Episode 23 of the Boorman Lawyers Court Report show, our Beenleigh Court Drink Driving Lawyer takes a look at a high range drink driving offence with the blood alcohol rating of .192 which we appeared on at the Beenleigh Magistrates Court in South Brisbane.
High Range DUI Matter run by our Beenleigh Court Drink Driving Lawyer
Recently we attended Beenleigh Magistrates Court in Queensland where we appeared on a high range drink driving offence where my client had been charged with a blood alcohol reading of 0.192. So the reading was obviously very high well above the high range threshold of 0.150 and that was obviously seen as an aggravating feature in relation to the objective seriousness of the offence.
Strong Prior Traffic Record
The one very strong factor working in my client’s favour was the fact that he had an exceptional traffic record over a long period of time since 1981, and he’s only had one minor traffic indiscretion in that time which was a speeding offence in 2010. So it was a very strong record which showed that in the past, my client had conducted himself with a high degree and high level of safety and responsibility on the road. It also showed that this particular offence before the Court today of high range drink driving was very much out of my client’s usual character and how he would usually conduct himself.
So we submitted to the Court that despite the high reading this particular offence is one of isolated nature, a one off type of offence where our client has had a brain snap and made a very, very poor decision on the night of the offence.
Case Preparation
We got our client along to do a traffic offenders program. He excelled in this course. He had a very good and well-written workbook, the completion certificate. We also helped our client get together some very strong character references.
He got a work reference, which indicated that he needs to be able to be mobile at least 50% of the time that he is at work and that being off the road has significantly affected his job and it has caused his employer to demote him. Depending on the Court outcome, it would also depend on the future of his employment with that company.
We also got a letter of support from his wife, which just indicated how he’s usually a very responsible adult, a person who his kids look up to and also that he is the main income earner for the family and certainly they have great concerns about his ability to be able to provide for the family during the period of his licence disqualification.
We also assist our client in putting together a strong letter of apology to the Court, just outlining exactly what went wrong on the night of the offence, what he’s learnt, his grave concerns surrounding his loss of licence and his genuine remorse about the offence.
So we got these references, the traffic offender program and certificate. We also got some medical reports surrounding his medical condition which we tendered before the Court and the Magistrate was very receptive to all of that material and also, our oral submissions that we presented on behalf of our client.
Seriousness of the offence
The obvious big elephant in the room for this matter was the fact that the blood alcohol reading was 0.192. It was very high. With a BAC reading this high he should have been no one near a motor vehicle and for that reason, we had to address the Court on that issue whilst at the same time highlighting some of the mitigating issues which supported our clients case.
Some of these mitigating issues included the fact that:
- he was the sole occupant of the vehicle,
- he had about 300-400 meters to drive home,
- there was minimal traffic on the road at the time of the offence,
- that he was pulled over for a random breath test.
Personal issues for the Court to take into regard
All of these issues did go a long way to mitigate our clients situation. Of course, we discussed all the personal and subjective features in relation to my client such as:
- his need to be all the drive for work,
- his good character,
- his is very good to past traffic record, and
- his need to be a provider for his family as the main income earner.
This was all well-received and taken into account by the Magistrate.
High Range DUI Court Outcome
The Magistrate decided to convict our client and disqualify him for a period of 8 months and fine him an amount of $900.
Keep in mind that with all high range drink driving offence, the absolute minimum period in Queensland that a Court can hand down is 6 months and given how high the reading was at 0.192, our client got 8 months.
He was very happy with that. He was probably expecting more around the 12-months mark but with 8 months. It gives in a bit of light at the end of the tunnel to be able to move forward with his job and have a plan in place to get back on the road in the near future and be responsible person and continue to provide for his family.
Contact our Beenleigh Drink Driving Lawyers
So if you found yourself in the unfortunate position where you’ve been charged with a serious traffic offence of drink drive, drug drive, suspended or unlicensed drive, or any serious or major traffic offence in Queensland, and rest assured that we specialise in this area of law.
I’m happy to have a free first initial telephone consult with you. If you want to give me a call, it’s 1300 941 900. Or alternatively, go along to our website, which is BoormanLawyers.com.au.
What we have tried to is create a bit of an information hub online for people to go along and read up about offences, penalties, statistics, these videos, these blog posts, these articles, issues surrounding laws, which may be relevant to the particular situation that you might find yourself in. You can read up on that, familiarize yourself with what’s going on in relation to your situation and feel free to give me a call to discuss your matter further and see what we can do for you.
Thanks for tuning into Boorman Lawyers today.
Beenleigh Court Drink Driving Lawyer QLD – Ph: 1300 941 900
Our DUI Lawyers can be contacted at:
Boorman Lawyers NSW & QLD Solicitors