| Ron Jourard Criminal Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario www.defencelaw.com |
Tel. (416) 398-6685 Toll free (Canada and U.S.) 1-888-257-0002 Email: jourard@defencelaw.com |
Return to graphic version of this article or defencelaw.com home page.
This article last updated October 30, 2008.
If you have been charged with drinking and driving, you may have a defence. Under Canadian law, the consequences of a conviction may be both costly and devastating. Do not plead guilty before you consult a criminal lawyer as you may have a defence.
A conviction for impaired driving, drive over 80, care or control, refuse breath sample, or refuse to do tests or provide a bodily fluid sample to determine if your ability to drive is impaired by a drug means the loss of your driver's licence for at least one year, a criminal record and a huge hike in your motor vehicle insurance premiums. If your job involves driving, you may lose your livelihood.
If you've been charged with drinking and driving, that is, over 80, impaired operation or care or control of a motor vehicle, or refuse to provide a suitable breath sample, you are liable to the following penalties upon conviction:
For a first offence: a minimum fine of $1,000; a minimum one-year driving prohibition; in some provinces (Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta), you can drive after three months if you install an alcohol ignition-interlock device.
For a second offence: a minimum jail sentence of 30 days; a minimum driving prohibition of two years; in Ontario, a three-year licence suspension if the prior conviction was registered within the last 10 years (the suspension starts upon conviction); in some provinces (Que., Man. and Alta.), you can drive after six months if you install an alcohol ignition-interlock device.
For a third offence: a minimum jail sentence of 120 days; a driving prohibition of at least three years; in Ontario, a life-time suspension if the prior convictions were registered after September 30, 1993, and all convictions occur within 10 years of each other; after completion of assessment and a remedial program, a life-time suspension may be reduced to 10 years from the date of conviction; in some provinces (Que., Man. and Alta.), you can drive after 12 months if you install an alcohol ignition-interlock device.
Four or more convictions: If you are convicted of a fourth or subsequent offence your licence will be permanently suspended in Ontario with no possibility of reinstatement; in some provinces (Que., Man. and Alta.), you can drive after 12 months if you install an alcohol ignition-interlock device.
Other driving offences and out-of-province convictions: In Ontario, convictions (or discharges) registered after September 30, 1993, for dangerous driving, flee police and fail to remain at the scene of an accident are also taken into account in determining the number of previous convictions. Convictions from other provinces are also considered. Convictions or discharges for dangerous driving, flee police and fail to remain will result in licence suspension in Ontario in the same way as a conviction for a drinking and driving offence.
Multiple convictions: in Ontario, if you are convicted of two or more driving offences relating to the same incident, such as Impaired Driving and Refuse Breath Sample, your licence will be suspended as if there had been a single conviction. Thus, if you have no prior convictions, you will lose your licence for one year only. However, if the offences arise out of separate incidents your licence will be suspended for one year for the first conviction and three for the second. The suspensions run from the conviction date and are not consecutive.
Twice the legal limit: The courts may impose a harsher penalty on drivers who register a blood alcohol level in excess of 160 mgs. per cent, that is, over twice the legal limit.
Note: The court-imposed driving prohibition runs concurrently with the licence suspension that kicks in automatically under provincial law so that, for example, a one-year prohibition for a first offence expires at the same time as the one-year suspension in Ontario. The suspension and prohibition commence upon conviction.
Under reciprocity accords, a New York State or Michigan driver's licence will be suspended following a conviction in Ontario for drinking and driving in Ontario.
Authorities in other states could be informed if drinking and driving charges are laid in Canada against the holder of a U.S. driver's licence. For example, in Ontario, police could seize the driver's licence of an American charged with driving with excess alcohol or refusal to provide a breath sample. On receiving the licence, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will return it to the department of transportation for the issuing state and advise it of the reason for the seizure.
If you are a U.S. citizen or visitor to Canada convicted of a drinking and driving offence in Canada, see information on immigration impact.
If you are convicted of drinking and driving, your fingerprints and photographs will be retained by the RCMP in Ottawa. And if you're ever pulled over again, your record may show up when police run a routine check.
A conviction also means you will have a criminal record which could hurt your employment and restrict your ability to travel. However, it should not prevent you from entering the United States as generally it is not a crime of moral turpitude under U.S. immigration law.
If you are planning a trip to the U.S., as a precaution carry a certified true copy of the information (court document) relating to the conviction and a copy of the Criminal Code section under which you were convicted.
It would be wise also to have a letter from your doctor stating you are not addicted to alcohol or drugs. If available, bring a certified true transcript of the evidence underlying your conviction as well.
Your motor vehicle insurance rates will skyrocket after a conviction. In Ontario, you will probably be required to insure with Facility Association, which insures high-risk drivers and exacts high premiums. For each of the three years following your conviction, Facility Association will levy a 100 per cent surcharge atop your premiums. It will impose more surcharges, up to a maximum of 250 per cent, for other convictions relating to the same incident, such as careless driving or fail to remain at the scene of an accident. Each insurance company has its own conviction surcharge schedule.
Ontario drivers who register a blood-alcohol reading of over 80 mgs. in 100 ml. of blood or refuse or fail to provide a breath sample, have their licence immediately suspended for 90 days. Other provinces have similar schemes. The 90-day suspension is not a criminal penalty; no finding of guilt is required before it takes effect.
In Ontario, the Ministry of Transportation mails you a new licence at the end of the suspension period. No reinstatement fee applies.
The suspension may lead to imposition of an insurance surcharge. In Ontario, if you successfully defend the charge that led to the suspension, provide a certified copy of the information (charging document) to your insurance company. Upon renewal of your policy, the surcharge should be removed.
In Ontario, persons convicted of drinking and driving offences must complete a remedial program at a cost of $578 plus GST before licence reinstatement.
First offenders and repeat offenders (persons with a prior conviction entered after September 1993) must be assessed and finish an 8-hour education program or 16 hours of treatment. A follow-up interview is conducted six months later, with the result that the program takes about eight months to complete. You are advised to commence the program early to ensure licence reinstatement without delay upon lapse of your licence suspension and driving prohibition.
If you have completed the remedial program and paid the $150 reinstatement fee, the Ministry of Transportation mails you a new licence at the end of the suspension period.
For more information see Back on Track.
Anyone convicted in Ontario of a drinking and driving offence committed after December 22, 2001, must install an ignition interlock in their vehicle once their driving privileges are restored. Before starting the car, the driver will have to blow into the device. If an impermissible level of alcohol is detected, the car will not start.
Persons convicted of a first offence have to use the device, which rents for about $100 a month, for at least one year; those convicted of a second offence can apply to have it removed after three years. A driver with more than two convictions must install the device permanently.
Avoid apple fritters and bagged carrots if you have to drive with an interlock device. It appears that foods capable of even slight fermentation produce enough mouth alcohol to trigger the interlock. Also keep away from alcohol-based mouthwash or spray and breath fresheners.
In Ontario, under an amendment to the Civil Remedies Act that took effect February 20, 2008, anyone whose licence has been suspended two or more times in the past 10 years for an alcohol-related driving crime is liable to have his or her vehicle forfeited to the Crown.
Over 80 refers to the amount of alcohol in your blood as measured by a breath or blood test. The legal blood alcohol level in Canada is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. (In most U.S. states it's 100 mgs.; in Sweden it's 20 mgs.)
A charge of impaired operation of a motor vehicle may be laid if police believe your ability to drive a motor vehicle is impaired - however slightly - as a result of drinking (or drugs). Typically, this charge is laid if there is evidence of bad driving, slurred speech, imbalance, and/or fumbling.
A charge of refuse to provide a suitable sample of breath ("refuse sample" for short) is laid after you fail or refuse without reasonable excuse to provide a breath sample either into a roadside screening device or a breathalyzer instrument. The roadside screening device test is administered to determine whether you are over the legal limit; if you register a fail on the device, you will be asked to undergo a breath test which measures the amount of alcohol in your blood.
Often a charge of Impaired Operation is laid along with a charge of Drive Over 80 or Refuse Sample.
You do not have to be caught driving to be charged with Over 80 or Impaired. It's enough if you're in "care or control." You are presumed to be in care or control if police find you sitting in the driver's seat.
However, you may rebut the presumption if your intention on entering the driver's seat was not to drive (e.g., to sleep). If you rebut the presumption, you might still be found guilty if the Crown can show that you performed some act or acts involving the vehicle or its fittings, or conduct associated with the vehicle, that involve the risk of putting it in motion.
Beware: you may be found in care or control even if you are outside your vehicle.
Numerous defences can be raised on a charge of Over 80. A few of the most common are described below and on the pages that follow. Availability of any defence depends on the facts of your case.
You can raise a reasonable doubt about whether your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was over the legal limit with evidence that you did not drink too much and by demonstrating that that the breath instrument was malfunctioning or operated improperly. You will also need to show that but for the malfunction or improper operation, your readings would have been within the legal limit.
To mount this defence at trial, you will need a toxicologist (an expert on the body's absorption and elimination of alcohol) or a report from one. The toxicologist can calculate your BAC based on your weight and the amount and time of alcohol consumption. (Hiring a toxicologist for trial will likely cost over a $1,000; a report can be obtained for much less or from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto for free.)
Unless the judge finds the evidence about how much you drank unreliable, your testimony will throw doubt on the readings obtained by police. In assessing your evidence about alcohol consumption, the judge cannot take into account your breath test results, however high. This follows from a December 2005 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (see paragraph 43).
Were you over the legal limit at the time of the alleged offence? Use the Calculator to approximate your blood alcohol level.
On an Over 80 charge, the Crown must prove your BAC was over the legal limit at the time of driving. But because police do the breath instrument test only afterward, the Criminal Code presumes the result - the lower of the two readings obtained from the breath samples - reflects your BAC at the time you are stopped.
The presumption applies only if the tests are started within two hours. If the first test is carried out more than two hours after the time of driving (or care or control), the Crown will need a toxicologist to calculate your BAC at that time. If the Crown fails to bring one or a report from one to your trial, the Over 80 charge cannot be proven.
If the breath instrument readings are slightly over 80 and you guzzled a drink just before being stopped, you may have a "last drink" defence. As it takes time for alcohol to enter the bloodstream, a toxicologist may be able to testify you were under 80 at the time of the stop because the alcohol had not yet been fully absorbed. The last drink defence is very effective because you do not have to question the reliability of the breath instrument results.
Often a drinking and driving charge can be defended by showing that police or other authorities have violated your rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A drinking and driving investigation where breath tests are conducted can engage the following constitutional rights:
If one or more of these rights is breached before the breath tests are completed, it may be possible to exclude the test results and secure your acquittal on a charge of over 80. Similarly, evidence of impairment may be excluded and a charge of impaired driving dismissed if a breach occurs before the observations of impairment are made. A charge of refuse sample may be dismissed if a Charter violation precedes the refusal.
When police pull you over a detention occurs. Under Section 9 of the Charter, police can lawfully stop you only if they have "articulable cause." That is, there must be objectively discernible facts that enable police to form a reasonable suspicion you are committing a crime. Without such facts, detention is arbitrary. A mere hunch based on intuition is not enough - even if it proves accurate.
However, the right can be limited. In Ontario, for example, the Highway Traffic Act allows police to stop you at random to check your driver's licence and insurance, sobriety and the mechanical fitness of your vehicle. Although there is no "articulable cause" for random stops, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that they are justified because they help detect impaired drivers.
How might this help to defend a drinking and driving charge? Police cannot stop you at random if they have a "hunch" you are concealing drugs or weapons or involved in other crime. If they initiate a random stop for reasons unrelated to your sobriety or motor vehicle and end up charging you with a drinking and driving offence after they smell alcohol on your breath, it may be possible to exclude the evidence and get the charge dismissed.
When you blow into a breath instrument, police "seize" a sample of your breath. For the seizure to be lawful, police need to have reasonable and probable grounds to believe you are committing the offence of Over 80 or Impaired Driving when they demand you undergo breath tests. A "fail" result on a roadside screening device normally furnishes such grounds, as do indications of driver impairment.
How might this help to defend a drinking and driving charge? The "fail" must be registered on a properly functioning roadside screening device. If you show the device is not in proper working order, the fail cannot give rise to a reasonable belief that you are Over 80. If police arrested you only because you failed the roadside screening device test, the subsequent breath-test results may be excluded.
Similarly, if police arrest you for Impaired Driving, the observations of impairment prior to your arrest must be sufficient to create a reasonable belief you are impaired. Speeding, weaving from lane to lane, smell of alcohol on your breath, and red, glassy eyes likely justify an arrest. But if police arrest you for Impaired Driving only because you're speeding and your breath smells of alcohol, the arrest may be unlawful and the results of subsequent breath tests may be excluded.
Once you're arrested for a drinking and driving offence and before a breath test, you have the right to speak to a lawyer without delay and to be informed of that right. If police infringe these rights, the results of any subsequent breath tests will usually be excluded, resulting in your acquittal on the charge of Over 80.
Language difficulties: You must be told of your right to counsel meaningfully and comprehensibly. If you are not a native English speaker, police may have to use an interpreter and if you want to consult a lawyer they may have to put you in touch with one who speaks your language.
Holding off requirement: Once you tell police you want to talk to a lawyer, police must hold off from eliciting further evidence until you have spoken to one. For example, they cannot subject you to breath tests or question you about your drinking.
Counsel of choice: In addition, police must make reasonable efforts to facilitate your contact with the lawyer of your choice. If your lawyer does not answer the phone, police may have to leave a message and wait for a response. They may be violating your rights if they compel you to settle for advice from state-funded duty counsel if your lawyer cannot be reached right away.
Even if your trial prospects look bleak initially, authorities may breach your Charter rights in the course of bringing your case to trial, as explained below, enabling you to avoid conviction.
The Charter entitles everyone facing a criminal charge to obtain from the Crown all information reasonably capable of affecting their defence. This information, required to make full answer and defence, is referred to as "disclosure." In a drinking and driving case, disclosure includes the notes police record during the investigation and a copy of the videotape, if any, showing your breath tests. You also have a right to know what civilian witnesses have told police. In a refuse sample case, you may be entitled to examine the mouthpiece for defects. The loss or destruction of these materials may bar the Crown from continuing your prosecution.
Under the Charter, everyone has the right to be tried within a reasonable time. In a case tried in the lower court (in Ontario, court of justice), once you've hired a lawyer and get disclosure, the Crown should bring you to trial within eight to 10 months. Delay in excess of that, particularly where it demonstrably hurts you, may foreclose your prosecution.
Upon pulling you over, police may ask you to perform physical tests at the roadside. Before making this request, police do not have to tell you that you have a right to speak to a lawyer. You do not have to perform such tests. If you do, police can use the results only to determine if there are grounds to arrest you for impaired driving or to make a breath demand. The Crown cannot use the results to establish impairment at your trial.
Upon pulling you over and before arresting you, police can also ask you questions at the roadside about how much you have had to drink. Police can ask these questions before telling you about your right to a lawyer. You do not have to answer such questions. But if you do, police can use your responses to determine if you have alcohol in your body. If police believe that you do, they may require you to provide a breath sample into a roadside screening device. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a ruling that prevents the Crown from using your responses to prove your guilt.
The police officer who operates the breath testing device may ask you to perform balancing tests such as walking a straight line ("heel-to-toe test") and touching your finger to your nose. Do not participate in such tests. Some are difficult to perform sober. You may be nervous and underestimate your impairment. You are not required by law to do the tests. In addition, the police officer who operates the breath device will ask you questions. Do not answer. Many of the questions (e.g., were you driving a motor vehicle tonight, what were you drinking, how much and when) are designed to elicit responses for use against you at trial.
It is vital that you record the details surrounding a drinking and driving charge as soon as possible. This information is crucial to your defence. But disclose it only to your lawyer. If it falls into the hands of authorities, the Crown could use it against you.
Do not discuss your alcohol consumption or any other information surrounding your charge with anyone but your lawyer! Doing so could undermine your defence.
What was your weight on the day of the alleged offence?
Where were you drinking? List all locations in chronological order.
Record the time of your arrival at and departure from each location. Note any details (e.g., television programs) and preserve any documents (e.g., receipts, automatic banking machine slips) that help pinpoint these times.
What type of beverage(s) were you drinking?
Record the alcohol content of each beverage. To determine this information, you can check the beverage container or contact the place where you were drinking.
Record the amount of each drink in ounces or millilitres. If you were drinking beer by the bottle or can, note the size. If you were drinking by the glass (or other vessel), measure it and set it aside.
If you were drinking at an establishment, find out the amount of beverage poured for each drink. For example, how much liquor is poured per shot? How much wine per glass or carafe? For draft beer, how much is dispensed per serving or pitcher. If you were pouring your own drinks from a pitcher or carafe, find out the size of the glass you used. It may help to obtain a sample glass or other vessel.
A visitor to Canada faces possible deportation upon conviction for impaired driving, drive over 80 mgs., or refuse breath sample. A person who has committed a comparable offence abroad could be denied entry to Canada.
Visitor includes anyone lawfully in Canada as a tourist, or on a work or student visa. It also includes a person who has approval in principle for landing on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
A person seeking to come to Canada as a landed immigrant or as a visitor is likely inadmissible if he or she has been found guilty abroad of a drinking and driving offence.
A person found guilty of drinking and driving can apply for a temporary resident permit. Issued at the discretion of immigration authorities, the permit is valid up to three years. It can authorize single or multiple entries. The fee is $200 Cdn.
Once five years have passed from the completion of any sentence imposed for the offence, including any driving suspension, a person with a drinking and driving conviction may overcome inadmissibility upon receiving approval of rehabilitation from an authorized immigration official.
Persons not yet eligible for approval of rehabilitation could be granted a temporary resident permit.
A person in Canada as a visitor who is convicted of a drinking and driving offence may not be able to renew his or her visitor status. Upon conviction, such a person becomes inadmissible to Canada and could be deported. To overcome this inadmissibility, a pardon is required. For information on pardons: see National Parole Board.
An application for approval of rehabilitation requires:
Criminal clearance certificate from police authorities in all countries (including Canada) where you have resided for the past 10 years. If you have lived in the United States, you must provide a state certificate (or letter from a police authority) for each state you have lived in the past 10 years and a national FBI certificate.
Conviction certificates for all convictions. Acceptable proof may be original or certified true copies of each court judgment such as a certificate of conviction or a police report. This information must be sufficient to establish the nature of the offence, the section of the law under which you were charged, the verdict and sentence. If the conviction certificate does not include enough information, you should obtain other court records or transcripts.
Any documents relating to sentence, parole, probation or pardon, such as court records, judge's comments (including recommendation regarding parole), probation or parole reports.
If you were a juvenile offender, a letter or document proving that the country where you were convicted has special measures for juvenile offenders.
Photocopies of the laws under which you were convicted.
A personal written statement outlining the circumstances of your offence(s) and describing all efforts you have since made to re-establish yourself as a law-abiding citizen.
Photocopies of the pages from your passport showing your name, date of birth, and country of birth. If you are a U.S. citizen and do not have a passport, provide a copy of your driver's licence and birth certificate.
Certified translations for all documents (e.g., police, birth certificates, etc.) that are not in English or French.
Character references from public officials or respected private citizens may help.
A fee of $200 Cdn. (or $1,000 Cdn. if your conviction is for an offence committed abroad that carries a maximum jail penalty of 10 years or more under Canadian law).
You may be contacted for an interview.
"Applying for Criminal Rehabilitation," a kit containing the required application form (IMM 1444) and a guide for its completion, can be downloaded or ordered by mail at Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.
You can complete the form even if you are not yet eligible to apply, but would like to canvass options for entering Canada (no fee required).
Apply early: it can take up to a year to process your application.
If there is any possibility you will one day have to enter Canada, you would be prudent to secure certified true copies of all court records relating to your conviction and sentence, including proof of fine payment, and a transcript of the evidence underlying your conviction.
Blood Alcohol Calculator
http://www.impaired-driving-defence.com
estimate your blood alcohol level at the time of the alleged offence.
Spin the Bottle
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/beer/index.html
CBC journalist looks at health claims of wine and beer
U.S. DUI chart
http://www.iihs.org/laws/dui.aspx
shows the legal limit and administrative licence
suspension for each state; maintained by the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute
Drunk Driving Law Center
http://www.duicenter.com
website of California drunk driving defense attorney Lawrence Taylor
New Jersey DWI Defense Center
http://www.new-jersey-dwi-defense.com/index.htm
website of criminal lawyer Peter Lederman
Return to graphic version of this article or defencelaw.com home page.