Criminal Defence
DUI Lawyers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
A DUI lawyer defends a charge that runs on two tracks: the provincial licence suspension that starts at the roadside, and the Criminal Code charge that carries a record, a minimum fine, a driving prohibition and years in the high-risk insurance pool. We work both, in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Charges a DUI Lawyer Defends, and the Minimums
Section 320.14 of the Criminal Code covers impairment by alcohol or a drug, a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more within two hours of driving, and the drug concentration offences. s. 320.15 covers refusing or failing to comply with a demand, which carries the same minimums. Mandatory alcohol screening lets an officer demand a roadside sample from any lawfully stopped driver. A first conviction carries a minimum $1,000 fine, higher with higher readings, and a one-year prohibition; a second carries a minimum thirty days in jail.
The Defences Are Technical in Both Provinces
The defences are technical, and they work. The two-hour presumption has conditions. The approved instrument has maintenance and calibration records. The timing of the demands, the grounds for the arrest, the delay before the tests and the right to counsel under s. 10(b) of the Charter each get checked against the in-car and booking-room video. Drug-impaired charges rest on a drug recognition evaluation with known weaknesses. A reading close to the limit is exactly where the case is fought. A conviction moves the driver into the Facility Association for years at a multiple of the premium, which is often the largest cost and the reason to try a triable case.
Suspensions and Interlock Are Provincial
The roadside suspension, the revocation on conviction and the ignition interlock program are provincial, under New Brunswick’s Motor Vehicle Act and Nova Scotia’s, and their lengths and eligibility differ. Trials are in the Provincial Court of New Brunswick or the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia.
The Firm Defends Impaired Driving Charges in Both Provinces
Moncton and Saint John take New Brunswick files, Halifax takes Nova Scotia files. On each the firm orders the disclosure, the instrument’s maintenance records and the video, and reviews the roadside and station timeline against s. 10(b) before advising on a plea. Where the interlock program can shorten the provincial suspension, the application is made alongside the criminal defence.
The Province Pages
Can I Drive to Work During the Suspension?
Not during the roadside suspension. After a conviction, the interlock program in each province lets many drivers back on the road with the device installed before the prohibition ends.
I Refused Because I Wanted a Lawyer First.
The right to counsel does not delay a roadside screening demand, though it does apply before the breath test at the station, and whether police honoured it there is a real question.
Read the firm’s drinking and driving guide and licence suspensions after a DUI. The other charges are at criminal defence; every practice area is under injury law areas.
DUI Lawyers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in Short
Blog
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