Sunday, March 23, 2008
DUI attorney update for Australian drunk driving cases
San Diego DUI attorneys tell folks if they get a DUI, have it happen in Australia.
DRINK-driving no longer means loss of licence, with figures revealing selected "soft" local courts let off most low-range offenders with barely a warning.
40 per cent of the 6841 caught low-range drink-driving in 2006 were discharged by magistrates without a conviction or loss of licence.
But as police said they expect to catch more than 400 drunk drivers behind the wheel over the Easter long weekend, it was revealed the discharge rate soars at specific local courts that are developing a reputation for generous use of section 10 of the NSW Crimes Act, which permits a magistrate to discharge a proven offence.
This is even though the official penalty is a minimum three-month licence disqualification and $1100 fine for first time offenders.
Even among mid-range drink-drive offenders - who are supposed to cop a six-month disqualification and $2200 fine - about 19 per cent are keeping their licence.
The figures come following day three of Operation Tortoise, targeting speeding and drink-driving on NSW roads during Easter.
Police said that on day three of last year, 440 drink-drivers had been caught and the figure for this year was expected to exceed 400.
In Sydney, Balmain Local Court discharged 48 of the 76 people charged with low-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, that is between .05 and .08, under section 10.
Magistrates working at Bankstown were also among the more lenient, discharging 62 per cent.
Others with high section 10 rates include Newcastle (62.8 per cent), Katoomba (75 per cent), Kogarah (53.7 per cent), Manly (51.3 per cent) and Waverley (53.9 per cent).
The figures, compiled by the Bureau of Crime Statistics for this newspaper, also show that in country areas in 2006 some local courts appear to let almost everyone off.
At Wellington, the six people who appeared in court were granted the section 10 leniency.
At Cobar, in the Far West, 13 out of the 14 presenting on low-range drink-driving were granted section 10 discharges.
Records show 2016 of the 10,441 people with mid-range charges were granted a section 10.
About 126 out of 3827 charged with high-range offences, over .15 PCA, were let go.
The Head of traffic services, Chief Superintendent John Hartley, last night expressed his frustration that some magistrates viewed drink-driving as a minor offence.
DRINK-driving no longer means loss of licence, with figures revealing selected "soft" local courts let off most low-range offenders with barely a warning.
40 per cent of the 6841 caught low-range drink-driving in 2006 were discharged by magistrates without a conviction or loss of licence.
But as police said they expect to catch more than 400 drunk drivers behind the wheel over the Easter long weekend, it was revealed the discharge rate soars at specific local courts that are developing a reputation for generous use of section 10 of the NSW Crimes Act, which permits a magistrate to discharge a proven offence.
This is even though the official penalty is a minimum three-month licence disqualification and $1100 fine for first time offenders.
Even among mid-range drink-drive offenders - who are supposed to cop a six-month disqualification and $2200 fine - about 19 per cent are keeping their licence.
The figures come following day three of Operation Tortoise, targeting speeding and drink-driving on NSW roads during Easter.
Police said that on day three of last year, 440 drink-drivers had been caught and the figure for this year was expected to exceed 400.
In Sydney, Balmain Local Court discharged 48 of the 76 people charged with low-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, that is between .05 and .08, under section 10.
Magistrates working at Bankstown were also among the more lenient, discharging 62 per cent.
Others with high section 10 rates include Newcastle (62.8 per cent), Katoomba (75 per cent), Kogarah (53.7 per cent), Manly (51.3 per cent) and Waverley (53.9 per cent).
The figures, compiled by the Bureau of Crime Statistics for this newspaper, also show that in country areas in 2006 some local courts appear to let almost everyone off.
At Wellington, the six people who appeared in court were granted the section 10 leniency.
At Cobar, in the Far West, 13 out of the 14 presenting on low-range drink-driving were granted section 10 discharges.
Records show 2016 of the 10,441 people with mid-range charges were granted a section 10.
About 126 out of 3827 charged with high-range offences, over .15 PCA, were let go.
The Head of traffic services, Chief Superintendent John Hartley, last night expressed his frustration that some magistrates viewed drink-driving as a minor offence.
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 10:19 AM 
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