Accused drunk drivers expected to file class action
Lawyers are predicting the B.C. government could be hit with a class action lawsuit to recover millions of dollars paid by suspected drunk drivers based on part of a law that has been declared unconstitutional.
Beginning last September, when B.C. introduced its tough new law, 15,000 drivers failed the roadside breath test and paid millions of dollars in penalties.
That includes people like Navi Tagger, who blew a fail after he was pulled over on Nov. 19. Tagger was the designated driver that night, and says he had only consumed a single beer.
His lawyer Sarah Leamon says she’s getting mixed messages from the government when it comes to getting drivers back on the road.
“It seems that there’s a great deal of inconsistency,” she said.
She agrees that drivers punished under the tough law deserve some sort of recourse.
“People should get some kind of a remedy at the very least, whether that’s having all of their money refunded to them, having their licence granted back to them or having the ignition interlock removed from their vehicle,” Leamon said.
The government hasn’t said what its position will be on refunding the fines.
More: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111215/bc_drunk_driving_class_action_111215/20111215/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Roadside breath tests not always accurate: documents
Internal police documents are raising doubts about the precision of some roadside breathalyzers used by B.C. police to catch drunk drivers.
Vancouver lawyer Paul Doroshenko filed Access to Information requests with police departments across the province and found that the screening devices aren’t always accurate.
Paul Doroshenko Vancouver Criminal Lawyer
Inspection documents from the Vancouver Police Department show some erratic readings on those tools.
“Sometimes they grossly inflate the reading that should be reflected on the unit,” Doroshenko said.
During a monthly calibration in February, one machine calibrated with a standard chemical solution showed a reading of .117 — when it should have registered .082.
If the reading had been off by that much on the road, it might have meant the difference between the “warning” level and a “fail.”
“We don’t know how many people blew into it — how many people blew a fail who were not actually over the limit,” Doroshenko said.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111209/bc_road_side_breath_tests_inaccurate_111209/20111209/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Ruling puts accused drunk drivers back on the road
Hundreds of people who lost their licences after failing roadside breathalyzer tests are getting their permits back after a B.C. judge tossed out part of the province’s tough law against drinking and driving.
Last week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jon Sigurdson ruled that the immediate 90-day driving suspensions issued to drivers who register a blood alcohol level above .08 constitute an infringement of drivers’ Charter rights.
Lawyer Paul Doroshenko says he’s filed reams of petitions to the court since the decision was handed down, on behalf of people who want their driving bans and $500 administrative penalties lifted on an interim basis.
“In most of the cases, if we can meet the legal test, we get the driving prohibition suspended,” he told CTV News.
Doroshenko said the judge was right to strike down part of the law, which has been called the toughest in Canada.
“My biggest concern with this legislation is relying on roadside breath testers and the honesty of police when you can’t assess their honesty,” he said.
Doroshenko says that he has filed numerous Access to Information requests with police departments across the province, and has serious concerns about how officers are using their roadside breath-testers.
In Vancouver, for example, “You can see that a lot of the devices give readings they shouldn’t be giving when they test them for calibration,” Doroshenko said.
“Sometimes they grossly inflate the reading that should be reflected on the unit.”
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111208/470_bc_driving_bans_lifted_for_drunk_drivers_111208/20111208?hub=BritishColumbia
Hundreds trying to get licences back
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A Vancouver lawyer is very busy, getting banned drivers their licences back. The cases are piling up since the BC Supreme Court ruled against the province’s tough new drunk driving laws last week.
Paul Doroshenko says he represents at least 100 people who’ve been hit with a 90-day driving prohibition but are due to get their licences back.
He says some individuals are desperate to have their driving bans overturned.
“Many, many people lost their jobs as a result of this, as anybody who had to drive for a living lost their job because nobody was sticking an Interlock (an in-car alcohol breath screening device) in the grader they operate or the quad they drive up a cutline.”
For now, the licences are being returned after a petition to the courts, but Doroshenko foresees a class action lawsuit launched by people who lost their jobs because of a law that has now been deemed unconstitutional.
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/308259–hundreds-trying-get-licences-back#.TuGLM60Dhac.twitter
Drunk-driving challenges
December 8, 2011
The decision to overturn part of B.C.’s drunk-driving laws has sparked several legal challenges.
B.C. top court ruling paves the road for Alberta drunk driving legislation
It was a pop of a cork heard across two provinces, but for Alberta, the champagne fell totally flat.
Those expecting salvation in a B.C. Supreme Court ruling, hoping a legal challenge against rigid drunk driving rules would stop similar legislation next door, have little to toast.
There’s nothing to celebrate, because the B.C. court only shot down the law for drivers over .08, and not those losing their cars for blowing below the legal blood-alcohol limit.
It means Alberta can safely push ahead with Bill 26, giving Alberta police the ability to suspend licences and impound vehicles for motorists caught over .05, but less than .08.
Worse yet, B.C.’s Supreme Court ruling suggests Alberta’s upcoming law will withstand future legal challenges, say lawyers watching the case.
“Alberta played it smart,” said B.C. lawyer Paul Doroshenko, one of that province’s most outspoken critics of the B.C. law.
“Alberta is only proposing changes to the .05 section, and Alberta has stayed with corrective measures — what they did in B.C. is punitive.”
Source: http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/11/30/bc-top-court-ruling-paves-the-road-for-alberta-drunk-driving-legislation
Parts of B.C. drunk driving law ruled unconstitutional
Global National – Parts of B.C. drunk driving law ruled unconstitutional
Wed, Nov 30: Canada’s toughest drunk driving law is dealt a blow, when a B.C. Supreme Court judge rules parts of it as unconstitutional.
Francis Silvaggio reports: Parts of B.C. drunk driving law ruled unconstitutional – Global National – Videos | Global News
Impaired driving law can’t trump more cops looking for drunk drivers
Forty-five fewer coffins.
If anything is going to kill off opposition to strict new anti drunk-driving legislation in Alberta, it’s 45 fewer customers for the funeral industry in the province next door.
That’s the number of lives apparently saved since B.C. adopted laws which Alberta plans to mirror next year, giving police the ability to impound cars and suspend licences for as few as two drinks.
Draconian, unconstitutional and a total disaster for the service industry: the .05 impaired driving crackdown has been called many things by opponents, but those promoting the law are calling it a great success. (more…)
Lawyer slams impaired driving law
B.C.’s anti-drunk driving legislation is a farce that pads provincial coffers while letting impaired motorists escape criminal prosecution, a veteran Vancouver lawyer says.
And Paul Doroshenko told the Sun Albertans may be in for the same laws, which he said circumvent federal jurisdiction while being a cash cow for the B.C. provincial government.
“The B.C. legislation, as far as I’m concerned, was primarily designed as a money-saving thing,” Doroshenko said. (more…)
