Mistakes in Drink Driving Cases

 Job loss, business failure, loss of home, relationship melt down!!

Drink driving, drunk in charge, failing to stop. We can help provide peace of mind. We guarantee prompt response to your e-mail, texts, phone calls. We use the net, not just to promote our service but to keep in touch with you and to deliver information and results. We have  a vast experience in representing people from all walks of life faced with a drink driving charge.

Drink Driving ruins lives- We do not condone it and nor do our clients but we do our best for those who come to us for help. Find out About Us.

We frequently deal with drink related cases and delicate situations. You may rest assured that we are committed to communicating with you regularly and having a dynamic impact on your case.

Experience is the key to success in such case. Myself and my team of lawyers have more than 30 years court experience between us. Both of my assistants were former Procurator Fiscals and one of them was even a traffic policeman for the first 1/2 of his career!

We did not set up our law practise yesterday we have been doing this for more than 24years. Let our experience make the difference in your defence.

Drink Driving, Dangerous Driving and Speeding cases, often require a lot of technical and scientific information to be obtained analysed and thoroughly considered. In addition to knowledge of the basic laws of procedure and evidence that govern just what evidence can be laid before a court, our experience may be the deciding factor in winning your case. 

Drink driving cases can be among the most difficult to defend. Because of the evidential complexity, several mistakes can  be made when it comes to presenting and defending road traffic law cases. Expert legal assistance therefore is essential. The outcome can mean death or terrible injuries to others and in relation to you it can mean  losing your licence, losing your job, paying considerable fines, being sent to prison, having a huge hike in your insurance premium, and the effect on your current prospects. We can provide you with a FREE online consultation right NOW!

When that intoximeter has printed out the reading of more than 35ug your heart sinks as you realise the consequences of the result. It is at this stage that some people just throw in the towel. The police officer may have explained that the roadside test wasn't reliable but nobody is suggesting that THIS machine has got it wrong. You may be left in a cell for the next few hours then handed a slip of paper and told to be in court or face arrest.

However the breath test, the alcohol blood level test, the alcohol urine test and the roadside tests all have potential pitfalls. It may be in the method of use, the procedures not being followed as they should be or it may be simple operator error. Whatever the problem a good defence team needs to find it and exploit it to win the case. Winning or losing a road traffic case comes down to the lawyers determination to investigate every angle and fight every legal argument.

Did you know that the results of a breath test can be challenged. The Log Book detailing all tests that day can be examined by the defence to check for signs of flaws or tampering. The service record for months before and after the test can be examined. Experts can be instructed to check the analysis machine  itself and checks can be made reading the police procedures at time of testing. We have even had experience of an entry that had been "tippexed" then changed. We are not advocating a "Fishing expedition" but when our clients challenge the accuracy of a reading then they can expect that no stone will be left unturned.

The cost of defending such a case can be considerable and we can tell you that it will undoubtedly run into thousands of pounds however with so much at stake it can be worth investing that money in your defence.

Think how much could be saved over the term of any ban. Not just the inconvenience of not having a licence but all that depends upon it, job, mortgage, relationships etc. Of course it is more costly to defend a case than to plead guilty at the outset but this is because of all the extra work and court time that will be involved. We are often asked if pleading not guilty will attract a higher sentence if convicted and the answer is no. You are entitled to defend your case but what you must be aware of is that the court will not punish you for taking a case to trial but they will reward you for tendering an early plea. That reward does not mean that they will reduce a mandatory minimum period of ban but may mean that the fine imposed is less than it would have been.

Hire the best and in our view that means getting a specialist lawyer on board as soon as possible.

    * the correct sample procedure was not followed.

    * the results indicate that the device was not properly calibrated

    * your breath sample was interrupted e.g. sickness

    * you had something in your mouth, such as chewing gum, tobacco   etc.

    * you were on a special diet.

    * you have diabetes, asthma, other relevant medical condition.

    * you have ill fitting dentures.

    * you had close contact in a confined space with paint or solvents.

   * you have to take medicine on a regular basis.

    * an alcohol antiseptic was used when blood was drawn.

    * an alcohol antiseptic was used by you when washing

By not contesting the evidence you don’t get to question the arresting officers. You will not be entitled to say that you accept that the results are partially correct but that they do not accurately reflect what you had to drink. You would therefore accept whatever the reading was and accept that all procedures were followed properly.

Plead not guilty and a trial is set where the defence will get the chance to interview the police officers and examine the physical productions ALL before you attend court. You will then have the opportunity to attack the results on the grounds that the technical rules weren’t followed. If your lawyer considers that all procedures were followed and that there is no technical defence then the lawyer can have the case brought forward to tender a guilty plea and secure any sentence reduction for an early plea.

Even the Space Shuttle wasn't infallible. My motto tends to be "Don't trust technology"-I can't think of a machine that hasn't broken down sometime! All the defence require to do is show the Sheriff that there is room for a "reasonable doubt" regarding the reliability of the machine and your licence is saved.

Laymen and even lawyers are sometimes guilty of failing to read the piece of legislation that the case relates too. The law in relation to drink driving cases, of course requires to be fully understood however all the statutes and the regulations governing the use of technical equipment requires to be read and understood. The lawyer needs to know what is and what is not admissible evidence-This is not always easy and again experience tends to be the key to success.

Those that don’t know the laws and regulations don’t realise that violations of the rules introduce  into evidence matters that can be suppressed from the trial on the grounds of fairness to the accused. 

Since the intoximeter devices are "type approved" there is now a statutory presumption that they are reliable and that they work properly. Therefore to defend such a case you need to get copies of the various logs, maintenance records, printout of sample taken etc. This is not easy as the Crown will refuse to provide these documents if they consider that this is a "Fishing expedition" where the defence are just looking for some kind of get out!

My own view is that we should be entitled to obtain all such documents, even if it were a so called "fishing expedition" since this is how we the public have any chance of establishing that the correct procedures and proper working equipment has been used. Sadly, it has been known for  lawyers and unrepresented parties to just have the complaint and the arrest report, this again emphasises the need for an experienced court solicitor to be instructed from the outset.

If you do not know the law in relation to what and how evidence is should be led, how can you possibly tender a proper and timeous objection? If you don't get this right you can easily be convicted before you realise the error of your ways.    

The lawyers call this a locus attendance. Many people don’t visit the arrest location. This can be crucial. In road traffic offences we often go to the scene with our clients to take relevant photographs, video and draft diagrams. With the advent of Google Maps we now find that printing off some satellite photographs can also assist the case preparation. Police officers are often trained to refer to the "off side" or the "nearside" when describing the vehicle and position in relation to the offence, the accused might say left or right and another witness might say East and West. Thats why we always have Maps, Photographs and diagrams. It makes sense of all the left, right, nearside, offside, middle and don't knows that we will have to deal with at the trial. Drunk in charge cases can sometimes involve a piece of land where the public do not have any right of access but this might only become plain once the area is visited. We tend to video the location for most cases. We had one case where our client was found intoxicated in his vehicle in a private field. The Crown allegation was that our client must have been drunk in charge of his vehicle to get into the field in the first place! What they didn't know was that he had driven his friends to meet a helicopter in this field and when the helicopter returned later that evening (Much the worse for wear) he didn't feel inclined to walk home so he slept in his car, dropped off in the field by a helicopter.

Roadside Tests involving walking a straight line and the like are becoming increasingly used in Scotland. Seeing and knowing the locus allows you to bring better cross examination to court as you can test witnesses on true conditions that existed. e.g. sloping, ill lit roadside that is very busy with traffic.....it may be reasonable not to be walking on the kerb? These things makes it much easier for your lawyer to understand and more importantly the Sheriff to understand your concerns about any roadside test, and, in some cases, point out a physical impossibility to the Sheriff. We had one case where the police officer admitted that he requested our client to walk a straight line inches away from a dual carriageway. Needless to say the Sheriff wasn't too impressed by this and threw the case out.

At the very least, the ACPO Guidelines and the police training document should be studied by you or your lawyer. He or she will then know exactly what questions to ask the arresting officer to see if the police completely followed the recommended method. We understand that in England police officers are provided with a pro forma document to follow but in Scotland the police rely upon their training and ACPO guidelines where appropriate.

You see, if the manual’s directions weren’t completely followed, the test’s validity can be attacked. Clearly these manuals only provide a guideline. They are not the law and you may expect any Procurator Fiscal who is worth his salt to  point out that they are MERELY guidelines. A good defence lawyer should be able to do a lot with the fact that these guideline were written for a very good reason and that was to preserve the best available evidence for the court. If the Crown are now saying that doesn't matter then they are denigrating the responsibility of the judge or Sheriff. Successfully challenging such procedures therefore can win your case sometimes without the need for you to give evidence yourself.

The key to these tests tend to be how objective and reliable they are. Remember that in Scotland they are often of less importance as the officer can often come up with just about any old excuse to claim that he or she had a "reasonable excuse" to stop you and require a breath sample. Presently in Scotland a debate is going on regarding the extension of police powers to allow random stop and test procedures. Frankly, as an experienced criminal court practitioner (Like the Justice Minister!) I am aware that the police can and do stop people when they like. It is all too easy to come up with an excuse at a later stage.

Why bother with the manual or the ACPO guidelines if these are ONLY guidelines? Simple: if you or your lawyer doesn’t know the training manual intimately then how can he cross examine effectively? How can he stop vital prosecution evidence from coming out. It is pretty hard to un-ring a bell.

Your lawyer should advise you about the sanctions resulting from a conviction as opposed to an early guilty plea. (The Du Plooy case)

Why are these important?

If you have previously been convicted for drink driving in the past ten years and you choose to go to trial with a very high reading and no real defence then expect incur the wrath of the Sheriff. A good experienced solicitor will always know when it would be appropriate to tender a plea, particularly if you are a border  line jail case. It might just mean the difference between your liberty and several months in jail.

And this mistake can happen all to often if your lawyer is rushed or is a duty solicitor with very little time for each client. We have acted as Duty solicitor and we know how tough it is to get through maybe 30 to 40 cases in an afternoon. Recently Duty Solicitors in Glasgow have been dealing with even more than this number meaning that on average each client is likely to have approximately 2-3 minutes with the duty solicitor to prepare a plea in mitigation that could mean the difference between jail or freedom.

Get a specialist road traffic lawyer on side and have him/her explain the best strategy for your case. A face to face meeting is always best as you can assess their level of confidence, experience and ability. To arrange a meeting with us call 0800 612 9597 now 

        Inspired by Barry Sharoff of www.dui-marketing-guy.com

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