Katie Forrest of Forrest Williams
Spiked Drinks Argument Successful: Client Not Guilty
Unusually, it wasn’t Ana who contacted me about her drink driving case. It was Geoff, the person who had spiked her drinks, causing her to be over the limit.
Geoff was very remorseful, and determined that Ana should receive the best legal representation to ensure that she was not disqualified from driving because of something he had done.
Geoff was happy to confirm exactly what had happened – how he had visited Ana as he knew she was recovering from dental surgery, how he had added alcohol to her drink to ‘cheer her up’, and how he had no idea she would be driving that night.
Ana herself didn’t know she would drive that night, but she woke up in so much pain she decided to go to the all-night pharmacy to get more medication.
On her journey, she was asked to pull over by the police as one of her brake lights didn’t work. She was breathalysed, and over the limit.
Ana was facing a 12-16 month ban, through no fault of her own.
For a Court to allow a Special Reasons: Spiked Drinks argument, they must be satisfied that the defendant should not have realised they had drank the laced drinks.
In Ana’s case, her dental surgery was a very important part of the case. It meant that she couldn’t taste anything, so had no idea that what she thought was a soft drink actually had alcohol in it. And she was very groggy, so any physical sensations of inebriation would have been interpreted by her as being due to the surgery.
I explained the full procedure for a Special Reasons application to Ana, and guided her and Geoff through the case. They were both very anxious about the situation as neither of them had had any dealings with the law.
At the Special Reasons hearing, both Ana and Geoff gave evidence well. They were credible, with consistent accounts that stood up to cross-examination.
The magistrates did find Special Reasons, meaning that although Ana is convicted of the offence, she is not disqualified.
Ana was absolutely delighted and a very remorseful Geoff was incredibly relieved.
If you have been charged with drink driving, call our expert team now on 01623 397200.
