#189 Ipswich Drug Driving

Join Wiseman Lawyers Traffic Lawyer Andrew Wiseman at Ipswich Magistrates Court as he represents a client charged with Drug Driving. Watch Andrew explain what happened in the courtroom, along with the outcome which he achieved and how he achieved it.

All right. An Ipswich magistrates court client was charged with low range drink driving, reading 0.074. She had no history of this type, no drug driving, no drink driving. It was a first offence. Worst case scenario, with first time, low range drink driving is a nine month disqualification. Absolute best case is one month. She wasn't eligible to apply for a DUI drink driving work licence because she didn't hold a new-

Sorry, didn't hold a Queensland licence. She was from New South Wales, had a New South Wales licence. To be able to apply for a DUI drink driving work licence there's a number of hurdles you've got to get over, but one of them is you have to be the holder of a open Queensland licence when intercepted. If you had an interstate licence, you can't do it. If you've got a Queensland provisional licence, you can't get one, international, et cetera.

Just to confirm, to be eligible to apply for a DUI drink driving work licence, you must be the holder of an open Queensland licence on the day that you are intercepted. Because she had a New South Wales licence, she wasn't able to apply or a DUI drink driving work licence. Worst case nine months, absolute minimum is one month. Obviously my job was to try and get it down as close to the minimum one month as I can. In addition to that, given she had aspirations to seek admission as a lawyer. She was enrolling in a law degree and like all professional bodies, whether you're becoming a lawyer or a doctor or nurse or whatever, there's professional bodies that you need to satisfy, that you're a fit and proper person. And certain bodies have certain definitions of what is and isn't. History before the courts that's relevant or not relevant, et cetera.

What I'm getting at is, she was worried that if there was a recorded conviction today, when she finished her degree and she went to apply for admission as a solicitor, she may have been knocked back or at least delayed in being successfully made a qualified lawyer. Aside from the disqualification, my role was to try and persuade the magistrate to exercise their discretion in not recording the conviction.

As far as pairing goes, got her to complete a reformatory course, the same course, we get all of our clients to do. Exposes them to footage and the first hand accounts of people who have lost persons on the road or suffered serious injuries themselves. I got a drafted affidavit talking about what she said. She learned from the course, got her to get some character references based on a template that we provide all of our clients.

I met my client at court this morning. We grabbed a conference room, ran through my submissions, the procedure, et cetera, went in. I guided the magistrate through my client's background, who she's as a person, the fact that this is out of character and my client will most likely not appear before the courts again for this type of offending. The difficulties she'll suffer with a lengthiness disqualification. The fact that she's being disadvantaged through the fact that she can't apply for a DUI drink driving work losses, given the fact that she doesn't have a Queensland licence.

And the fact that her children will suffer if her income is ceased for a lengthy period and also labelled the point about the recording conviction. I actually drafted written submissions of relevant case law supporting my argument that in this instance it would be appropriate for the magistrate not to record a conviction.

The short version is, I was successful on all fronts. I was able to persuade the magistrate not to go past the [inaudible] manage entry minimum one month, and my client received a one month driver's licence disqualification. Modest, fine. And I was also successful in persuading the magistrate not to record a conviction. One month to disqualification, no conviction recorded, modest fine, client's very happy, I'm Andrew Wiseman. Thanks for watching.