Fighting a Drive Over 80 Charge - Preparing for your Court Case
In preparing for any court case the lawyer that you work with is paramount to winning your case. Find a criminal lawyer who specialises in impaired driving and drinking and driving offences. With criminal lawyers you get what you pay for, but expect to pay four thousand to ten thousand dollars for a good impaired driving criminal lawyer. If the fee is too cheap there is probably a reason why...
For the criminal lawyer there is more to prove that just what actually happened in your case. The following are issues that must be considered by the Judge before any conviction can be entered.
- Section 11(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees you are presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing.
- The crown bears the onus to prove all elements of the offence(s) beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The defense do not have such onus for a criminal conviction
- While your memory is still fresh, note the amount of alcohol you consumed if any, when, where, and with whom.
- Note what happened at roadside and while in police custody.
- Mark your notes "Confidential - for my lawyer only" to ensure solicitor-client privilege.
- Get witness names and addresses for subpoenas.
- Acquire receipts, cell phone bills, bank machine records, so you can prove how much alcohol you consumed if any.
- For example, if you consumed alcohol at a bar or restaurant, and you drank from a glass, it is helpful to purchase the same size glass from the establishment.
Act now
- Valuable evidence to your case - such as the breathalyzer videotape taken at the police station - is destroyed sometimes after a certain period of time according to local police policy. It is essential to make appropriate police "disclosure" requests fast.
- Its important to immediately contact and retain a Criminal Lawyer, so that important first steps can be made to ensure a proper defense.
- Your memory and credibility are almost always issues at trial, make notes as soon as possible.
- It is vital that you are thoroughly interviewed by a lawyer as soon as possible to uncover all relevant details of the case. Remember, it is what you do with your notes, witnesses, and evidence that is important.