‘It’s like the Grand National. There are dozens of hurdles. Hit any and the case can fall’
Drink-driving legislation is the most challenged piece of criminal law on our statute books, according to solicitors.
With so much at stake, including driving bans of two or three years, defendants and their solicitors regularly challenge even the most arcane of legal points.
Statistics show they have an impressive success rate: out of 20,000 drink-driving cases before the Irish courts since January 2013, just 6,709 have resulted in convictions.
“It’s like the Grand National,” says Evan O’Dwyer of O’Dwyer Solicitors, who specialises in road traffic law. “There are dozens of hurdles. If the case hits any of them, it can fall.”
The most common grounds for cases being dismissed involve paperwork errors, discrepancies in evidence or procedural points, according to gardaí and solicitors. Other issues, such as the availability of gardaí involved in an arrest or charge, can also have a crucial bearing on a case.
Source: Carl O'Brien, Irish Times, 20/10/15
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