The Crown would have a very difficult time proving someone was impaired without a breathalyzer/blood test or at a minimum, a field sobriety test. Any defense lawyer would destroy a case based on innuendo or likelihoods.
Admit to a DUI charge?
- Thread starter omg
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The Crown would have a very difficult time proving someone was impaired without a breathalyzer/blood test or at a minimum, a field sobriety test. Any defense lawyer would destroy a case based on innuendo or likelihoods.
Not to sound presumptuous I don't think going to prison per se (unless he has a previous record) is likely, short of that if he is steadily employed I think arrangements can be made to serve some time on weekends. If this is a first time defendent and he is contrite, I think the lightest sentence (one being to convey the seriousness of the crime while giving the defendent the chance to further his career) is the wise way to go.
OMG
If you were asking me personally I would advise you to get the advice of a lawyer whether he/she takes the case or not - at least know your personal rights and above all be honest with the judge.
They have heard everything so your story won't be new - but show good faith in telling your reasons why you left the scene.
Still get professional advice - this mistake will be travelling with you for a long time.... and do everything you can to show sincerity and honesty.
If you were asking me personally I would advise you to get the advice of a lawyer whether he/she takes the case or not - at least know your personal rights and above all be honest with the judge.
They have heard everything so your story won't be new - but show good faith in telling your reasons why you left the scene.
Still get professional advice - this mistake will be travelling with you for a long time.... and do everything you can to show sincerity and honesty.
Again, I'd rather be punished for telling the truth than be rewarded for lying. Look at Gandhi and Martin Luther King and others. They thrived for jail. The justice system was unfair and so prison time meant nothing. If in our system telling the truth begets punishment, then we ought to consider imprisonment as a badge of honour.
Now if the goal is to avoid charges at all costs, then yes, speak to a lawyer. I hope it clarifies that.
In the threads above, I wasn't talking about the best legal advice, but the best moral advice, which I consider to be more important.
In the threads above, I wasn't talking about the best legal advice, but the best moral advice, which I consider to be more important.
Running from the scene does serve as a character witness of sorts. And character witnesses, though taken lightly, are considered. Running from the scene has been proven though.
Assuming it's not a fly by post, then the way I look at it is that OMG is lucky he did not kill anyone, depending on how drunk he was. So really my main concern is not with trying to get him the most lenient sentence, but rather have him stand up tall and do the right thing. Simple as that.
Machjo
Agreed - well said - I like people who take responsibility no matter how awful it may seem at the moment - it's a good credo to live by.
I'm not arguing that he isn't guilty of that, obviously he is. The DUI is what I was speaking of and one can't just assume that he was impaired due to him leaving the scene.
Don't you think they'll question why he was so afraid of the police? Yes, some cops are stupid, but not all cops are. And in the police station, he's more than likely to meet a smart cop who can see through the BS. And in court, he's more than likely to meet a judge who can see through the BS too.
Now there could certianly be legitimate grounds for fearing the police. InVictoria BC many years ago, the cops were working to gain trust among visible minorities owing to evident racial profiling on their part bordering on harassment. One friend of mine had been stopped by the same cop so many times without ever getting charged that one day he finally addressed the cop by his name, wrote down his police ID number, and told him quite clearly that if he's ever stopped again, the cop had better arrest him for something or else he'll file a formal complaint. As it turned out, this was not a unique experience and many blacks in Victoria had the same problem. Finally, the police started efforts to build bridges and try to root out problem cops.
Even then a person would be foolish to run from the scene, and seeing that harassment is a far cry from formal charges, it's doubtful that this would cause a 'fear' of the police. Resentment or dislike, certainly. But fear? If they know the cops can't do anything beyond harassment without evidence, why should they fear the police.So even that would be a hard case in which to defend running from the scene of an accident. Anything less than that, and alarm bells will certainly sound. The judge won't be that stupid.
I do hope he gets a lenient sentence, but the right way, by telling the truth, not by 'lawyering' his way through.And if he gets a tough sentence, then at least he can hold his head up high in knowing he told the truth.
I agree with you in some ways, but if OMG wants to get on with his/her life, then he/she also needs to protect themself. You may not like the idea of needing a lawyer, but like Tenpenny was saying, when you have a problem, you can't always fix it yourself and need to hire a professional to help see it through. In the end, I agree eeds to own up before the cops trace the plates/registration/VIN and nab on their own.
Off the cuff, OMG is looking at some charges, as others said:
- Leaving the scene of an accident
- whatever traffic charge the cops want to invoke for the cause of the accident (drinving without due care? dangerous driving would be hard to prove)
- DUI shouldn't be on the table because even if OMG was drunk, it can no longer be proven without an confession of guilt... and even that is somewhat subjective (a person often has no idea what their blood alcohol is, regardless of what effects they feel)
- I wasn't sure if the drivers license was lost as in suspended or lost as in misplaced from the post. If the latter, there's one.
Plus there will be costs associated with liberating the car from the impound and whatever repairs are needed... not to mention a hike in insurance rates from this. Its going to be an expensive lesson, and yeah it could have been a lot worse...
It doesn't matter if the cops or judge see through his BS, without definitive proof, they have nothing.
Well, if the law rewards lying (and it probably does), then how proud we ought to be of our legal system.:canada:
I'd still rather fess up and take the punishment.
We have a system that willingly allows deals to be cut in exchange for an easy conviction. Whether one actually committed a crime doesn't matter as long as the books get closed. Justice? I doubt it....
Clearly you haven't if you decided to come in here and admit to what you did and now are looking for more ways to try and cover your ass as best as possible.
Not only were you driving while under the influence, but expect to be also be charged for leaving the scene of a crime, driving without a license, and who knows what else.
You said they have no proof except the word of the witnesses, and while that might be enough.... you just gave them the proof right here in this post which is just as good as a confession.... and all one needs to do is track back your IP address from this post to the computer you used to make this post and if it's the computer at your parent's home.... consider yourself screwed.
What you should be doing is accepting the consequences, go to the police and tell them the complete truth and everything you remember of the incident. If you do so, the fact that you decided to co-operate with them and tell them the truth will make this whole situation a lot easier on you then if you continue to try and cover this up, because eventually you're going to slip up on something (Like posting all of this right here for starters) and they'll catch you.... then they'll add even more charges to the already existing ones.
Tell them you freaked out, got scared and that is why you decided to try and hide what happened and they may go easy on you... especially if you start to co-operate.
But the longer you keep this up and the longer you keep trying to cover everything up, the more it will prove that you didn't learn from this and you refuse to accept your guilt, which will only make things worse for you in the long run.
Remember.... It's their job to investigate these things and they've dealt with a lot of drunk drivers over the years.... they're experts.... you're obviously not.
I'm not trying to insult you, I'm giving it to you straight.... don't d*ck around with this.