Am i eligible for free legal representation at court?
- Thread starter Catherine
- Start date
SeanJoyceStephensons
Solicitor
Free legal representation, or legal aid, is dependent on a few factors in relation to an offence of drink driving.
First, you must meet the financial criteria. However, you must then meet the second criteria, in particular, whether you have reached the threshold for custody.
For drink driving, there are four separate sentencing brackets that guide the Court on what penalty to impose. If you provided a breath specimen and this is a first offence or relevant offence, the brackets are as follows:
Bracket 1 – 36µg to 59 µg – 12 to 16 month driving disqualification and a Band B to Band C fine.
Bracket 2 – 60µg to 89µg – 17 to 22 month driving disqualification and a Band C Fine to a Low Level Community Order
Bracket 3 – 90µg to 119µg – 23 to 28 month driving disqualification and a Low Level to High Level Community Order
Bracket 4 – 120µg to 150µg and above – 29 to 36 month driving disqualification and a High Level Community Order to 26 weeks’ custody.
The custody threshold is reached if you have provided a breath specimen with a reading of 120µg and above. However, if this is a first offence there is no guarantee that the court will impose a prison sentence as part of the penalty.
If you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to call our team on 0333 009 3829
First, you must meet the financial criteria. However, you must then meet the second criteria, in particular, whether you have reached the threshold for custody.
For drink driving, there are four separate sentencing brackets that guide the Court on what penalty to impose. If you provided a breath specimen and this is a first offence or relevant offence, the brackets are as follows:
Bracket 1 – 36µg to 59 µg – 12 to 16 month driving disqualification and a Band B to Band C fine.
Bracket 2 – 60µg to 89µg – 17 to 22 month driving disqualification and a Band C Fine to a Low Level Community Order
Bracket 3 – 90µg to 119µg – 23 to 28 month driving disqualification and a Low Level to High Level Community Order
Bracket 4 – 120µg to 150µg and above – 29 to 36 month driving disqualification and a High Level Community Order to 26 weeks’ custody.
The custody threshold is reached if you have provided a breath specimen with a reading of 120µg and above. However, if this is a first offence there is no guarantee that the court will impose a prison sentence as part of the penalty.
If you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to call our team on 0333 009 3829
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
![]()
