The Queen v. C. (J.) 2018

The client was observed accelerating in an aggressive fashion while he left a store parking lot. He was pulled over by police and after a brief investigation, the officer demanded a roadside sample. After blowing a “fail” the client was arrested and ended up providing samples of his breath back at the police detachment that was well over .08. He was charged accordingly and because of his prior criminal record for driving offenses faced an automatic three-year driving suspension upon conviction. On the day before trial, and much to her credit, the prosecutor sensed that Mr. van der Walle was very confident in achieving an acquittal and did the right thing by settling the litigation with the client pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act. Both criminal charges dropped. The client was able to continue driving so he did not lose his job. No trial necessary.