Our client had consumed a few beers over the course of an evening. He got into his car with several friends that he intended to drive home. They were driving along without incident, until a car blew through a stop sign and “T-boned” their vehicle. As he was required to under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, he remained at the scene of the accident until the police arrived and he provided them with his identification, insurance, registration, and details about the accident. Without any warning, the police started to question him about any alcohol consumption, to which he admitted a few beers. As a result, the police demanded that he provide a breath sample into an approved roadside screening device. Our client provided the breath sample and failed the test. He was taken back to the station and he provided further breath samples that were in excess of the legal limit of eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood.
Our client was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired and while “over 80.” However, at trial, the judge concluded that our client’s statement admitting his alcohol consumption had been compelled by the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which constituted a violation of his right to remain silent in the context of the criminal trial. Accordingly, the trial judge excluded the evidence of the breath sample readings.
RESULT: Our client was found not guilty of all charges.