DRINK & DRUG DRIVING

If you find yourself having to attend court you may well just google "Drink Drive Solicitor" or "Drug Driving Solicitor " and on that basis you will always see first on Google a list of Sponsored Results which show the same names on each search and several make claims such as 98% Success Rate. 

Most of these firms will not be local to you and although someone from their office may come to a 1st hearing where you plead guilty or not guillty, in most cases e.g. If they are in Manchester and your trial is in Carlsle they will instruct a barrister to attend for trial and 99% of the time you will first meet that barrister outside of the court 1 hour before the trial starts.

Why not in that case have a barrister deal with your case from start to finish - as I can.

 If you do conatct one of the "SPONSORED RESULTS" on Google simply obtain a written quote and I GUARANTEE to beat that quote by 15%.

We understand that legal issues can be stressful and overwhelming. That's why we are committed to working closely with our clients to provide personalized and effective solutions to their legal matters. With years of experience and a proven track record of success, you can trust us to guide you through the legal process. Contact us today to learn more.

DRINK OR DRUG DRIVING 

 Have you been charged with drink or drug driving? 

You may think the police have all of the correct evidence. Think again.

After many years as a barrister, I am constantly amazed at the poor evidence produced by the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in such cases.  Motorists often assume that the police must have supplied to the prosecutors all of the the correct evidence. 

The forms used to guide the police through the procedure are detailed and complicated. Time and again I find mistakes are made by the police. 

You should always ensure also that a request is promplty made for any CCTV evidence  as all CCTV is normaly recorded  over within 1 or 2 months. 

The relevant forms that the police must fill out are MGDDA (DRINK) - MGDDB (DRUGS)

 If you have any concerns please contact me to discuss all the options with you. My initial telephone conference is free of charge.

 It does not matter where you live or where the alleged offence was committed because I represent clients throughout England and Wales.

CASE ISSUES 

“A missing signature”

One of the first pieces of evidence that should be disclosed in a drink driving case is the MGDDA form, which contains the procedure adopted by the police when completing the breath test procedure. 

Additional documents, known as the MGDDB and MGDDC forms will need to be completed if urine or blood samples are requested. 

All these documents, many pages long, are designed as an ‘idiots guide’ to avoid the police making mistakes. 

The end of the MGDDA form contains a section requiring a signature from the officer completing the breath procedure. A case can collapse if the signature is missing.

Another important signature can be found on the printout from the breathalyser machine. The printout gives the results of the breath test. It confirms that the machine was calibrated, provided two correct ‘tests’ and provided two correct samples. 

Importantly, it contains a clause and it must be signed. A case can collapse if the signature is missing.

“A missing page, a missing document”

When someone is charged with drug driving they must attend court to enter a plea (guilty or not guilty). 

It is important that we are provided with ‘advance disclosure’ of the evidence against them. The advance disclosure should contain, as a minimum, a case summary, the MGDD forms completed by the police and, more importantly, the SFR1 (Streamlined Forensic Toxicology Report).

If the CPS provide a case summary without the SFR1 at the first hearing, how can a motorist be  expected to enter a plea without even seeing the evidence against them! A case can collapse if the SFR1 is missing.

“Prosecution Witness on holiday”

When a case is set for trial the CPS should check the availability of the police officers involved in the case. The last thing they  want is the police officer failing to attend court to give evidence.

If you say you need to Cross Examine a witness and they fail to attend the CPS will seek to adjourn the trial - such a request is hardly ever granted and so the CPS would have to offer ‘no evidence’ 

“Blod Sample - Sample by consent”

If you are suspected of drink or drug driving it is important for the police to follow the correct procedure when obtaining a blood sample. Obviously, if you have an accident and are taken to hospoital the issue may arise on consent for any sample taken from you.

In such a situation the police can, with correct authority, obtain a sample of blood. The police officer must obtain consent from both the motorist and the doctor in charge. The police may also need to instruct a separate doctor to obtain the blood sample.

All the information as to the procedure is then to be documented on the MGDD form. 

If the MGDD said a client had given his consent to the blood sample, yet the medical evidence showed the client was unconscious that would be highlighted to the CPS to ask they drop the case. 

"Drink Driving (Urine) - Bar Codes" 

If arrested for drink-driving and a urine sample had been taken. The sample will be sent to the lab and tested. 

Checks should made as to the labelling of the sample. Part A24 of the MGDDA has to be completed. This should contain details of how the specimen was marked. This is usually the bar code number associated with the sample kit and is unique to each kit. By obtaining the bar code it should then be possible to determine exactly which kit has been used if continuity or quality become issues at any point.

If Part A24 of the MGDDA fails to provide the serial number of the tamper evident bag or state the time and date it was retained until by the police officer or what happened to the specimen. The case could be thrown out. 

"Urine - one sample or two?

 The correct procedure is to provide two samples within one hour. 

If you are asked to fill one sample pot, stop and then fill a second sample pot. Is that Two samples, NO 

The correct procedure is for the first sample to be obtained. The bladder is then emptied. More water is drank and, within the hour, a second sample is provided. 

If the above happened you may given ‘two’ samples, but they were both from the same urine in the bladder, so it was only 1 sample.  

If the analysed urine specimen was not a true and proper second specimen, but effectively a continuation of the first, then the urine concentration measured will be higher than the level of alcohol actually present.

Consider the actual section from the MGDDB forms. Question would it be possible to provide a urine sample, empty your bladder, drink more water and then go to the toilet again - all within 2 minutes or so. 

If the police breach the procedure the case can be thrown out.