Conviction of mid range drink driving quashed on appeal

Our client was originally convicted in the Local Court of New South Wales for a mid-range drink driving offence after recording a blood alcohol concentration of 0.118. The legal limit for blood alcohol concentration is 0.05.

Upon sentence, he was fined, disqualified from driving for a period of 6 months and placed on a mandatory interlock order for 24 months. The severity of the sentence was appealed on his behalf and following careful preparation and strong advocacy, the District Court of New South Wales quashed the conviction and placed our client on a Conditional Release Order without conviction for a period of 18 months. This meant that our client gained the following benefits:

• no fine
• no disqualification period
• no conviction
• no interlock order

Our client was stopped by police while driving due to the manner of speeding, where he returned a positive reading of 0.118. He was arrested and conveyed to the Police Station, where a secondary analysis confirmed a mid-range reading. As a result, our client was charged and issued with a Field Court Attendance Notice and had his driver’s licence suspended on the spot.

In preparation of the appeal, we:

-       Held multiple meetings with our client;

-       Updated and strengthened his subjective material with new references and additional supporting documents;

-       Drafted and filed detailed written submissions in support of a non-conviction; and

-       Outlined the disproportionate impact a conviction would have on his employment and future opportunities.

At the District court proceedings, the prosecution argued against our submissions, that a blood alcohol level was too high for a non-conviction. However, the District Court accepted our submissions, quashed the Local Court outcome and made the following orders:

-       The appeal was upheld and all Local Court orders were quashed; and

-       Our client was placed on a Conditional ReleaseOrder without conviction for 18 months.

Due to our team’s strong advocacy, as a result, our client avoided a criminal record, kept his licence, and was spared the burden of participating in the interlock program; allowing him to maintain his work, personal commitments and support of his family.

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