I appeared at Coolangatta Magistrates Court again this morning to represent a client charged with Mid Range DUI Drink Driving, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.131.
My client was a first time offender.
However, given my client was a P Plater, they were not eligible to apply for a Work Licence.
To be eligible to apply for a Work Licence, an applicant needs to have been the holder of an Open Queensland licence when intercepted.
That said, my client needed to drive to locations not properly serviced by public transport or at all.
Accordingly, my role was one of getting the disqualification down as low as possible, as opposed to applying for a Work Licence.
My client faced a maximum penalty for their DUI Drink Driving offence of a 12 month driver’s licence disqualification, 6 months imprisonment and 20 penalty units.
That said, section 187 of the Penalties & Sentences Act allows Magistrates to hand down lifetime driver's licence disqualifications.
The Mandatory Minimum licence disqualification for Mid Range is 3 months.
That said, the Mandatory Minimum licence disqualification for P Platers charged with Low or Mid Range is also 3 months.
A penalty unit in Queensland is currently valued at $121.90.
Further, persons who plead or are found guilty in the Magistrates Court must pay the Offender Levy, which is presently worth $114.80.
I made detailed and comprehensive verbal submissions to the Magistrate covering a number of key aspects.
I was able to persuade the Magistrate that a licence disqualification of no more than 4 months was appropriate.
My client received a 4 month disqualification and a modest fine only.
My client was extremely happy.
DUI Drink Driving is a serious offence.
Wiseman Lawyers specialise in DUI Drink Driving and Traffic Law.
Regards
Andrew Wiseman, Wiseman Lawyers
Wiseman TV
Watch over 200 court ride along videos. Access over 10 hours of free content.
