Drink Driving - Road Traffic - Motoring - Criminal Law Solicitors
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To give yourself the best chance of success to save your driving licence or secure a lenient sentence you should instruct criminal solicitor specialising in drink drivng and road traffic law ASAP.
I have been caught drink driving, do I need a solicitor?
Why do I need a solicitor?
Do I have to pay for a solicitor?
What are the possible defences to a drink driving charge?
Can I avoid a drink driving ban if I was driving due to an emergency?
I have been caught drink driving, do I need a solicitor?
The decision is yours. Ideally you should make arrangements to contact and seek advice from a solicitor at the police station when you are detained and before you make any formal statement. There is always a duty solicitor available on call 24 hours a day who provides free legal advice to people detained at the police station. The police will ask you if you want to see a solicitor.
You have a few options:
- You can ask to see a duty solicitor. Duty solicitors are on call 24 hours a day and provide free legal advice to anyone that needs it. Seeing a duty solicitor is free of charge no matter how much you may earn or have in savings.
- You can ask to see your own solicitor or one you have heard of.
- You can ask the police for their local list of solicitors if you do not have your own solicitor or you don't know of any solicitors.
- You can choose not to see a solicitor at the police station.
If you choose not to see a solicitor at the police station and you are charged with a drink driving related offence then it is in your best interests to find a solicitor to represent you in court, this should be done as soon as possible after you are charged.
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Why do I need a solicitor?
If you get a summons or are charged with a drink driving related offence by the police you should seek expert legal advice from a solicitor as soon as possible. Your solicitor will advise you about any possible defence you may have and can represent you in court.
Even if you think you do not have a defence and intend to plead guilty, your solicitor will advise you on many legal aspects. This includes looking into any possibility of avoiding a ban due to 'special reasons' and putting forward a plea of mitigation in order to help secure a lenient sentence.
See our Guide to appearing at Magistrates Court for Drink Driving offences
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Do I have to pay for a solicitor?
This depends on which solicitor you want to get to represent you. Many solicitors do legal aid work. This means that they represent you and apply to the government for funding to cover the costs. If you are on low income or state benefits you may qualify for legal aid. This means that hiring a solicitor who undertakes legal aid work (and if you are eligible to receive legal aid), it will cost you very little (usually nothing).
If you want to apply for legal aid then please make sure when contacting any solicitor that they actually do legal aid work before you make an appointment. At your first appointment your solicitor will help you fill out all the necessary forms in order to apply for legal aid. For more information on legal aid and your eligibility please see www.legalservices.gov.uk.
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What are the possible defences to a drink driving charge?
Expert advice and representation from a solicitor specialising in drink driving law is crucial in preparing the best possible defence to a drink driving charge.
The hip-flask defence: A person should not be convicted of drink driving when they can prove that any alcohol consumed AFTER any alleged offence and BEFORE they provided a specimen for analysis resulted in them being over the legal prescribed drink driving limit. The burden of proof is on the drink driving defendant to prove beyond reasonable doubt that this was the case. The sentencing court is entitled to assume that the alcohol level at the time of any alleged offence was not less than that at the time of any evidential blood alcohol content test.
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Can I avoid a drink driving ban if I was driving due to an emergency?
There may be certain circumstances where a driver was over the drink drive limit and does not have a defence but can still avoid a driving ban if he has a special reason for driving. Once the driver has pleaded guilty to drink driving, the court must be convinced that there are special reasons not to disqualify the driver.
Special reasons could include:
- The journey being an emergency. If the driver can satisfy the court that the journey was what amounts to an emergency, then a driving ban may be avoided.
- Being guilty of drink driving as a result of your drinks being laced with alcohol (spiked) without your knowledge.
- Moving the vehicle to prevent a hazard or an accident.
If a driver was under EXTREME duress, for example if the driver was driving while over the prescribed drink drive limit due to death threats or the fear of EXTREME physical injury and was literally fleeing for his life, this can possibly be used as a special reason not to disqualify when convicted of drink driving. There must be good cause to fear death or extreme physical injury, this defence will only succeed if the danger was immediate or imminent. Once the threat or danger becomes ineffective, the driver must stop driving, if he fails to do so he will be guilty of drinking and driving. Once this defence has been raised in court it is up to the prosecution to disprove it.
The case law regarding special reasons is a complicated area and it may be essential to consult and call forward expert scientific witnesses in order to try and prove your case. Expert legal advice and representation from a solicitor specialising in drink driving law is crucial.
Expert legal advice is required to distinguish between a defence to drink driving and special reasons for not disqualifying after a conviction of drink driving.
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Expert legal advice from a solicitor must be obtained in all cases |
