Toronto Impaired Driving Lawyers

Even where the court and prosecution have done everything properly, many times there are legal motions that can dramatically affect a court case.

Winning an impaired driving charge is about 3 things:

• did the driver do the offence
• did the police officer do everything properly
• does the court system do everything properly

Where these 3 elements are properly presented to the court, the crown attorney is considered to have made a “Prima Facie case“.  Meaning should the evidence presented to the judge be unchallenged, enough evidence has been entered to registered a conviction against the accused.

Where a case has been made by the crown attorney, the defence lawyer has the opportunity to dispute any facts, challenge evidence, and cross-examine witnesses.

Even where the court and prosecution have done everything properly, many times there are legal motions that can dramatically affect a court case.

Not every impaired driving charge goes to trial.

There are many times where our lawyers have charges withdrawn or resolved prior to any trial proceedings.

Impaired driving charges are sometimes dropped to non-criminal traffic charges (traffic tickets). Drinking and driving charges maybe reduced to resolutions where you do not receive a criminal record or licence suspension.

An example would be an impaired driving charge is reduced to a traffic ticket such as careless driving.  Thereby avoiding a criminal licence suspension and criminal record.

In discussing your criminal defence with you we’ll:

• point out the legal issues,
• explain where we see defences,
• defend you through the legal system

In representing our clients we take care of everything for you including:

• legal advice at all stages
• ordering police notes & disclosure
• representation at all court hearings
• representing you at meetings with the crown attorney
• preparing and presenting all legal and trial arguments
• representing you at trial

Many times the accused does not need to appear in court as we appear for you, or only at a final trial date.

As your defence team we guide and professionally represent your interests in all court proceedings. You never appear in court without our legal representative by your side.

Having appeared on thousands of impaired driving allegations, our impaired driving lawyers know the issues that are important with the police officer’s investigation that win trials.

Our first step is listening to the facts to learn what happened, building your defence with issues like:

• what lead up the the arrest
• what happened during, and
• what happened with the police
• was everything done legally
• were your rights violated
• what are the technical defences

The police have strict guidelines for collecting and presenting evidence in impaired driving cases. In a criminal prosecutions everything must be done legally and properly.

As criminal defence lawyers we’ve appeared on thousands criminal cases throughout the GTA.

We have a track record of winning* and resolving drinking and driving charges.

As your criminal defence lawyer we:

• are former crown attorneys
• know impaired driving law
• are well known to the judges
• proven track record winning
• experienced

As your defence lawyer we’ll fight to protect your:

• reputation
• drivers licence,
• employment, and
• ability to support your family.

Call us today to speak to a lawyer about fighting your impaired driving charge.

After reviewing the arrest and what happened, we can explain to you where we see opportunities to:

• win your case
• technical evidentiary issues
• where the police may have made mistakes
• legal defences to your impaired driving charge
• areas where a resolution or reduced charge maybe applicable.

After listening to you we’ll know the strategies and defences for to defend you in court.

As explained in the video below, not every case goes to trial.  Prior to any trial we arrange and meet with the crown attorney in a “pretrial” to review the case to discuss:

• any evidentiary issues
• what are the issues at trial
• grounds to support the charge
• can the charge be dropped to a traffic ticket
• is there a compromise available
• will the case go to trial

Many times we are able to resolve criminal charges to traffic tickets without criminal licence suspensions or a criminal record being applied.

In preparing your legal defence we will review legal arguments such as:

• Recent Drinking
  • were you actually over the limit whilst driving, or
    • was it when the police gave you the breathalyzer test or
    • at some point after you were stopped?
  • Read More about Recent Drinking Defences >
• Rights to Counsel
  • The police are obligated by law to advise you about a lawyer,
  • to make a lawyer available
  • to ensure that you have privacy
  • where your rights are violated
    • the charge can be dismissed.
  • Read More on Rights to Counsel >
• As soon as Reasonably Possible
  • the police have a legal obligation to ensure that there were no unreasonable delays throughout the investigation.
  • arrests, breathalyzer tests, and all facets of the police investigation
    • must be preformed as soon as reasonable possible.
• Right to Trial within a reasonable time period
  • there are time limits
  • the prosecution and court system must
    • have your trial within a reasonable time.
  • the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Proof beyond a Reasonable Doubt
  • the judge in convicting a defendant must be 100% sure that you are guilty of the charge.
  • where a judge has a reasonable doubt as to your guilt, they should dismiss the charge.
  • Read on Reasonable Doubt >

Errors and mistakes do happen in criminal cases.

We have also seen cases where “on paper” it looked like the police and prosecution had a strong case, only to see the case fall apart on the trial date due to:

• minor mistakes,
• missing documents or
• legal issues from the police or crown attorney’s office.

Some mistakes can be fixed but others maybe fatal to the crown attorney’s prosecution causing the case to be dismissed.

Many times clients thought they were guilty of impaired driving, then we learn that technically and legally they should not have been arrested in the first place and charges have been dropped.

Want legal advice or like to speak to a lawyer? The first step is to give us a call at 416-731-7113.

There is no fee or obligation to call and speak to us.  The discussion is held with complete privacy and confidence with the lawyer.

Our impaired driving lawyers will be able to give you an opinion about your case, and tell you:

• defences to the charge
• legal arguments in your case
• what you can do to help your case
• what the cost to defend the accusation would be

Where you decide to retain our services we will invite you to meet in our Toronto office or have a face to face Zoom online meeting. In that meeting we’ll discuss the case in detail, plan your defence and arrange for the first court date.

We ask for a reasonable deposit upon retaining our services of 10 to 25 percent.