R. v. J.O.O

(NAP, Alberta Roadside Sanctions).  The Adjudicator in J.O.O.'s case conducted a very thorough analysis of the police evidence, J.O.O.'s evidence and other witness evidence.  In this case the motorist was issued a roadside sanction for having blood alcohol in excess of the legal limit based on an alleged "fail" result obtained on an Alco-Sensor FST (an approved screening device/ASD). J.O.O. claimed that the officer advised that the ASD issued a "warning", not a fail.  J.O.O. requested a roadside appeal of the warning. There was a witness listening on a telephone. That witness confirmed that the officer that he could overhear the officer state that J.O.O. had blown a warning.

In law, a "warning" means that the person has alcohol in his or her system, but not a blood-alcohol level (BAC) necessarily at or exceeding th legal limit. A person can be "warned" with BAC registering anywhere from 50mg%-99mg%.  Rather than issuing the roadside sanction for a "warning", the officer did so based on a "fail" (suggesting that he had reasonable grounds to believe J.O.O.'s BAC was at or over the legal limit.

The adjudicator was concerned about the lack of detail in the officer's report. As such, the Adjudicator accepted the recipient's evidence (and that of the witness) that only a "warning" had been blown. The adjudicator found that on the balance of probabilities, she could not find that J.O.O. was at or over the legal limit. As a result, J.O.O.'s met the first ground for appeal that she was not impaired to drive. The officer also issued a sanction for "refusing" to blow. This was rejected by the adjudicator because the right to a second test/roadside appeal is not mandatory and thus a person is entitled to refuse it. She also found that the officer did not issue the Notice of Administrative Penalty (NAP) correction.

J.O.O. successfully applied to have roadside sanctions cancelled.  

If you have received a roadside sanction, contact a qualified impaired driving lawyer for assistance. There are many defence lawyers in Alberta to choose from. David Chow would appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.