help please

[peebee1983]

my wife was arrested last night for drink driving...

she was 68mg/100ml breath test, and has been charged.

the officer has put the offence road down incorrectly, he has put, wilton rd, handworth, b20.


we searched for the car after her release. it was not thwere and was only found after a tracker device located it at wilton street, lozells , B19.

could this mean that she avoids court/any repucusions on a technicality??

She had 2 single vodka lemonades over a 3 hr period so we were surprised she was over the limit.

thank you for any help.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

I'm afraid that if any issue was raised in respect of incorrect information on the charge sheet the police would simply amend this and the Court would accept that it was simply an administrative error. This is not to say that other errors have not been made that would have more of a bearing on the case and may give rise to a defence.

I would be very surprised if 2 single measures of vodka would result in a reading of 68, even if they had been consumed over a short period of time and certainly not over the space of 3 hours. It may well be worth making investigations to see if the bar had mistakenly given your wife doubles instead of single measures or if anyone has added extra alcohol to the drink at any point.

In respect of the likely sentence if your wife is convicted or pleads guilty, for a first offence the sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 17-22 month disqualification and a Band C fine which would be calculated on her income. She is also likely to be offered the opportunity to attend the drink drive rehabilitation course which would reduce the length of the disqualification by up to 25% upon completion.

 

[peebee1983]

Thank you Sean...

It has now been worked out to be 2 single vodkas in 1.5 hr period, at the venue for 3 hrs, and on an empty stomach.

Will get her to investigate drink situation as you state.

what price is your service pls?

Also can a member of the public request information from the police in relation to their case (MGDD/A) and the age of the breathalyser and calibration records?

Also I spoke to a solicitor yesterday who states plead not guilty as the sentence cannot be any worse than pleading guilty- is this correct?? As they may take away offer of the course?? as not remorseful??

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

There is an argument to state that the disqualification will not be directly affected if your wife pleads not guilty. As you may be aware, a one third reduction is given in sentence if someone pleads guilty at the first hearing. However, this reduction is not applicable to the disqualification so this will not automatically cause the length of the ban to increase. That being said, mitigation that can be presented to the Court such as remorse, taking steps to address the problem etc. are unlikely to carry much weight after a trial has been run. These factors can also influence the length of ban imposed although I would not expect the Court to withhold the rehabilitation course simply because your wife pleaded not guilty.

Anybody can request the relevant information from the prosecution, the issue arises in knowing what to look for and which matters would constitute a significant procedural error. For example relative innocuous things can be a serious issue (the person completing the procedure must be a full uniformed officer).

If you wife wished to plead not guilty to the offence and run a trial then the total fees would be fixed at £3500 + VAT which would include all of the preparation work and representation by a barrister at any hearings. If for any reason an expert's report is needed then this would be at additional cost, I cannot confirm what this would be as it would depend upon the nature of the report.