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Sarah Hill Secures Excellent Outcome for Client in Drink Driving Case Image
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Sarah Hill Secures Excellent Outcome for Client in Drink Driving Case

Our client DS, was charged with an offence of failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis, having been arrested on suspicion of drink driving. The starting point for sentence was 12 weeks' imprisonment because the prosecution evidence was that there was a high level of impairment and that the client deliberately refused to provide a breath specimen. Sarah Hill skilfully made a plea in mitigation to the court on the client's behalf, persuading the magistrates to deal with the case by fining him, rather than sending him to prison. DS was extremely pleased with the outcome.

Just before Christmas in 2022, an ambulance driver reported our client, DS, to the police because he was very concerned about the manner of his driving. The paramedic’s evidence was that the car DS was driving almost collided with the ambulance and that he was driving erratically. The paramedic alerted the police and DS was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs.

DS was taken to Bournemouth Police Station where the police wanted to conduct the intoxilyzer procedure to test whether he had alcohol in his system and had, therefore, been drink driving. DS refused to co-operate with this procedure. Failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis (or blood/urine) is a criminal offence, contrary to section 7(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and DS was charged with this offence.

DS appeared before Poole Magistrates’ Court in January 2023 when he was represented by Guy Gosheron and pleaded guilty to the offence. The magistrates took the view that the custody threshold was crossed and, because of the likelihood of a custodial sentence, ordered a pre-sentence report (PSR) from Probation to learn more about DS before passing sentence. The case was adjourned to February.

Failing to provide a specimen for analysis carries a maximum sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment. When dealing with an offender, the court must impose a driving disqualification for at least 12 months, with no maximum limit for the time a person can be disqualified for. In passing sentence, the court must follow the applicable Sentencing Guideline for the offence concerned. The court can only depart from the guideline if satisfied it is in the interests of justice to do so (section 59(1) of the Sentencing Act 2020). Sentencing guidelines set out the sentence starting point for the court (based on the particular facts of the offence) and the range that the sentence should fall within, depending on what the aggravating and mitigating features are in the case (i.e. facts which make the offence more or less serious).

In our client’s case, the starting point for sentence was 12 weeks’ custody

In our client’s case for failing to provide a specimen for analysis, the relevant sentencing guideline specified that the starting point for sentence was 12 weeks’ custody with a range from a high level community order to 26 weeks’ custody (equivalent to 6 months’ imprisonment, the maximum sentence the court can impose for the offence). The guideline set out the length of the driving disqualification, namely that it should be in the region of 29 to 36 months. This was because the prosecution evidence was that DS had deliberately refused to provide a specimen and the manner of his driving demonstrated a high level of impairment. These features put the case in the most serious category in the sentencing guideline.

DS was represented by Sarah Hill at the sentencing hearing at Poole Magistrates’ Court in February 2023. Sarah spent time with the client before the hearing, going through the PSR with him. To be able to present the case in the best possible light to the court, it was essential that she understood more about the client. In conference with DS, Sarah learned more about how this offence had come to be committed and about his personal circumstances.

Before defendants are sentenced, they are entitled to make a ‘plea in mitigation’ to the court. The purpose of this is to help the court understand more about the person before them, hoping to persuade the court to deal with the case less severely than may otherwise be the case. Whilst anyone can present their side of the story to a court, it takes particular proficiency and expertise to do so in a way that persuades the court to depart from the sentencing guidelines.

In this case, Sarah skilfully presented DS’s side of the story to the court. She drew the court to important and relevant features about him and the case. In particular, the fact that he had an explanation for his driving manner which was nothing to do with alcohol. And, whilst he accepted that he had refused to provide the specimen, he had done so out of principle because he objected to the manner in which he was dealt with by the police, not appreciating the consequences of his actions would result in a criminal prosecution. She also demonstrated her legal expertise by drawing the court’s attention to problematic features of the recommendation in the PSR, helping to persuade the court to depart from the sentencing guideline.

Rather than impose either a custodial sentence or community order, Sarah persuaded the court to fine the client

The brilliant outcome for the client was that Sarah successfully persuaded the magistrates that it was in the interests of justice to depart from the sentencing guidelines. Rather than impose either a custodial sentence or a community order, she persuaded the court to deal with DS by way of a financial penalty. As well as giving him a fine, they disqualified him from driving for 24 months, rather than 29 to 36 months a stipulated by the sentencing guideline. The court agreed to offer the client the opportunity to undertake a drink driving rehabilitation course which, if successfully completed by a certain date, reduces the disqualification further.

DS was extremely pleased with the outcome and what Sarah managed to achieve for him. He took the time to send in written feedback, in which he thanked Sarah profusely for her ‘amazing work and professionalism’.

If you are facing criminal proceedings, whether for a driving offence or any other matter, contact us today to find out how you can benefit from our services. Read our Motoring Offences section for more information about our road traffic representation.

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