Advice on correct procedure.

[Madeinwales]

A few days ago my wife was involved in an accident allegedly with an unmarked police vehicle, she was breathalyser and found to be over the limit. She was immediately arrested and taken to the Police station. Needless to say we were extremely angry and disappointed and my immediate thoughts were that they should throw the book at her to teach her a lesson. However, looking at it now from a purely selfish perspective it will have a massive impact on our family life and I am trying to mitigate the financial and inconvenience impact this will have. She has already approached a counselling service and has admitted having a problem to her friends and family. However the fact still stands that she was arrested for being over the drink drive limit. There are a couple of procedural inconsistencies with what happened and what I've read on various forums. In this case she was arrested at sometime around midday on Tuesday, she was not allowed to see any of us or given access to a solicitor until 3am Wednesday morning when I was called to collect her from the Station. I actually went down to the station at 11pm and asked whether she had seen a solicitor and was told that this wasn't necessary yet. During a conversation with the police earlier in the day I was told that due to a problem with the breathalyser in the station they had been forced to take a blood sample. When I collected her at 3am I asked for the second sample for independent analysis and the duty sergeant said they weren't sure where it was. I asked my wife if they had given her the option to have one to take home at all and she says they didn't. This is the first time either my wife or I have ever been arrested so neither of us would have a clue what to expect other than what we've seen on TV which we're aware can differ wildly from reality. So I have a few questions:

1.) Should she have been given access to a solicitor at some point during her arrest?
2.) Should she have been given a sample of blood for independent testing?
3.) Can the Police now produce the 'lost' sample retrospectively after releasing her from the station?
4.) Should she be given information on witnesses to the accident as we are unable to find out any information about the accident?

She has not been charged yet but has been bailed to appear back at the Police station early December.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

Thanks for your post.

To answer your questions in turn:

1. She should have been allowed to speak to a solicitor if she asked to do so.

2. The case law on providing a specimen of blood for independent analysis is complex. In short, if the correct steps are not taken by the police your wife may have a defence to the charge. We would need to discuss this point in more detail over the telephone in order to advise you properly.


3. Yes, the police can still produce the missing specimen if they are able to locate it.

4. With regard to your question about witnesses, this depends on the circumstances. Has your wife been interviewed by the Police? If she was interviewed she should have been advised as to any evidence against her. If she was not, the relevant evidence would be served either at the first Court hearing or immediately prior to that hearing.

If you would like to discuss the matter in more detail please feel free to contact me on 0845 002 0736. Alternatively, if you would like me to contact you, please indicate a suitable time for me to do so.


Kind regards,


Carl Johnson
Solicitor
On behalf of Sean Joyce