Help please about possibility of prison sentence ?

[tulip125]

Hi there,

My sister has been charged with drink driving and has court next week. She has no previous driving convictions or any legal convictions at all (she's never been in trouble in her life in fact.) However she's been suffering with anxiety & depression & alcohol addiction for a year or so now (all is well documented) and unfortunately a week or so ago she drove home very drunk. She wasn't arrested in the car, in fact someone had reported her for driving recklessly & the police came to the house and arrested her after she'd got home. We have instructed a solicitor but they have said because of her breath test being so high (it was 192 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres - so over 4 x the legal limit) that its possible they could send her to prison. We've been told its very unlikely as its her first offence, nobody was hurt, she's pleading guilty etc and has documented problems) and that its more likely a huge fine, ban and at worst community service. But I want someone to honestly tell me if they think there is a likely hood of prison time or if anyone has been through something similar where they have been very much over the limit like this? Thanks in advance

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

A breath reading of 192µg falls with the fourth of four sentencing brackets for the offence of driving with excess alcohol. This sentencing bracket is for breath readings from 120 – 150 and above, therefore, your sister will fall at the higher end of this bracket.

There are two parts to the sentencing for this offence.

Firstly, if your sister is pleading guilty, or is convicted of the offence, she will be disqualified from driving. The sentencing bracket advises of a disqualification from 29 to 36 months. Pleading guilty will not automatically reduce the disqualification, however it may be that your sister would be eligible for a drink drive rehabilitation course, which can reduce the disqualification by up to 25%.

Secondly, the court will consider a punitive element to the sentence. For a reading of 192µg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, the Court will consider the imposition of a High Level Community Order or custody. The community would be on the basis of an unpaid word requirement. If your sister enters a guilty plea at the first available opportunity, you will receive a reduction of up to one third for this part of the sentencing.

The fact that your sister has been suffering with anxiety and depression could be considered mitigating factors.

As you have noted, there is a risk of custody. This risk cannot be ruled out even if this is a first offence for your sister, given the level of her breath reading. Therefore, mitigation should be put forward to the Court to ask them to consider the lower end of the sentencing scale, which would suggest a Community Order.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on 0333 200 9857.