Media Archives

Breathalyzer machines used by police are error-prone

Mar 14 2013

Breath-analysis machines used by police forces across B.C. are incapable of differentiating between mouth and blood alcohol, are prone to human error and should not be used to issue immediate roadside driving suspensions, according to a leading forensic scientist. Those findings are outlined in an affidavit prepared by Nizar Shajani, a Burnaby-based forensic scientist who […]

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B.C. drunk-driving laws could trigger new wave of court battles

Feb 3 2013

The B.C. government isn’t properly following its own drunk-driving laws and should prepare to be hammered by a new wave of court challenges, says the lawyer whose legal petitions forced more than 1,110 impaired-driving penalties to be overturned. “They were obligated to apply the law, and they didn’t do it,” said Paul Doroshenko, a Vancouver

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Impaired penalty review prompts B.C. to grant breaks to more than 1,100

Feb 2 2013

More than 1,100 British Columbia motorists caught up in tougher drunk driving rules before part of the law was found unconstitutional will have some of their punishments overturned, but their drunk driving penalty still sticks. The Justice Ministry confirmed Friday at least 1,137 motorists who were required to attend and pay for driver education programs

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Faulty breathalyzers used in Port Moody

Feb 1 2013

Fourteen out of 174 roadside suspensions issued by Port Moody police in 2011 will be overturned after an independent investigation found the suspensions were based on readings of improperly calibrated breathalyzers. The findings, announced Thursday, were forwarded to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, which said it will be contacting the 14 drivers to cancel their

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DUI cases tossed due to shoddy paperwork

Jan 26 2013

Vancouver police have been taking shortcuts in DUI cases by photocopying forms used to demonstrate that breathalyzer machines have been tested and are working properly. Criminal lawyer Paul Doroshenko said at least 17 cases of 90-day driving suspensions have been tossed out because of shoddy paperwork provided by the Vancouver police department. “I think every

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Drunk driving cases tossed due to bad paperwork

Jan 22 2013

Roughly seventeen drunk driving cases have been thrown out after police cut corners by photocopying alcohol breath test calibration forms. When defence lawyer Paul Doroshenko was working on a case involving suspected drunk drivers he represented, he found that calibration forms police fill out to prove breath tests are working had been photocopied, including the

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B.C.reviewing drunk driving penalties after laws challenged

Jan 21 2013

Strong legal challenges from motorists forced to pay thousands of dollars in costs as part of the government’s get-tough impaired driving laws have prompted a review that could put the brakes on drunk driving penalties worth more than $2,600 for some drivers, says British Columbia’s deputy superintendent of motor vehicles. “What’s happened is we’ve had

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Roadside breathalyzers not correctly calibrated: Police watchdog

Oct 29 2012

PORT MOODY — Nearly a year after allegations surfaced that roadside breathalyzers used by the Port Moody Police Department were incorrectly calibrated, a police watchdog has agreed. The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) has determined that the force’s approved screening devices (ASD) had been incorrectly calibrated and the allegations of neglect of duty

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Hundreds of Albertans have seen their vehicles impounded for excessive speeding and impaired driving in B.C.

Oct 21 2012

For 253 Alberta motorists, the strictest traffic laws in Canada turned a holiday trip to Super, Natural British Columbia into a headache trek to the nearest impound lot. That’s how many Alberta vehicles were seized between June and August by B.C. police, after drivers from this province ran afoul of the nation’s harshest speeding and

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Port Moody police admit to breathalyzer error

Sep 17 2012

Port Moody police have admitted to an administrative error that could potentially taint the results of 50 failed breathalyzer tests, following a CTV News investigation into the matter last week. The department issued a statement Monday acknowledging that an officer had written an incorrect expiry date onto numerous forms issued for roadside bans in that

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Lawyer wants Port Moody drunk driving bans overturned

Sep 13 2012

A Vancouver lawyer is calling for all Port Moody impaired driving bans issued since June 15 to be overturned, CTV’s Investigators have learned. Paul Doroshenko recently won a case for a client who failed two breathalyzer tests in that Metro Vancouver municipality in August. Doroshenko reviewed maintenance documents for the screening devices that registered a

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New Alberta DUI laws violate the presumption of innocence

Jul 1 2012

Criminal lawyer Paul Doroshenko discusses some of the shocking realities of the new driving laws in Alberta: This is the Alberta Government trying to bully people into an early guilty plea… Click here to watch the interview about the new Alberta DUI laws. (Link removed April 2015)

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