Mistake 7: Knowing what is in your best interests

Your lawyer should inform you about the penalties arising from a conviction as against pleading gulity early in the case. (The Du Plooy Case)

Why is this so critical?

If  you have a conviction for drink driving in the past ten years and take the option to go to court with a very high breath test reading and no identifiable defence then you are likely to incur the wrath of the Sheriff. A specialist and experienced solicitor will always know when it would be in your interests to put forward a plea, particularly if you are a near prison case. It usually can be the difference between keeping your liberty and a sentence of several months in jail.

And this mistake is more common than you think. Especially if your lawyer is too busy or a duty solicitor with very little time for each client. We have beemn in the role of Duty solicitor and we know how difficult it is to get through more than  30 to 40 cases in a few hours. Jus recently Duty Solicitors in Glasgow have been managing more than this number can mean that on average each client is likely to have no more than approximately 2-3 minutes with the duty solicitor to prepare a plea in mitigation that could mean prison or freedom.

That’s why we advise getting a specialist road traffic lawyer on board and have him/her explain the best strategy and circumstances for your case.

If you are in this position or any other and require any help in confidence you can ask any question here: drink driving help in Scotland

After you have watched the video you can ask a specialist lawyer a question in confidence about a drink driving charge in Scotland

Click here to ask a free question in confidence involving a specialist and qualified drink driving Scotland lawyer now.

In drink drive defences we often go to the scene with our clients to take relevant photographs, video and draft diagrams.

And with the advent of Google Maps we now find that printing off some satellite photographs can also assist the case preparation. Police officers are often trained to refer to the “off side” or the “nearside” when describing the vehicle and position in relation to the offence, the accused might say left or right and another witness might say East and West. Thats why we always have Maps, Photographs and diagrams. It makes sense of all the left, right, nearside, offside, middle and don’t knows that we will have to deal with at the trial. Drunk in charge cases can sometimes involve a piece of land where the public do not have any right of access but this might only become plain once the area is visited. We tend to video the location for most cases. We had one case where our client was found intoxicated in his vehicle in a private field. The Crown allegation was that our client must have been drunk in charge of his vehicle to get into the field in the first place! What they didn’t know was that he had driven his friends to meet a helicopter in this field and when the helicopter returned later that evening (Much the worse for wear) he didn’t feel inclined to walk home so he slept in his car, dropped off in the field by a helicopter.

Roadside Tests involving walking a straight line and the like are becoming increasingly used in Scotland. Seeing and knowing the locus allows you to bring better cross examination to court as you can test witnesses on true conditions that existed. e.g. sloping, ill lit roadside that is very busy with traffic…..it may be reasonable not to be walking on the kerb? These things makes it much easier for your lawyer to understand and more importantly the Sheriff to understand your concerns about any roadside test, and, in some cases, point out a physical impossibility to the Sheriff. We had one case where the police officer admitted that he requested our client to walk a straight line inches away from a dual carriageway. Needless to say the Sheriff wasn’t too impressed by this and threw the case out.

You can ask a specilist lawyer any question free and in confidence here: Drink Driving Defence