in Massachusetts. This litigation has been extremely complex, and involved work with breathalyzer source code, interfering substances, blood to breath ratios, and laboratory methodology and procedures. Our litigation team worked with experts from across the globe to present our scientific challenges to the court. Ultimately, we were not only able to persuade the court that proper calibration protocols are necessary for reliable breath test results, but our defense exposed the egregious misconduct of the Massachusetts Crime Laboratory, ultimately resulting in an eight-year exclusion of breath test results from evidence. This work has highlighted the importance of reliable forensic evidence in the courtroom, and it has impacted tens of thousands of defendants across the state for the better. We could not have achieved this result without my dear friend, the late Thomas Workman, a champion for those practicing law to seek out and embrace scientific knowledge. I am grateful to have been honored by the community and to have participated in legal work that has led to real and lasting change for our criminal justice system. I have been nationally recognized for Trial Advocacy in 2018 by the National College of DUI Defense, named Lawyer of the Year in 2017 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and been locally honored by the Hampden County Bar Association in 2018 with the Kent B. Smith Award given to an outstanding citizen of the law community and a dedicated contributor to the advancement of the practice of criminal law. My work has also been featured in the New York Times television series The Weekly, and has been chronicled by the Boston Globe.