R. v. B.R.

(Calgary, P.C. - Impaired driving and Over 80). BR was charged with impaired driving and operating a motor vehicle with blood alcohol over the legal limit in a case that was over a decade old. A warrant for the arrest of BR was issued when the accused allegedly failed to attend court. 

Setting aside issues with the investigation and difficulties with the prosecutions essential witness, the State failed to take reasonable steps to execute the arrest for BR. Over the decade during which BR was at warrant status, the accused resided at the same address, had travelled abroad by passport and had utility statements that were arguably easily discoverable by use of a database for which police had access.  In R. v. MacIntosh, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the dissenting Appellate Court Justice that there was an obligation on the part of the State to take reasonable steps to honour section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (trial delay). 

Though it is unlikely the Prosecution would have surrendered the case based on the trial delay, the totality of issues resulted in the withdrawal of BR's impaired driving charges.

David Chow handled his first impaired driving case as a law student in 1999. He successfully defended several DUI cases as a student, and spent years prosecuting impaired driving cases as a Crown Prosecutor. In 2005 David joined the Calgary defence bar where he has spent his entire career defending all types of criminal cases, including impaired driving, drug trafficking and crimes of violence. Since 2020 David is probably one of the lawyers in Alberta who has handled the most Notice of Administrative Penalty/Roadside Sanctions cases.