R. v. D.M.

(Canmore, P.C.). Client was charged with impaired driving, refusing to blow and obstructing police. David secured a withdrawal on the driving offences and a conditional discharge in relation to the obstruction. In the end, despite the minimum punishment for the impaired driving offences, DM avoided the permanence of a criminal record. In Canada, the minimum punishment for impaired driving or a related offence is a $1000 fine, a 12 month driving prohibition and a criminal record. Obstruction, however, has no minimum punishment. Minimum punishment are sometimes a real impediment to efficient and/or fair justice. The impact of statutory minimums combined with Crown policy means that for most cases, the Crown has very little room to exercise discretion on impaired driving cases.  Crown discretion has been diminishing consistently every year since 2005. This means that trials are often inevitable. For a proven Alberta criminal lawyer contact David Chow for a free consultation.  David is a DUI lawyer and drug lawyer, who appears in Courts throughout Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.