• Drinking & driving charges require professional legal advice
• Aitken Robertson is a firm of 5 experienced trial lawyers
• We defend clients throughout southern Ontario
• We do not charge for travel costs
• FREE 30 minute consultation
• FREE blood alcohol calculation by one of our qualified breath tech lawyers
• DUI charges? Call our law office today

A criminal charge is a serious thing. However it is not the end of the world.

We understand the stress you are feeling, the sleepless nights and the ongoing worry. In contacting Aitken Robertson you have taken the right first step: you are seeking proven help to fight the charges™.

At Aitken Robertson, we are skilled in impaired driving defences. Our talented, proven and dedicated staff will ease your stress and help you through this difficult time.

We have assisted thousands of people, just like you; people who were facing impaired driving charges.

We are knowledgeable and aggressive criminal trial lawyers with experience practising in the Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough, Cobourg, Lindsay and Kingston regions.

With over 45 combined years of proven experience. We strive to bring you a successful outcome and to give you back your peace of mind.

Put your mind at ease. Fight the charges™.

Call 1-800-668-1657 for your FREE initial office consultation. We offer appointments even after hours and on weekends for your convenience.

Ask about our reasonable payment plans.

Aitken Robertson law firm specializes in professional legal representation of your interests when it comes to fighting impaired driving charges. We are experienced criminal lawyers practising law in the Oshawa, GTA, Peterborough, Lindsay, & Cobourg and Kingston areas. Aitken Robertson are experts in DUI drinking and driving charges. Criminal charges are a serious matter best represented by a specialized legal firm. Our commitment to you is high quality legal counsel, investigation and representation - to protect your interests in achieving a positive outcome in court. Aitken Robertson's legal team offers experienced and dedicated criminal law representation for those charged with serious driving offenses in southern Ontario and southeastern Ontario. Our Peterborough Ontario office is conveniently located for clients from the communities in and around Peterborough, Ajax, Port Hope, Clarington and Bowmanville. Our Kingston Ontario office serves the communities of Belleville, Napanee, Trenton, Gananoque and Prince Edward Country.

At Aitken Robertson we are committed to providing excellence in legal representation and criminal defense in Canada. We believe that our clients deserve the best legal defense when fighting serious driving charges. From conveniently situated law offices in Ontario, our team of legal experts in Canadian impaired driving law and other serious driving violations in Ontario, work together to defend clients charged with criminal driving offences. To better serve our clients, our long-established criminal defense practice is always growing. Our new Kingston, Ontario law office is Aitken Robertson's latest expansion. Located on Princess Street in downtown Kingston, our Kingston criminal law practice will serve clients living in Eastern Ontario who are fighting impaired driving, street racing and DUI charges in the Kingston.

The 5 dedicated criminal defence lawyers that make up the Ontario law firm of Aitken Robertson are knowledgeable DUI specialists, with many years spent successfully defending impaired driving charges and representing DUI clients in court. Unique to the industry, our DUI clients receive the expertise of not just one legal specialist, but our entire legal team. Our aggressive team approach, where all lawyers play an active role in every case, increases the prospect of a favourable outcome.

Charged with a drinking and driving offense and unsure of all your options? Uncertain about the cost involved in defending a DUI charge in court? Unsure if you can afford to hire the best legal representation to fight your impaired driving case for you? At Aiken Robertson, we offer a complimentary 30 minute consultation with one of our expert team of criminal lawyers experienced in drinking and driving cases to discuss your case with you. After this initial interview, we will be better able to give you a truthful, fair and affordable evaluation of what the costs in your case are likely to be. Our main concern is representing our clients to achieve the best possible legal outcome. As each criminal case is different, the cost of each case and the fees charged will vary accordingly. Our extensive experience in fighting impaired driving charges over the years allows us to formulate an accurate estimation of the cost of your particular case so that we can tell you what your approximate defense costs will be up front. Together we will formulate a payment plan that is affordable for you and your personal financial circumstances. As affordable criminal defense lawyers, Aitken Robertson will not charge you an hourly rate for our services. We use block billing, where clients are charged for the work that is done and the results that are achieved. With block billing, clients may talk to their lawyer without worrying about what they are being charged by the minute. As well, we do not charge interest on our payment plans.

After accepting your case, we get to work with an intensive investigation of all the details and events surrounding the case. Through careful examination of the facts, we will establish whether there are grounds to have your charges dismissed for legal or technical reasons. We will also determine if there has been a violation of your rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All the circumstances of the case, including police evidence, will be reviewed. A thorough investigation can mean the difference between having the charges dropped and going to trial. It can make the difference between receiving a guilty verdict or a not-guilty verdict and a harsh plea bargain agreement or a favourable one.

Retaining a lawyer who specializes in impaired driving cases is crucial when it comes time to review police reports of the incident. An experienced DUI lawyer will establish whether any breaches, errors or omissions were made by police. The police are required to follow stringent procedures and they have a duty to uphold your rights as outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. DUI, impaired driving, over 80 or refusal are all very technical criminal charges and require an experience criminal lawyer to determine if procedure has been followed and that your rights have not been violated in any way.

Fighting an impaired driving charge is a complicated process and may involve a combination of laws, both federal and provincial, including those from the Criminal Code, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Highway Traffic Act, Federal Boating Regulations, and the Civil Remedies Act. Representing yourself against an impaired driving conviction is not a viable option. In fact, Paralegals are no longer allowed to represent clients charged with impaired driving offences because of how complicated and technical these charges are. At Aiken Robertson, our in-depth knowledge, expertise and experience ensure that you will be strongly and effectively represented both in and out of court.

Charged with a serious driving offence? You may be wondering if you should seek professional legal advice. In Canada, a conviction is never a foregone conclusion with any criminal charge. An experienced criminal lawyer, who specializes in fighting drinking and driving offences, will discuss with you all potential legal defenses available to you to defeat an impaired driving charge. For anyone facing criminal charges, legal fees are always a concern. However, you must weight legal fee costs against what an impaired driving conviction may ultimately cost you, in terms of fines, loss of driver's license, jail time, lost income and the stigma and restrictions that are the result of a criminal record.

Canadian drinking and driving laws and Ontario drinking and driving laws are always changing. In order to stand the best chance of obtaining a successful outcome in court when fighting drunk driving charges, choose a legal representative who is knowledgeable, experienced and thoroughly up to date on any changes in the Criminal Code in regards to driving offences. Seeking the legal advice of a criminal lawyer who specializes in impaired driving cases is the first step in understanding all of your rights and options. An impaired driving arrest is a serious offence and, depending on many particulars of the case, can have different consequences for each individual. It is crucial that anyone facing a DUI charge understand what challenges they will encounter.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation defines the term "impaired driving" as "driving while your ability is affected by alcohol or drugs." Impaired driving is a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada and, if convicted, you can lose your licence, be fined, or spend time in jail. Your vehicle does not even have to be moving to be charged with impaired driving. If you are impaired behind the wheel of your car, even if you have not even started to drive, you can be charged. Be aware that you can also be charged with impaired driving when you are thought to be impaired while in the driver's seat of a boat, motorcycle or an all-terrain vehicle - any motorized vehicle.

The consequences of driving impaired in Ontario are very serious. As well, Ontario's drinking and driving laws are becoming progressively stricter. For example, in Ontario, a fully licensed driver will receive an immediate 24 hour roadside license suspension if he refuses to summit to a breath test or if during the breath test a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 or more is recorded. Drivers under the age of 21 years and novice drivers, who are not fully licensed, are allowed no alcohol what-so-ever in their system. If convicted, the fully licensed driver could receive a fine of up to $600 and a 30 day license suspension. In addition to fines and potential jail time, a novice driver with an impaired driving conviction would have their license suspended and be required to return to the start of the Graduated License System.

The Province of Ontario has instated automatic roadside licence suspensions that immediately remove drinking drivers and impaired drivers from the roads. Immediate roadside suspensions are also intended to act as a deterrent, in the hope that they will discourage drivers who have been caught drinking and driving from ever re-offending again. If a driver with a prior licence suspension should get caught again with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in the 'warn range', a BAC of 0.05 to 0.08, the police can immediately suspended the impaired drivers license for seven days. For a third or subsequent occurrence after being caught driving with a BAC in the warn range, the offending driver's licence will be immediately suspended for 30 days.

The consequences of being caught driving with a 'Warn Range' 0.05 to 0.08 blood alcohol concentration is as follows:

First offense:

• 3 day licence suspension
• Administrative Monetary Penalty of $150

Second offense: (within a 5 year period)

• 7 day licence suspension
• Administrative Monetary Penalty of $150
• Mandatory participation in Alcohol Education Program

Third offense: (within a 5 year period)

• 30 day licence suspension
• Administrative Monetary Penalty of $150
• Mandatory participation in Alcohol Education Program
• 6 month Ignition interlock licence condition

Fourth and subsequent offenses: (within a 5 year period)

• 30 day licence suspension
• Administrative Monetary Penalty of $150
• Mandatory participation in Alcohol Education Program
• 6 month Ignition interlock licence condition
• Mandatory medical evaluation

When charged with a criminal driving offense in Ontario it is imperative to obtain the best legal representation available. The consequences of being convicted of a serious driving charge can be dire. When faced with fighting a criminal driving conviction it is definitely not worth risking your future by representing yourself or by putting your fate in the hands of a paralegal. It is not that Paralegal services do not provide a useful service; they can be an economical option when you need help with fighting minor driving charges such as speeding or contesting a parking ticket. Criminal law is too complicated and complex for most laypersons to fully comprehend, as well, constantly changing legislation related to drinking and driving in Ontario makes it hard for those without experience and a law degree to keep up with new developments and to assess how the new laws and regulations will affect your case.

Avoiding a criminal conviction and a criminal record should be your number one priority. A criminal conviction and record have severe repercussions and many of them are financial. Along with possible jail time, fines and loss of employment, a conviction could affect the quality of your life for many years to come. A criminal record can curtail international travel, eliminate job prospects, and cause hardship and embarrassment for you and your family. With so much at stake, you want to be working with a legal team that are experts in fighting criminal driving charges in Ontario. The Aitken Robertson team of experienced defence lawyers has Peterborough and Kingston law offices, as well as Toronto, Oshawa, Cobourg and Lindsay. We understand the stress and anxiety experienced by someone facing a possible criminal conviction and we know what is at stake. We are a knowledgeable and aggressive criminal trial lawyers that will provide you with the best possible impaired driving defence. We have successfully defended clients charged with DUI, driving while disqualified, impaired over 80, refused breath sample, and failure to provide a breath sample.

Charged with a criminal driving offense like a DUI, Impaired over 80, refusal to provide a breath sample, or Stunt Racing charge? The first thing you need to do is hire an experienced impaired driving lawyer. While you can choose to retain a DUI lawyer at any time before your trial date, the sooner you have a criminal lawyer, experienced in fighting impaired driving charges, fighting for you, the better off you will be. Hire an experienced impaired driving lawyer early and he will protect your interests from the start. A skilled DUI lawyer will be able to assess all the options that are open to you and what defence strategies can be used for your specific case. Let your impaired driving lawyer get an early start, to allow more time to gather evidence, interview witnesses and work on your criminal defence.

Hiring the best criminal lawyer, experienced in winning drinking and driving cases, and having your lawyer start work as soon as possible on your criminal charges, is the best thing you can possibly do to avoid an impaired driving conviction. Help the criminal barrister representing you by giving him or her the time needed to do the best job possible in preparing your case and later, if necessary, in defending you in criminal court. Your lawyer needs sufficient time to find and interview witnesses whose testimony might help win your case. The earlier witnesses are interviewed, the more detailed their recall of events will be. Information obtained through the witness interview process could play a deciding factor in whether you are successful in fighting your impaired driving charges. Given enough time your lawyer may even be able to find ways to avoid court altogether and have your DUI charges dropped.