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In R. v. Quick, 2016 ONCA 95, the Court of Appeal overturned a guilty plea because the accused was not aware that an indefinite driver’s license suspension would be imposed under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act. Quick’s counsel had not told him that because he had two previous drinking and driving convictions, his driver’s licence would […]
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In R. v. Cheema, 2016 ONCJ 61 the accused was held in a cell for four hours and 20 minutes after the failing the Brethalyzer tests. At trial, the judge ruled this violated the accused’s Charter right against arbitrary detention and arrest. The violation was not serious enough to exclude the breath readings as evidence. […]
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The prosecution sometimes needs to use a forensic toxicologist to calculate a driver’s blood alcohol content at the time of driving, by using the Intoxilyzer breath-readings at the police station. The toxicologist usually needs the driver’s weight to make this calculation. When a driver calls a lawyer at the police station, the lawyer should generally […]
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The Criminal Code of Canada says that Breathalyzer readings are deemed to be accurate if the first test is taken within two hours of the time of driving. An accused person can undermine this presumption if the machine made an error or was operated improperly by the police. In the recent Ontario drinking and driving […]
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The Criminal Code of Canada says breath-readings are deemed to be accurate if the first test is taken within two hours of the time of driving. An accused person can undermine this presumption by showing the machine was operated improperly. In the recent Ontario drinking and driving case of R. v. Paspaporn, 2015 ONCJ 734, […]
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You probably know that there are mandatory minimum penalties for adults who are convicted of drinking and driving in Canada. But, what are the penalties for someone under 18 years of age who is convicted of a drinking and driving offence in Ontario? There are no mandatory penalties for young offenders who are found guilty […]
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To make a legal breath-demand the police must believe that the drinking and driving offence happened within the previous three hours. Usually, the police actually stop someone while they are driving, and so the three hour window will not be an issue. When the police do not actually see the driving, however, a number of […]
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In a recent 2015 case, Justice Melvyn Green found a driver not guilty of refusing a roadside breath test. The police explained the test and gave the driver six chances to blow. The judge was not convinced that the driver intentionally failed to blow: I appreciate that the provision of a roadside sample is, at […]
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The “Carter defence” allowed an accused person to rebut the readings an Intoxilyzer by testifying about how many drinks they consumed. This was also known as the “two beer” defence. The 2009 changes to the Criminal Code effectively banned an accused’s self-reported drinking history from challenging the breath readings. The Ontario Superior Court recently confirmed […]
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Angela was found not guilty of impaired/over 80 “care and control” of a car, after a trial in Ottawa. Here is the story of her case. Early one morning, Angela was sleeping in the driver’s seat of her car with the engine running. The car was parked on the street. The police knocked on the […]
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Brett McGarry
- 116 Lisgar Street, Suite 300, K2P 0C2 Ottawa, Ontario Canada
- brett@mcgarrylaw.ca
- 613-884-8576
- 613-691-1373