New Brunswick DUI Lawyers

An impaired driving charge in New Brunswick takes the licence first. The administrative suspension under the Motor Vehicle Act starts at the roadside, months before a court hears a word. A New Brunswick DUI lawyer works both tracks, the provincial suspension and the Criminal Code charge. The criminal charge is the one that carries a record.

Section 320.14 and 320.15 of the Criminal Code Cover Impaired, Over 80 and Refusal

Section 320.14 of the Criminal Code covers driving while impaired by alcohol or a drug, driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more within two hours of driving, and the drug concentration offences. Section 320.15 is refusal or failure to provide a breath or blood sample, which carries the same minimums as a conviction for over 80. Since 2018 police can demand a roadside breath sample without any suspicion, and a driver who refuses is charged.

A First Conviction Carries a $1,000 Fine, a One-Year Prohibition and a Record

A first conviction carries a minimum $1,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition, rising with the readings; a second conviction carries a minimum thirty days in jail. New Brunswick’s ignition interlock program can shorten the time off the road for those who qualify. A conviction also brings a criminal record, insurance in the high-risk pool for years, and inadmissibility to the United States.

Breath Cases Are Defended on the Instrument Records, the Timing and the Charter

Breath-testing cases are technical. The two-hour presumption has conditions. The approved instrument must have been operated according to its procedures. The timing of the demands matters. The court reviews the officer’s grounds for the roadside demand and the arrest against the Charter. A right-to-counsel breach under s. 10(b), an unexplained delay, or a bolus-drinking scenario can each exclude the readings. Impaired-by-drug cases rest on a drug recognition evaluation, and that evaluation can be challenged. A New Brunswick DUI lawyer obtains the instrument’s records and the in-car video before deciding whether the case is worth running. The charge sheet tells you nothing about that.

Impaired Driving Is Tried in the Provincial Court of New Brunswick

Impaired driving is tried in the Provincial Court of New Brunswick, in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton or the local circuit court. Trials are set months out. The provincial suspension will have run its course before then, and the interlock decision does not wait for the verdict. A curative discharge no longer exists in this province. The choice is a trial or a plea with the minimum.

The Moncton office and the Saint John office both defend impaired driving charges.

I Blew 90. Can a New Brunswick DUI Lawyer Still Fight It?

Often. Readings close to the limit are where instrument records, timing and the officer’s notes decide the case. The Crown has to prove the conditions of the two-hour presumption before ninety on the machine becomes ninety at the wheel.

Can I Drive to Work During the Suspension?

Not during the administrative suspension. After a conviction, the ignition interlock program lets many drivers back on the road with the device installed, at their cost, before the prohibition ends.

I Refused Because I Wanted a Lawyer First. Is That a Defence?

Rarely. The right to counsel does not delay a roadside screening demand, though it does apply before the breath test at the station. Whether police honoured it there is a real question.

What About My Insurance?

A conviction places you in the Facility Association for several years at several times the premium. An acquittal or a withdrawal avoids that. For many clients it is the largest financial reason to defend.

Read the firm’s drinking and driving guide and licence suspensions after a DUI in New Brunswick. Other criminal areas are under injury law areas.