First-time convicted impaired drivers who used to face a license suspension of 12 months, may soon be back on the road in three months.  However, to be eligible for the shortened suspension, they must first plead guilty.

They must also agree to install an ignition interlock or breath alcohol ignition interlock device in their vehicle for nine months. The breath-testing devices require the driver to provide a breath sample. The vehicle will not start if the driver’s blood alcohol concentration is over .02.

While Ottawa criminal defence lawyers support the reduction of the penalty for first time offenders and support the law’s focus on rehabilitation, we are concerned that providing a legislated incentive for a guilty plea will encourage innocent people to plead rather than face the risk of a trial.

The new regulation does not actually come into effect until early August, but first-time impaired drivers already in the criminal system are able to plead guilty and defer sentencing and the finding of guilt until after August 3.

After November 1 of this year, anyone facing charges of impaired driving will have to plead within 90 days of the charge in order to avail themselves of the new incentive.

According to a Crown memorandum, there will likely be large number of people who opt to employ the new provision because 80 per cent of individuals charged with drunk driving are first-time offenders

Have you been charged with impaired driving? Criminal defence lawyers at Auger Hollingsworth can give you the legal advice you need and effectively represent you. Do not plead guilty to impaired driving, or over 80, without getting legal advice first. Contact a criminal defence lawyer at Auger Hollingsworth at 613-233-4529 or at info@ottawalawfirm.ca Visit us online at: www.criminaldefenceottawa.ca

Criminal defence lawyer Richard Auger has defended many clients charged with motor vehicle offences, including impaired driving, driving “over 80″ and refusal to provide a breath sample.

Call us at 613- 233-4529 so we can use our experience to help you.

There is a lot at stake…

If you are convicted of a drunk driving offence, the penalties are serious:

• Minimum one-year driving prohibition
• Fine ranging from $600 to $2000
• Ignition interlock for at least one year (rental cost about $1200 annually)
• Mandatory attendance at a remedial program at a cost of about $500 prior to licence reinstatement
• A criminal record

In addition, you will likely suffer a significant increase in your car insurance premiums after conviction.

If your blood alcohol was more than double the legal limit,  or you had a collision, someone was injured or you have a previous conviction for a similar driving offence, the repercussions may be much more severe.

You could face a jail sentence and a life-time driving suspension.

How can Auger Hollingsworth help?

There are several defences that may apply depending on circumstances.

We know how to review the disclosure (the Crown’s evidence, primarily from the police) to determine if your Charter rights were violated during the process leading up to your arrest.  We will look at:

• the reason you were stopped
• if and how the road side screening test was administered
• whether and how you were given your rights to counsel
• whether the timelines prescribed by the Criminal Code were followed

…among other things.

We will consider whether there is evidence that you were not in fact over the legal alcohol limit.

We will consider whether you were actually driving, or in care or control, of the car.

Once we have an understanding about the weaknesses in the Crown’s case, we will discuss your options with you.  We can show the Crown the problem with the case and encourage a favorable resolution for you, including that the charges be withdrawn.

We are always prepared to defend you vigorously at trial.

How Can You Help Yourself?

It is tempting to tell your family and friends the “whole story” leading to your arrest.  Don’t.  Keep the details to yourself and your lawyer.

Make detailed notes of what happened of the events leading up to your arrest and provide them to your lawyer.  Try to make these notes as soon as possible after you are released from the police station while the events are still fresh.  At the top of these notes write the title “Private and Confidential Notes for the purpose of obtaining Legal Advice”.

In your notes, record:

• what you ate and when (start with breakfast and work through the day)
• where you were and at what time
• what, if anything you had to drink
• the size and strength of those drinks
• how you paid for anything you consumed
• who was with you
• what route(s) you took
• how you were stopped by the police
• did you have a cell phone available
• what the police said to you
• what you said to the police
• how the road side breath test was administered
• how the breathalyzer was administered
• what was said to you about your right to obtain legal advice
• who you contacted for legal advice, and
• any other details prior to your release from the station

Do not share the notes with anyone, but bring them with you when you meet with your lawyer.

Keep all receipts and credit card statements.

According to the Ottawa Sun, a Mississippi Mills husband and wife were both charged with impaired driving inlate October. Apparently, the same officer arrested both spouses in two separate incidents within half an hour of one another.

The Sun reports that the husband left an event in the couple’s car on Scotch Corners Rd., west of Carleton Place at about 2 a.m. After he was arrested and while he was sitting in the police cruiser, the police spotted another car on Highway 7 near Ramsay Concession 5A. It turns out it was the wife who was out looking for her husband. She was arrested as well.

The case will be heard in Perth, Ontario.

Looking for a lawyer to assist with impaired driving charges?  Contact Richard Auger by email richard@ottawalawfirm.ca or by telephone: 613 233-4529.  All calls are confidential.

Six elements that must be proven before you can be found guilty of impaired driving in Ontario:

1. You identity
2. As a driver
3. Of a motor vehicle
4. As a driver operating a motor vehicle in a public place while
5. Your blood alcohol was over one of the prescribed limit by
6. the introduction of alcohol into the body

Ten items your Ottawa defence lawyer wants to know:

1. What your schedule was before the arrest.
2. What you drank and how much.
3. Described you observations of the officer.
4. Why the officer says he or she stopped you.
5. Were you asked to take roadside tests?
6. The results on roadside tests.
7. The results on roadside tests.
8. What you said to the officer.
9. The results of any breath or blood tests.
10. The names and contact information for any witnesses to your arrest.
11. How long it took from the time of your arrest to the time the breathalyzer was administered.

Three ways your defence lawyer can discredit the arresting officer’s testimony:

1. Inconsistent statements by the officer or officers involved in the arrest.
2. Failure on the part of the police officer to recollect your case.
3. Failure to make important notations in the officer’s duty to book notes, for example failure to record the time of the arrest and the time of breathalyzer.

Three secrets the Crown Attorney does not want you to know:

1. The Crown does not have all the witnesses available to prove the case.
2. The Crown has exculpatory evidence which would prove your innocence.
3. The Crown has evidentiary problems in proving your blood alcohol level.

Four things that are crucial to your defence:

1. An excellent investigation of the facts.
2. Skillful cross-examination.
3. A thorough understanding of your Charter Rights.
4. An experienced criminal defence lawyer.

Five ways to challenge the results of the alcohol tests:

1. Prove the officer lacked a reasonable suspicion that you were violating the law.
2. Prove that the officer lacked probable cause to arrest you or demand the roadside tests.
3. Prove that the officer failed to inform  you of your rights concerning a breath or blood test.
4. Prove that the officer lacked probable cause before he arrested you and before he required you to take a blood or breath test.
5. Prove that the officer failed to tell you that you have a right to remain silent and to consult a lawyer.

Two considerations before deciding to please guilty to impaired driving:

1. How strong is the Crown’s case against you?
2. What will the outcome be of an impaired conviction?

Four pretrial motions that your defence lawyer should file, and the danger to you if they are not:

1. Motion to exclude evidence on the ground that you were unconstitutionally stopped.
2. Motion to exclude evidence on the grounds that there was an unconstitutional search and seizure.
3. Motion to exclude statements on failure to give advise you of your right to remain silent and your right to consult a lawyer.
4. Motion for disclosure of all Crown evidence.

If these motions are not filed by an experienced criminal defence lawyer, your case may not be dismissed when it should have been.  Plain and simple.

Seven defence tactics in pre-trial motions:

1. Challenge the constitutionality of the stop.
2. Challenge the constitutionality of the administration of the roadside tests.
3. Challenge the constitutionality of the probable cause to arrest.
4. Challenge whether the appropriate Charter warning were administered.
5. Challenge how the roadside tests were given.
6. Challenge the use of any blood or breath test.
7. Challenge the constitutionality of any search and seizure.

Charged with impaired driving in Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Perth Ontario, Cornwall or other Ontario location?  A criminal defence lawyer at Auger Hollingsworth would be pleased to review your case for you.  Contact us here or by telephone at 613 233-4529.

Although Ontario and Canada have strict laws against impaired driving and driving “over 80″, they could be much stricter.

An unlicensed impaired driver who killed four people in Sichuan province was handed a death sentence on July 24, 2009.  Sun Weiming, a 30-year-old company executive in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was found guilty of endangering public safety and sentenced to death by the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court.  It is believed that he is the first drunk driver to be charged with “endangering public safety” and sentenced to death in China.  News reports claim that he drove his Buick into four oncoming sedans.  Tests after the accident showed he had 135.8 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.  The legal limit was 80 milligrams.

For more information about Ontario’s impaired driving laws and what to do if you are charged with an alcohol-related driving charge, Order our book:  Fighting Drinking and Driving Charges.

A man drowned in the Ottawa River early in the morning on Friday, May 15th, 2009, after driving a stolen car into the water following a police chase, and then trying to swim to freedom.

The man is believed to be around 30-years-old however he has yet to be identified. He was found underwater about 80 feet from where he had driven the car into the water.

The passenger in the vehicle, a 17-year-old teen from Gatineau, waded from the car to police who were waiting on the shore. He was taken to hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. He was then released into police custody.

The chase began when police spotted a Ford Mustang with unregistered plates. They ran the plates, contacted the owner and learned the vehicle had been stolen from the owner’s barn.

Officers tried to pull the vehicle over but the driver refused and sped down Hwy. 148 until eventually going into the river. Investigators don’t believe the driver tried to swerve or hit the brakes before hitting the water.

An autopsy is being conducted on the river.

Order our free book “Fighting Drinking and Driving Charges in Ontario”.

The House of Commons began hearings on February 23, 2009 to investigate whether the legal blood alcohol limit should be reduced to 0.05 rather than 0.08.  It is uncertain whether the current impaired driving laws would simply be amended by lowering the trigger for criminal charges or whether a new, lighter offence would be introduced.

Ontario already imposes a temporary suspension for drivers caught with 0.05 blood alcohol reading.  Beginning in May 2009, Ontario drivers caught between 0.05 and 0.08 will be stripped of their licenses for 3 days for a first instance, seven days for a second instance and 30 days on a their instance.

The changes are not without controversy.  Some feel that focusing on low end alcohol consumption takes the focus off the more dangerous drivers with high blood alcohol content.

To learn more about drinking and driving in Ontario order our free book here.

It’s a legal provision generally reserved for the very worst criminals.

A Quebec prosecutor has applied to designate a repeat impaired driver who killed a 47 year old woman last year a dangerous offender.  Although it is unlikely that this application will succeed, it sends a message that Quebec Crown attorneys are getting tougher on impaired driving, over 80 driving and related criminal charges.

If you have been charged with impaired driving, driving over 80, dui or any related criminal charge, get the expert advice you require.  For a free consultation with an experienced Ottawa impaired driving lawyer, click here.

On Highway 138, a male driver of a pick up truck, collided with a car driven by Heather Saaltink.  Ms. Saaltink was killed in the accident.   The male is currently facing charges, including impaired driving.

If you face serious criminal charges from an impaired driving or over 80 incident, order a free copy of “Fighting Drinking and Driving Charges” and play an active role in your case.

Ottawa Lawyer Richard Auger has recently published “Fighting Drinking and Driving Charges” because he believes that people charged with drinking and driving, impaired driving, Over 80 or a related criminal offence are entitled to receive the important information to play an active role in their case.

Help eliminate the myths about drinking and driving charges.  Order and review the book here.