A DUI charge is considered as a serious offence in Ontario. As a matter of fact, anyone with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.08 can be criminally charged and may face serious consequences.
Consequences of Over 80 in Ontario
The penalties for someone charged with an over 80 in Ontario include:
- Paying a $550 fine
- Facing 90 days of license suspension
- Needing to pay $275 for reinstatement of license
- Going through 7 days of vehicle impoundment
- Having to use an ignition interlock device for a minimum of 6 months which can be as long as 10 years if the person has been charged with DUI for the third time or more within a 10-year period
- Needing to attend a mandatory treatment and education program for people who have a second or more DUI offences within a 10-year period
The consequences outlined above may sound too harsh but then, driving the influence is a dangerous act that can harm a lot of people. With this said, although the DUI consequences may be fair for the offence, there are instances wherein someone charged and convicted for a DUI may be innocent or improperly charged. For situations like that, an impaired driving lawyer or a criminal defence lawyer can help to challenge the charge.
Challenge A DUI Charge Effectively
Below are the common defences that DUI lawyers use to challenge a DUI a charge effectively. The following don’t require the services of a private investigator to uncover, just the experience and knowledge of an experienced criminal lawyer.
- Citing that the arresting officer does not have proper training on the use of the screening device. An example of this would be if the officer was not able to explain the procedure.
- Using the “last drink” excuse for officers who do their arrest of people who have just left a bar. Their blood alcohol level could be lower than 80 milligrams when they were apprehended while driving and only went higher during testing because their last drink has been absorbed by then.
- Contradictory indicia notes which means the driver may have not been impaired. If the driver was not impaired, then the arrest could be all just a mistake.
- Late use of the screening device which can give inaccurate readings and inaccurate recording of facts.
- The officers failing to honour an individual’s right to counsel such as when the arresting officer denied the accused access to a lawyer. This would render all the information collected against the accused useless as evidence as well.
- Absence or lack of reasonable and probable grounds during the arrest. No reason for the arrest means that there should be no case at all.
- Delayed collection of samples from the accused. Any issue in the procedure can be considered as possible defence as well.
- Presenting inaccurate tox reports. If this is found, then this can also mean that the charged individual may not even be drunk at all and therefore, there will be no case.
Always remember that a DUI charge is a serious criminal offence that can have drastic consequences on your life. The best defence to an impaired driving charge, is finding an experienced impaired driving lawyer to represent you.
