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Thursday, June 07, 2007
The Law at Work
Q: I was stopped by the Gardaí at a breath testing checkpoint the other night on my way home from the pub and brought back to the Garda Station to be breathalysed.
The Gardaí said that the test showed that I was over the limit. They gave me some documents which I signed and told me that I will appear on court soon. I’m not sure what to do next?
A: The documents that the Gardaí gave you when they released you from the station will tell a lot as to how your case will progress.
Usually you will have received three documents from them. The first one will be a certificate of the amount of alcohol in your blood at the time that you were breathalysed.
The disqualification periods for drink driving depend on how much over the limit that you were.
The second piece of paper that you signed would be your recognisance form stating that you will appear in court on the relevant date to answer the charge against you and acknowledging that you owe money to the State if you do not turn up in court on the day. This means that you have been released on ‘station bail’ until the court date.
The third document will usually be a charge sheet, which you will also have been given in the station before you were released it will state the offences that you are charged with (you get a different charge sheet for each offence).
The court will take place in the Court where you were arrested as opposed to the nearest court to your home. Since you were released on station bail from the Garda Station if you do not attend court on that date a warrant can issue for your arrest.
If you go to your solicitor they will usually advise you about an application called a ‘Gary Doyle Order’. In most cases I apply for such an order for Clients on the first day that their case is called in court.
This order compels the Gardaí to send to the Accused’s solicitor a copy of all statements and the custody record.
From this your solicitor will be able to adduce whether the Gardaí followed the exact letter of the law in your arrest and detention and if there are any elements that you can challenge.
Generally the judge would give the Gardaí a certain amount of time to send your solicitor the statements and adjourn the court case. When the statements come in your solicitor will contact you to take your instructions in relation to the statements and check them.
On the next day in court you must decide whether you wish to plead guilty or contest the case. If you plead guilty then the judge will convict you and usually fine you. You are also automatically disqualified from driving to commence 14 days after the court date. The length of your disqualification period depends on the level of alcohol in your breath.
If you were arrested after 5th March 2007 the penalties have increased significantly with the minimum drink driving ban being increased from three months for a first offence to 12 months.
Furthermore, the rules relating to applying for the restoration of your licence after you have served some of your ban have changed.
If you have a very good reason the Judge and the Gardaí may agree to postpone your disqualification for up to six months to allow you to get your affairs in order. Your solicitor will apply for this postponement if you require one.
Sinead Fox practices in Doyle’s Solicitors where she deals with the bulk of the firm’s District Court litigation.
This week she explains the procedures when you have been charged with drink driving.
Sinead can be contacted at Doyle’s Solicitors by email to doylesolicitors.ie or on 053 9123077.
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