Emma came to us as a returning client. She had been charged with Drink Driving, Driving without Insurance and Failing to Stop.
Emma has three previous convictions for Drink Driving so she knew she needed the best team on her side as the court were going to take this matter very seriously.
Emma wasn’t your typical Drink Driver. She was a successful business woman and was raising her 10 year old son alone after the passing of his father four years previous.
Emma had already realised before she came back to us that she had an issue with Alcohol which needed to be seriously addressed.
Emma did not rely on alcohol. She didn’t need to drink it every day to survive; she simply drank it when she was out with friends who were drinking. Emma was a social drinker.
On the date in question, Emma had been out to the local pub with her colleagues as it was the anniversary of the death of their late director. Whilst out Emma had two glasses of wine, but was aware that they were being topped up by the people she was out with.
Emma was driving home when she was involved in an accident. Emma was pressing a button on her SatNav when she veered onto the opposite side of the road and crashed into a car coming the opposite way.
Both cars were declared as Total Losses.
Emma got out of the car and made sure everyone was okay, but then realised how serious the situation was and so in a moment of panic, she started walking in the opposite direction.
This is when the police attended, and saw her “Fleeing the scene of an accident”. They caught up with Emma and arrested her on suspicion of Drink Driving, Driving without Insurance, and Failing to Stop.
After a visit to the local hospital, and a subsequent trip to the Police Station, Emma was charged with Drink Driving, Driving without Insurance, and Failing to Stop.
As this was Emma’s fourth drink driving offence she was very realistically facing a drink driving prison sentence, and a lengthy disqualification.
In our first conversation with Emma she made it abundantly clear to us that she was not at all bothered about the disqualification. Her main concern was that she needed to avoid that immediate drink driving prison sentence.
From that first conversation we started prepping Emma’s case focused on trying to avoid a drink driving prison sentence.
We focused on how Emma was solely responsible for her son, Joshua, who would potentially end up in a Foster Home if Emma could not find a possible guardian for him. We worked with Emma to show the court that she was already addressing her issues with alcohol, and we showed the court that there was no risk of Emma repeating this mistake in the future.
The day of the court hearing came and all the behind the scene preparation has been done. Emma was represented by one of our premier London Barristers, Craig Harris.
Craig had been fully briefed and handed over all of the preparation that had been gathered before the hearing.
Craig met with Emma before the hearing and explained all the possible outcomes of the day’s hearing. Craig explained that Emma should prepare herself for the worst, but that he would mitigate to keep her out of custody.
Craig went into court and strongly stressed the impact of an Immediate Custodial Sentence on Joshua. Craig explained to the court, and most importantly showed them evidence of how Emma had already started addressing the issues with her alcohol use.
The Bench went out to deliberate, and came back with the sentence.
Emma was given a 16 week prison sentence suspended for 24 months. She was given a 12 month supervision order to include 150 hours unpaid work and 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days. Emma was disqualified for 72 months, with a requirement that she has to take an extended test should she re-apply for her licence at the end of this disqualification period.
Emma was so relieved that she was able to carry on being a Mum to Joshua. Emma is currently working through the 150 hours unpaid work and Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days, but is just thankful that she is still at home with her son.
If you need help to avoid a drink driving prison sentence, call our expert team now on 01623 600645. We are a nationwide firm helping people across England and Wales.
