Is my buddy going to jail???
Discussion
A friend of mine (female) made a silly mistake a few months ago and decided to drive home after a skinful. It's a Small village and the kind of road you would not normally see any one else at night but that is obviously no defense.
Long story short, someone reported her and the police went to her house where upon her son let them in and they got her out of bed and arrested her.
She was recorded as being three times over. First time offence.
She is a working mum and currently commutes about 25 miles cross country. A ban is obviously on the cards , which is going to be a massive inconvenience , given the rural location but does anybody think that any judge might give her a custodial sentence?
She does have a lawyer but from what I am hearing he doesn't seem to be offering much in the way of advice apart from plead guilty or you may go to jail.
I keep thinking that the only witness would not actually be able to pick her out of a line up, so there really isn't much of a case but she is not denying it.
Should a decent lawyer try and defend the case, or just roll over to avoid the possible prison outcome if found guilty?
Long story short, someone reported her and the police went to her house where upon her son let them in and they got her out of bed and arrested her.
She was recorded as being three times over. First time offence.
She is a working mum and currently commutes about 25 miles cross country. A ban is obviously on the cards , which is going to be a massive inconvenience , given the rural location but does anybody think that any judge might give her a custodial sentence?
She does have a lawyer but from what I am hearing he doesn't seem to be offering much in the way of advice apart from plead guilty or you may go to jail.
I keep thinking that the only witness would not actually be able to pick her out of a line up, so there really isn't much of a case but she is not denying it.
Should a decent lawyer try and defend the case, or just roll over to avoid the possible prison outcome if found guilty?
Mk3Spitfire said:
Very, very unlikely to get custodial unless there's more to it.
Was she breathalysed at the scene? I'm assuming that it wasn't police witnessed, so she would have been interviewed? What did she say in interview?
Yes I think she was breathalyser at home. No police witnessed her driving and she pleaded not guilty when she was dragged up in front of the beak. She was arrested on the Friday night and was kept in jail until Monday morning to go to court.Was she breathalysed at the scene? I'm assuming that it wasn't police witnessed, so she would have been interviewed? What did she say in interview?
Added for clarification:
She plead not guilty at the time so that she could keep her license for a while at least.
And as for her lawyer, he is supposedly a specialist and charged £1600 up front but doesn't seem to worth it ..
Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Tuesday 23 December 14:00
worsy said:
What's her current plea? Does she intend to plead guilty or fight on a technicality (ie that is no proof she actually DD).
Well, if she follows her legal advice she will be pleading guilty to avoid a worse sentence, I actually think hA decent lawyer would be able to get her off..
Mk3Spitfire said:
Shuvi McTupya said:
Yes I think she was breathalyser at home. No police witnessed her driving and she pleaded not guilty when she was dragged up in front of the beak. She was arrested on the Friday night and was kept in jail until Monday morning to go to court.
Interested to know what her defence is...I'm assuming hip flask.As much as I hate people getting off on technicalities, I would lay off going into too much detail on here. Your account already contradicts hers.
Oh, my memory of the events is very poor as I was really drunk at the time ...I might be wrong about the facts so my comments on here should not be taken as a statement of fact
Mk3Spitfire said:
ATM said:
I'm not trying to defend drink driving but if she wasn't seen by the police driving then how can she be arrested like this?
Report to police. Police attend home address. Police breathalyse suspect as they believe she has been driving. Suspect blows over. Police arrest suspect. Would have struggled if they hadn't been let in though.
It is a shame they we're let in. Guilty or not she would have been fine.
I also now remember the police let themselves into the house later that night! The first officer on the scene was a woman on her own so she got another officer to Join her and they all left in the same car, leaving her car on the drive.
An hour or two later the police just came waltzing into the living room to tell us they were back to pick up the car!
I am sure if any one in the house was up to anything naughty they would have increased their arrest tally for the night...
I also now remember the police let themselves into the house later that night! The first officer on the scene was a woman on her own so she got another officer to Join her and they all left in the same car, leaving her car on the drive.
An hour or two later the police just came waltzing into the living room to tell us they were back to pick up the car!
I am sure if any one in the house was up to anything naughty they would have increased their arrest tally for the night...
Joeguard1990 said:
I might be missing something here... but why not just deny everything and say you were not driving the car?
The Police have no proof she was driving under the influence. You have 1 witness who saw the car being driven. If it comes down to it, just say they are lying and being malicious surely? get a couple of mates to testify you were at home, that sort of thing?
The lawyer has now seen the witness statement and surprisingly he has managed to identify a small blonde woman as the driver. Still not 100% proof and I am sure that certain factions of society would laugh in the face of such an accusation and get off Scott free...The Police have no proof she was driving under the influence. You have 1 witness who saw the car being driven. If it comes down to it, just say they are lying and being malicious surely? get a couple of mates to testify you were at home, that sort of thing?
ATM said:
So now she admits driving but claims to have downed a lot of booze after she arrived home then the police have no case - right?
okgo said:
Its not a shame they were let in really though is it. Someone who does that desrves to get their collar felt. Idiotic and totally irresponsible behaviour regardless of the circumstances.
Agreed, but some would say that she has already learned the lesson. She has spent some time in jail and it has cost her the guts of £2k. She won't be repeating the act..You should have seen her when we picked her up on the Monday, she was a total wreck !
Mk3Spitfire said:
She hasn't been to Jail! She was remanded in a police cell. Different things altogether!
And a couple of days b&b with an en-suite and a few quid down the drain might not seem like learning a lesson had someone been killed as a result of her actions.
But, nobody did die, or get hurt so that is not relevant to her case.And a couple of days b&b with an en-suite and a few quid down the drain might not seem like learning a lesson had someone been killed as a result of her actions.
Oh, and she didn't have an en suite, she only had access to a shower on the Monday morning, breakfast was non existent too and she couldn't smoke, so in some ways it was worse than prison
Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Tuesday 23 December 15:04
The Surveyor said:
But she has already admitted it to you, as you indicated in your original thread:-
"....made a silly mistake a few months ago and decided to drive home after a skinful"
Ah yes I see what you mean, but she wasn't under oath or anything, she might have been lying to protect erm ..as you were "....made a silly mistake a few months ago and decided to drive home after a skinful"
speedyguy said:
Maybe she should be allowed to carry on then eh until someone dies would that make it more relevant/fairer for your mate?
Took a chance and lost like the driver below?
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-30553947
I obviously take your point, but I am sure most of us here have taken risks that could go bad..nobody bats an eyelid if you tell them you were doing 90mph on a motorway but if you ploughed into a stationary car at 90 everybody would think you should be taken off the road..Took a chance and lost like the driver below?
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-30553947
Does that mean you should be automatically banned for doing 90 because other people have had fatal accidents at that speed?
While drink driving is different, I think an uneventful drive home after a few drinks should be treated with more leniency than if you kill someone while doing the same thing..
Derek Smith said:
Well one positive for the woman: she has a free choice of defence as what really happened hasn't been put on a public forum for the police to check on.
I'm sorry for her problem with regards her domestic situation, but she knew what she was doing and took the risk. I feel that a 12-month ban is what she deserves as a minimum.
I don't think I have given enough information for this thread to be useful for the prosecution, have I?I'm sorry for her problem with regards her domestic situation, but she knew what she was doing and took the risk. I feel that a 12-month ban is what she deserves as a minimum.
Monkeylegend said:
Well you have said she had a skinfull and decided to drive home, and she was subsequently 3 times over the drink drive limit.
On that basis alone she probably deserves a ban.
Yes, but I have given no information with which she could be identified!On that basis alone she probably deserves a ban.
Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Tuesday 23 December 23:42
She actually got reported by another road user who suspected she was pissed as she was driving at under the speed limit at late o'clock.
She was on a back country mostly single track road doing about 30-35mph when you are allowed to do 60mph and most people do about 50. He followed her until she pulled onto the drive and then phoned in the address.
She was on a back country mostly single track road doing about 30-35mph when you are allowed to do 60mph and most people do about 50. He followed her until she pulled onto the drive and then phoned in the address.
I didn't intentionally with hold that bit of info, I just realised it had become relevant when people started talking about why she wasn't spoken too or perhaps even offered a lift home by the person that reported her.
I don't feel responsible in any way and I am not her son. I am actually seeing her at the moment, but I wasn't at the time of the incident. I was in the pub that she left and we had a cab booked that was due to arrive in about 15 minutes and all of a sudden we realised that she had left (she was pretty stressed at the time, going through a divorce and sale of the house , looking for new place to live, and just starting a new job all at the same time) .
I agree, her driving must have been bad to attract the attention she got, and Yes she likes a few glasses of wine, but that Was the only time I gave been aware of her drinking and driving.
I don't feel responsible in any way and I am not her son. I am actually seeing her at the moment, but I wasn't at the time of the incident. I was in the pub that she left and we had a cab booked that was due to arrive in about 15 minutes and all of a sudden we realised that she had left (she was pretty stressed at the time, going through a divorce and sale of the house , looking for new place to live, and just starting a new job all at the same time) .
I agree, her driving must have been bad to attract the attention she got, and Yes she likes a few glasses of wine, but that Was the only time I gave been aware of her drinking and driving.
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