I was recently in Oxford Magistrates’ Court when I witnessed a case that has stayed with me, not because it was unusual, but precisely because it was all too common. A young man stood in the dock, unrepresented, and pleaded guilty to two charges of drug driving: one relating to benzoylecgonine (BZE), a cocaine metabolite Read More »
Remember a “Field Impairment Test” is totally different from a roadside swab test and has a different purpose. The purpose of a “field Impairment Test” is to determine whether or not a suspect is impaired, and therefore “unfit” to drive: not whether he/she is driving over a specific drug driving limit. It is important also Read More »
Ganga, bush, blow, black, grass, hash, herb, skunk, whacky backy; some of the street names for this class “B” controlled drug. Cannabis can be found in three different forms: hash or cannabis resin which is more rarely found these days; cannabis oil which is a yellowy/brownish sort of oil and, the far more common weed, Read More »
Section 58(1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) gives a person arrested, and then detained at a police station, an absolute right to consult a solicitor if he/she requests to do so. That request is a demand which the police cannot ignore. They must, therefore, permit a consultation “as soon as is Read More »
If you are suspected of drink driving then normally, following arrest and transport to the nearest police station, you will be required to provide two specimens of breath on an evidential breath testing machine. The result will be available within minutes and will either lead to “Charge” (if you are over the limit), or release Read More »
I have lost count of the number of anxious clients who have telephoned me, asking how long it will be before the police provide the results of their blood sample analysis. The scenario will have been that blood was taken at a police station or hospital. At the end of that unpleasant procedure, the investigating Read More »
Having spent over 25 years in courts all over the country it has always surprised me how, on a daily basis, I see otherwise intelligent people throw away their driving licence after having had that extra drink before driving. I’m further surprised to see how willing they are to simply plead guilty without legal advice and Read More »
The obtaining of blood (occasionally urine), specimen at a hospital can be a minefield for the police. Part of the reason for this is because hospital cases are not the norm for officers investigating a suspected drink driving or drug driving case and as with anything else, the more a person does something the more Read More »
My client, an 18-year-old man of impeccable character, had been stopped by the police shortly after midnight, on suspicion of drug driving. They alleged – though my client denied this – that he had been speeding and that his car had been weaving in the carriageway. A roadside drugs test apparently revealed cannabis in his Read More »
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