When the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme was introduced, the Government trumpeted the new .05% limit as an extraordinary advancement in dealing with drinking and driving in BC. For decades the law had been that you could be subject to a 24-hour prohibition if you were in the “Warn” range (theoretically .05-.08%). The new law would […]
No Point to .05 Continue Reading »
In just over a year we will have an election in British Columbia, and if voters follow through on their current trajectory, the BCLiberals will lose power. In fact, it may end in a Kim Campbell style wipe out for the governing party. So it makes sense that people are starting to look for the
What Will the New Government Do? Continue Reading »
Yesterday we discussed the small but important pile of papers you get when the police send you home after arresting you in a drinking driving case. Most people are charged with: Impaired Driving s.320.14(1)(a); and Being At or Over .08 s.320.14(1)(b); or Refusal to Provide a Breath Sample s.320.15 Criminal Code drinking and driving offences
Court Papers in Drinking Driving Cases Continue Reading »
If you are arrested for a drunk driving offence in British Columbia, you normally walk out the police station with a small pile of papers. Many people don’t want to know what the papers say. Most important at that moment is to get home, gets some sleep, have a shower and find something to eat.
Papers the Police Give You Continue Reading »
Compelling government offices to disclose documents is part of our regular course of business. After all, we are criminal lawyers. So Freedom of Information requests are nothing new to us. Back in 2000, when Ujjal Dosanjh was Premier, we obtained information about how many new cars were failing Aircare. It turns out, cars 10 years
We Have Some Questions Continue Reading »
There is nothing better than being an adult in a free country like Canada. You can go hiking in bear country, sledding in risky avalanche zones, you can try your hand at whitewater kayaking, you can pierce any piece of flesh, you can drink yourself into a coma or eat enough hot dogs to give
Protecting You from Your Own Free Will Continue Reading »
The limitation periods for IRPs, ADPs, 24-hour Prohibitions and Notice of Intent letters confound most people. What mystifies us is why the person subject to the prohibition should have such a short period to file for review. To us some of the time periods can only serve to disadvantage the applicant. And we wonder if
A Decision in 21 Days or Your Pizza Is Free Continue Reading »
We are criminal lawyers so our job is to advocate for our clients. This we normally do in a quiet manner, working behind the scene to get the best results attainable for our clients while protecting their privacy. And we do our job very well. What is unusual for us is to advocate in the
Public Advocacy Continue Reading »
When you are stopped by the police at the roadside, they must not delay you unnecessarily. It is your constitutional right in Canada to not be arbitrarily detained by a police officer. If you are detained, you must be informed of the reason, i.e. that you are under investigation and the crime for which you
A Proper Breath Test (PBT) Continue Reading »
From the moment cars were invented, we had a problem with people driving drunk. Not long after someone invented the Drunkometer. Our ancestors were drinking alcohol long before recorded history. There is evidence that suggests humans were drinking 10,000 years ago, and probably long before that. The process of distilling to produce spirits such as
The Drunkometer Continue Reading »
The feedback that we receive from our blog is inspiring. Mostly we get emails, but also phone calls and the odd thank-you on the street. We have over 130 postings. Most are about the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme, which merely reflects the fact that we have a lot to say about it (almost all of
What Is the Right Tool? Continue Reading »
The Police in BC are still busily handing out 3, 7 and 30 day IRP driving prohibitions for blowing WARN on an ASD, as well as 90-day Prohibitions for alleged refusal. We are disputing these prohibitions and still actively looking for cases to add to our Supreme Court challenge of the legislation. Recently we asked
Why you didn’t demand a second test Continue Reading »
