1-613-233-0008 yourteam@armouredsuits.ca

You may have been charged with a drunk driving offence, and feel that your chances of being acquitted are slim. That’s actually not the case. A good lawyer will be able to help you defend yourself and will be aware of possible options available to your defence.

Still, many people feel that they’ve been caught in the act of drinking while impaired and that there’s no way to defend their actions. If this is you, you may be tempted to plead guilty because you may feel that there’s no way around defending yourself. Don’t. You may be amazed at the options that could undo the case against you.

What is Impaired Driving?

An impaired driving charge basically is made when the police think your ability to drive has been impaired by alcohol or drugs. It doesn’t matter if you passed or failed a breathalyzer test. In court, police will testify about the impairment that they noticed and may provide video evidence from the scene of the arrest or from the police station.

If you’ve been charged with having “over 80,” it means your blood alcohol concentration was found to be more than the legal limit of 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Impaired driving and “over 80” charges are offences under the Criminal Code. So is refusing to take a breathalyzer test when the police order you to do so. So is sleeping in a vehicle while intoxicated because you’re in the “care and control” of a vehicle. That all means that if you are convicted, you will have a criminal record. That will open up problems with being able to travel, adopting a child, finding an apartment to rent, and obtaining employment, among other things.

Recent legislation will make changes to impaired driving penalties. For more information on this, consult the Government of Canada’s backgrounder on Changes to Impaired Driving Laws.

How to Defend Yourself in Court

You can defend an impaired driving charge by hiring an experienced, competent lawyer, such as the ones at Armoured Suits, to help you resolve your case. For instance, we may be able to broker a plea deal that will see you plead guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving, which won’t lead to a criminal record in some cases.

We can also use potential defences. Perhaps your constitutional rights have been violated during the arrest or while you were in police custody? You may have been arbitrarily detained, denied the right to counsel, not given the reasons for being detained, or had an unreasonable search and seizure of your property. There may also have been delays in the timing of the breath demand from the police or the delays in providing the testing. You might also have waited a long time for your case to come to trial. All of these things could have an impact on the successful resolution of your case.

We can also help you challenge issues surrounding the breathalyzer used, the test results and the police’s methods. If the police haven’t treated you professionally, a judge might stay the charge or charges against you.

Essentially, the laws against drunk driving can be complicated and many cases are won on technicalities. Again, it is important that you hire a competent lawyer to help you win.

Contact Us

If you don’t have a lawyer, and want to defend yourself against a drinking and driving charge, Armoured Suits offers a complimentary 30-minute private consultation. Contact Armoured Suits by phone at 613-233-0008 or e-mail at yourteam@armouredsuits.ca to book your meeting.