Impaired Driving, Over 80, Fail to Provide Breath Sample, DUI and all other Drinking and Driving Related Offences

If you have been charged with Impaired Driving, Operation a Motor Vehicle while impaired, Driving under the influence (DUI), fail to provide breath sample, fail to give a blood sample, fail to blow in the breathalyser, over 80 milligrams, driving over the legal limit or any other drinking and driving offence, David Anber may be able to help you. In Canada, there are three main alcohol related driving offences. (1) Operating a Motor Vehicle while Impaired; (2) Operation of a Vehicle over the legal limit of alcohol; (3) Failing to proive proper samples of breath or blood. (Note that "Driving under the Influence" or "Driving While Intoxicated" are not Canadian terms) If you have been charged with any of these offences David Anber can often help you. As with many other criminal offenses, you have the option of pleading guilty or proceeding to trial where you'll either be acquitted (found not guilty), or where you'll be found guilty. Pleading guilty and being found guilty result in similar outcomes.

Plea of Guilty
Unlike with many small criminal charges, there is a minimum penalty set by law for drinking and driving related offences. What this means is that you cannot ask the Court to suspend the sentence (a suspended sentence generally means no sentence). Even as a first time offender, you also cannot ask the Court to impose a conditional discharge or an absolute discharge for your impaired driving charge. A discharge results, in many ways, from the absence of a criminal record and it is not available. Some of the disadvantages to pleading guilty stem from these minimum sanctions. You will receive a fine of 1000$ or more plus a 25% surcharge in most cases. Your driver's license will be suspended for a period of one year across Canada and, within Ontario, you will also be suspended. (Why does it matter that you have two licence suspensions you might wonder: the Canada-wide suspension will end after 1 year; the Ontario-ministry-suspension will exist for at least a year, but only end after you have met certain requirements such as participation in an alcohol awareness program and, the installation of an alcohol interlock device in your vehicle - both cost several hundred and thousand dollars respectively). Also, your insurance rates will usually increase dramatically after a guilty plea for a Drinking and Driving related offence; remember, a plea of guilty is an admission of all the importan accusations against you. Advantages of a guilty plea include, in some instances a lower fine, in some rare instances a lower suspension. If you have a prior conviction, you would normally face jail time; sometimes a plea of guilty allows you to escape a jail sentence on agreement with the Crown Prosecutor. There is usually a greater certainty with your penalty on a plea of guilt because the Court will usually respect what agreement is made between your lawyer, and the Crown prosecution (plea-bargain). Commonly, I am asked the question if you can plead to a Careless Driving or Dangerous Driving charge. In virtually all circumstances, the answer is no. And if the answer is yes, you may have a legitimate issue for dismissing the charge completely (see below).

Trial Option
If you plead not guilty, you are putting the Crown to the test of having to prove your guilt (you do not need to prove your innocence in a democracy). Drinking and driving cases have numerous defences which are often very technical and not always apparent to the non-advocate. For example:

• Where the Crown cannot prove you were driving;
• Where the Crown cannot prove you were impaired beyond a resonable doubt;
• Where a road side breath sample was illegally obtained;
• Where a breath sample at the station was illegally obtained;
• Where you can demonstrate evidence to the contrary;
• Where there has been an unreasonable delay in bringing you to trial;
• Where the officer/key witness does not appear and the Crown does not get an adjournment;
• Other defences

The option that is right for you will depend on your specific circumstances. Ask David for his advice.