Our client had no criminal record and no record of bad driving. She was going through a rough month professionally and personally when she stopped at a bar for a drink. While she was at the bar, a friend invited her to meet so they could discuss her problems, so she quickly finished her drink and started driving to meet the friend. A police officer saw our client driving and pulled her over to check her sobriety. Our client failed the roadside test and blew slightly over the legal limit at the police station. She was charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle while "over 80."
Defence counsel met with a prosecutor and pointed out several potential problems with the prosecution's evidence, told the prosecutor about our client's recent and sympathetic problems, and emphasized the fact that she had only blown slightly over the legal limit. The prosecutor agreed to drop the criminal charges if our client pleaded guilty to a traffic offence.
RESULT: Our client pleaded guilty to "careless driving" under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and all criminal charges were withdrawn, meaning that there were no criminal findings of guilt and no criminal record.