Impaired Operation and Over 80 - No Conviction

Ms. H came to our office facing severe consequences. She was also dealing with personal hardships including years of alcohol dependency and many failed attempts at remaining alcohol free. Ms. H was drinking and driving. She was operating her vehicle on a highway when she lost control and ended in a ditch. There was no one else in the vehicle. This was a stormy December night. Ms. H remained on the scene of the accident. Witnesses informed police of a female standing near a vehicle stuck in a ditch on the side of the highway. Officers soon arrived and began conducting an investigation. It was determined Ms. H was the driver, and that she had alcohol in her body. She was subsequently administered with a roadside screening device where she registered a fail. Ms. H was placed under arrest and transported to the police station for the purpose of providing further breath samples. She provided two samples reading a blood alcohol concentration of 269 and 245.

The goal was to resolve Ms. H’s matter in the most favourable fashion. Ms. H was not at a good place in her life. We knew we had to do our best to get Ms. H out of the justice system so that she could work on getting her life back on track.

After a thorough review of all evidence, it was evident that the Crown would have a very hard time succeeding at trial. There were multiple technical and constitutional breaches as well as omissions made by the investigating officers. We knew Ms. H could not plead guilty. Although the Crown did not budge after initial discussions and continued to pursue with the prosecution, we did not give up. A constitutional application was filed and Ms. H’s matter was set down for a trial.

The Crown Attorney carefully considered our arguments and Constitutional Application. Less than one week before trial the Crown ceased with the prosecution and offered to withdraw Ms. H’s charges for a plea to a Highway Traffic Act offence of careless driving. Ms. H’s charges were withdrawn. She did not get a criminal record and did not lose her licence. Ms. H was delighted.