13 Things – What to Do and What to Know
Do Not Hesitate – Your First Five Steps
In impaired driving defence, timing is everything. If you have been charged, do the following right away:
- Write out a statement including everything that was said or done by you and the police from the time you were stopped to the time you were released. No detail is insignificant – the information you provide is critical to your defence.
- Once you have completed your statement, complete our custom Roadlawyers’ Questionnaire. This questionnaire was drafted by our lawyers and asks specific questions meant to jog your memory and bring out key facts. The Roadlawyers’ Questionnaire can be accessed at these links: PDF or Word
- Purchase your ALS Appeal Form from any Alberta Registry. Sign the Appeal form and bring it to our office. Our lawyers will assist you with completing and filing the Appeal form as part of your initial retainer. This kick-starts the disclosure process and ensures you have the best opportunity of getting your licence back as soon as possible.
- Do not miss your fingerprint date and, if possible, go early. Everyone charged is required to provide fingerprints. This will either happen before you are released from police custody or you will be given a specific date on your promise to appear. Do not miss this date – go early if possible.
- Call Roadlawyers to discuss your case. Our lawyers are always ready to discuss your case and the best way to proceed moving forward. Once you have decided which lawyer best suits your needs, bring in the appropriate retainer and all the documents the police gave you.
What You Need to Know
Why Roadlawyers? Our lawyers win over 90% of our cases and we never turn away an impaired matter. We have lawyers at fees from $5,000-$25,000 for trial, and offer flat rate resolution fees.
You’re Suspended. Now what? Everyone charged with an impaired driving related offence in Alberta is subject to an immediate 15-month suspension. To ensure you do not miss your opportunity to appeal, act fast! Purchase your ALS appeal form within 30 days of being charged.
Not your first rodeo? If you have been convicted of impaired driving in the past, it is more important than ever for you to hire the right lawyer. Second offenders face a mandatory minimum jail sentences of 30 days – and it just keeps getting higher if you’re a third time offender. Our DUI lawyers can help you avoid a jail sentence through litigation or resolution.
Convicted? That’s 12 more months without your licence. If you are convicted of impaired driving, you will be sentenced to a 12 month driving prohibition. This is completely separate from the AALS suspension. Meaning if your file is not handled strategically, you may be serving two separate suspensions. We will not make that mistake.
Sleeping? Sitting? Driving? What’s the Difference? You can be convicted of impaired driving without ever setting your vehicle in motion. This is due to the concept of having ‘care and control’ of a motor vehicle. Now included in the definition of operation, if you are in care and control of the motor vehicle – meaning you have the ability to put the vehicle in motion – you are at risk of being convicted.
Mandatory Minimums. Impaired driving convictions all come with mandatory minimum sentences. For impaired driving, it’s $1,000. For driving with a blood alcohol content of 80-119 mg%, it’s $1,000. For having a blood alcohol content of 120-159mg%, it’s $1,500. And if you provide a sample that is 160 mg% and over, you’re facing a $2,000 minimum sentence. Each of these offences comes with a one year driving prohibition on top.
Can only be convicted of one. Most of the time, our clients are charged with two offences: impaired driving and driving over the limit. Since both of these offences attack the same act – driving while impaired – you can only be convicted of one. The same does not apply to impaired/refusal matters.
We need your side: Our office requires each of our clients to complete a personal statement and our custom Roadlawyers Questionnaire. This is because so often, our best defence comes from you. We need to know what happened from your perspective, what health issues do you have, what was going on in your mind. All of this information helps our DUI lawyers create a comprehensive image of what happened – and find a defence.
