IRP Lawyer
If you are looking for the right IRP lawyer, you have come to the right place.
In the spring of 2010, the BC Government introduced legislation to implement the Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) law. This new drunk driving law first came into effect on September 20, 2010.
IRP law: a departure from old impaired driving law
The IRP law represented a complete departure from the traditional DUI laws of British Columbia. Instead of collecting evidence using an evidentiary breathalyzer instrument located in a police station, officers now only take tests using roadside screener breathalyzers. Instead of having a trial in court, the hearing is conducted in a Government office in Victoria with minimal disclosure and no chance to challenge the evidence of the police. No longer is there full disclosure and the right to cross-examine the police officer.
The IRP law was controversial from the start. Some of the experienced DUI and impaired driving lawyers in British Columbia simply quit practicing law or took on other types of cases. Very few were vocal in their opposition to the law.
Lawyer Paul Doroshenko opposed the IRP law from the start. He explained problems with the process, and identified many of the legal failings of the IRP law before the scheme even came into effect (Should you be worried about B.C. Breathalyzers). He took the position that he has a moral obligation as a lawyer to expose the faults of the IRP law.
Paul Doroshenko and Kyla Lee were in a unique position when the IRP law was introduced. For over a decade Paul Doroshenko was one of the most successful lawyers challenging ADP Administrative Driving Prohibitions and criminal DUIs. He was the only DUI lawyer in BC who had the roadside breathalyzers, evidentiary breathalyzers and the calibration equipment to test them.
When the law came into effect, Paul Doroshenko and Kyla Lee became dedicated IRP Lawyers, and the most vocal opponents of the IRP law. The lawyers at Acumen Law Corporation have been involved in the major challenges to the IRP scheme, and in particular they have been crucial in exposing the deficiencies with relying on roadside screener breathalyzers as the basis of punishment.
To be an IRP lawyer:
To be an IRP lawyer means that you need to come to work every day with new strategies to take on the Government’s law and properly defend your clients. To be an IRP lawyer means you need to frequently appeal decisions to all levels of court. We have fundamentally changed our methods as lawyers. We have had to become experts in breath testing equipment and sobriety testing. We have had to immerse ourselves in the science of breath testing. We have had to accumulate thousands and thousands of previously undisclosed records, documents and reports from police detachments and Government offices. We have had to accumulate information on police officers. We have had to change the way that we approach our practice of law.
The old style of impaired driving / DUI defence is gone. It is outdated and no longer useful under the new law. We know that to be an IRP lawyer one must be fully versed in police procedure, Government policy, the science of breath testing and administrative law. On top of that you need vast records from other cases to be able to catch police when they break the rules. As well, you need to be prepared to back up your reasoning by appealing decisions to all levels of appeal court.
If you need an IRP lawyer, you’ve come to the right place. We developed many of the defences that exist to defend an IRP. We are constantly challenging the police and Government to chisel away at the IRP law and to expose its significant flaws. We have protected the driving privileges of thousands of people just like you.
IRP Lawyer resources:
Our website has the most expansive information about the IRP law and the history of the IRP scheme. Our blog is the go-to source for people with IRPs, lawyers, police officers, Government workers and anyone who wants to know what’s going on both in front and behind the scenes with IRP appeals and the IRP scheme. We are responsible for substantial changes in police procedure because of our work exposing problems with the IRP law and our blog that reports the turning points in the IRP impaired driving law.