DUI & IRS Recent Cases Cases

M.V. was a single mother of two. Her ex-husband had a new girlfriend and the relationship with this woman was strained to say the least. The history had gotten to be such that an incident took place when the two got into an argument in a local retail store. During said argument it was alleged that M. assaulted the woman with a weapon. M.V. had no criminal record and ensuring no conviction was the priority. After dealing with a senior prosecutor a resolution was reached in which the client’s charges were withdrawn following a written apology.

Our client was found asleep in the front seat of his vehicle parked up against a road sign. Calgary citizens were concerned about his wellbeing so they called 911. When EMS arrived, 2 bottles of vodka were found on the passenger seat. Upon arrival, Calgary Police officers spoke with the client and immediately placed him under arrest. After being taken to the District Office for breath samples, it was alleged that A. refused to provide a sample. Mr. Wyman argued that the officers had the grounds to proceed with a screening demand on the basis of their observations but insufficient indicia of impairment existed for the arrest to be lawful. The argument was accepted and the client’s criminal charges as well as his provincial license suspension were dismissed.

Mr. T was charged with impaired driving and had no criminal record. He intended to plead guilty but was persuaded by a family law lawyer to speak with our office. After speaking with Mr. Wyman, he retained our services and the matter was set down for trial. Upon review of the file, our office identified a deficiency with the Certificate of Analyst that would prohibit its entry into evidence at trial. A novel argument also existed with respect to legitimacy of the stop. The issues which arose were sufficient to convince the prosecution to discontinue the prosecution. Instead of pleading guilty at the first occasion, Mr. T continues to maintain an unblemished criminal record.

This client came as a referral from a Provincial Court Judge. The Judge’s nephew had been stopped for speeding by a Sheriff on Hwy 2 by Airdrie. In dealing with the client, the Sheriff suspected that D. was impaired and requested that an RCMP member. Once the officer attended he spoke with the client who confirmed he had consumed 5 beers. A roadside breath sample was requested and an E31 message. This error indicates that a sample is over range. After obtaining this reading, the office elected to arrest the client and obtain breath samples at the RCMP detachment. Both samples were more than double the legal limit. In reliance on the Alcosensor FST Operating Manual, Mr. Wyman was able to argue that the officer should not have relied upon the error message and ought to have conducted a re-test to allow for the dissipation of mouth alcohol. The argument was a convincing one and Mr. S was spared a criminal conviction.

Our client was found asleep in his vehicle in the early afternoon outside his apartment complex in Airdrie. Concerned citizens called 911 which prompted the RCMP to intervene. Once on scene, officers attempted to rouse A without success. After numerous efforts, the client came to and the officers detected and odor of alcohol and significant indicia of impairment. A roadside breath demand was requested and the client adamantly refused. Mr. W. was then charged with impaired operation and refusal to provide a breath sample. On account of prior convictions for impaired driving, the client was looking at a mandatory jail sentence if convicted. As this was a strong case for the Crown, Mr. Wyman got the client enrolled in residential treatment. Following his completion of the residential treatment, the prosecution discontinued the prosecution.

Mr. B was charged with impaired driving after multiple individuals contacted the RCMP regarding a suspected impaired driver near Strathmore on Hwy 1. Officers located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. After interacting with the driver an arrest was made and the client provided breath samples that were almost 3 times the legal limit. Mr. B retained our office as we had previously been successful at trial for his son with respect to an impaired driving file. While the case seemed unwinnable, Mr. Wyman identified an unlawful arrest argument which would exclude the breath samples if successful. The plan worked out and Mr. B. still has no criminal record.