A14 Sunday, June 3, 2012 - The Morning Star
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Before he enrolled in the Community Futures North Okanagan’s Employ program, Mike Wallis would go to a job interview and just throw out random answers to get the interview over with. After learning issues like critical thinking during his six-week classroom stint with Employ, and another eight-week practicum, Wallis, 17, has a different outlook. “The program helped me to learn to critical
YOU AND THE LAW DEFENDING A DRUNK DRIVING CHARGE
ROGER KNOX/MORNING STAR
Janet Hackman (from left), Dave Rossi and Angie Fisher encourage youth aged 16 to 30 to take part in their Employ program, which teaches independence and self-reliance as they look for work. The program is federally funded and run through Community Futures North Okanagan.
By Janice Mucalov, LL.B. Drinking and driving often result in serious criminal charges. The consequences are severe even for a first offence. But drinking and driving offences are also very technical charges to prove, and there are several defences that can produce an acquittal. There are three possible charges if you are caught drinking and driving: 1. Driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 2. Impaired driving 3. Failing or refusing to provide breath or blood samples (or “refusing to blow”) As well, if you blow over .08 or refuse to blow, you’ll get a 90-day administrative driving prohibition (an ADP). If you’re convicted of any of the three charges and it’s your first offence, the mandatory minimum sentence is a $1,000 fine and a oneyear driving prohibition (and you can be jailed for up to seven days). And an ignition interlock device must be installed on your car for a year after that (at a cost to you of about $1,560), requiring you to provide a clean breath sample every time you want to start your car. Penalties are even more harsh for a second or third offence.
Because the consequences are so severe, you’ll want tot retain a lawyer to defend you and ensure that your rights are protected. You’re entitled to an acquittal if the prosecutor doesn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the particular elements of the offence that you’re charged with. Say you’re been charged with a blood alcohol
If you require assistance in dealing with criminal law, civil litigation or a family law matter, please contact Cristina Cabulea for information on how we can help you.
One element of the offence the prosecutor must prove is that your blood alcohol level was over .08, not just when tested but also at the time you drove the vehicle or had the care or control of it. To do this, the prosecutor must show several things, including that your first breath sample was taken within two hours and the second sample was taken more than 15 minutes after the first one. The prosecutor must also prove that a qualified technician analyzed each sample and that the breathalyzer was reliable (properly maintained and calibrated).
Or say you were charged with impaired driving based on the police officer’s observation of your appearance and behaviour (e.g., slurred speech and smell of alcohol). If you only had one or two drinks and were then involved in a car accident, your lawyer could E. Cristina point out that perhaps you couldn’t Cabulea talk properly because you had hit your head, not because you were impaired by alcohol.
The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles may also require you to attend a mandatory Responsible Driver Program (estimated to cost you about $2,500) before you can get your driver’s licence back.
E. Cristina Cabulea
level over .08. In this case, the police might have demanded that you blow into a breathalyzer machine at the local police station to determine that your blood alcohol level was over the legal limit.
Another possible defence relates to excluding damaging evidence because the police obtained it in a way that violated your Charter rights to protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Did the police advise you immediately when you were arrested that you could talk to a lawyer? Did they allow you to talk to a lawyer privately before questioning you or taking a breathalyzer test? If not, their evidence that you were impaired should be tossed out.
think and what to say in interviews before I actually say them,” said Wallis, who took what he learned from Employ into an interview with a local pizza shop that resulted in a job. “I learned to think and listen to the questions, then think them through before I answered.” Same goes for Cody Oakley, 18, who, on the day he was talking to a newspaper reporter, was preparing for a job interview with a local painting company. “I’ve learned how to interpret my situations better and evaluate them,” said Oakley. “This program saved me from getting into trouble, and to think of my actions before I jump into things.” The Employ program is for youth aged 16 to 30 who, in the past, may have been considered “at risk” because of mental health issues, run-ins
There are many other possible defences, depending on the facts of your case. Your lawyer can also help with appealing an ADP. This column has been written with the assistance of Allan • Francis • Pringle LLP. The column provides information only and must not be relied on for legal advice. Please contact E. Cristina Cabulea of Allan • Francis • Pringle LLP for legal advice concerning your particular case.
ALLAN FRANCIS PRINGLE LLP LAWYERS 3009B 28th Street, Vernon • 250-542-1177
with the law or drug and alcohol addiction problems. Program facilitator Janet Hackman said studies show all youth are “at risk” in one form or another. “It could be youth who are homeless, or it could be as simple as not having a driver’s licence or a lack of Grade 12,” said Hackman, who gets help in delivering the program from instructor Dave Rossi and employer liaison Angie Fisher. Youth interested in the program come into the Connections centre at Community Futures (corner of 32nd Avenue and 33rd Street) and make an appointment for Employ with a case manager. Hackman and staff will interview around 30 youth and take 12 per intake. “They do six weeks of classroom, then eight weeks to com-
plete a practicum,” said Hackman. “Students are paid minimum wage (now $10.25 an hour) to be in the classroom, and we place them in a job if they can’t find a placement of their own. “The idea is to leave the program hopefully with a job, but if not then the experience of working and getting a good reference from the employer.” Another goal of Employ is to have the youth become independent and self-reliant, paying their own way, making their own decisions, and to teach the kids to be thoughtful through reflective behaviour. “Our intent is to help the kids be able to be better decision makers and to self-regulate their emotions,” said Rossi, who has been leading the program for eight years. “They need to understand emotional intelligence as we find
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that makes them better employees.” Fisher’s role is to help youth with employer expectations, things like creating a resumé, learning interview skills and providing skills for dressing for success. She will then try to place a student with a local employer. “There are a lot of amazing employers in Vernon, always willing to give somebody a chance,” said Fisher. “The program helps employers out because they can try somebody out without having to pay for the wage.” There have been examples where Employ pays the minimum wage but employers, thinking fairness to other employees, may top up the wage. For example, if somebody was making $14 and hour, Employ would pay the minimum wage of $10.25, and the employer would pay $3.75. Since 2004, more than 320 youth have taken part in Employ, and 81 per cent of those have become employed or returned to school at the end of the program. A video has been created for the program which can be seen on YouTube. Type in Business Effectiveness and that should lead you to the video. For information, call 545-2215 (local 215).