This Case Took Place at Manchester Magistrates Court
To keep our client’s identity confidential, they will be referred to as ‘Jay’ for this case study.
Jay came to us after being charged with drink driving, namely 70ug of breath.
Jay informed us he has been pulled over early one morning as a result of driving with his car lights turned off. Attending police officers then made the decision to breathalyse Jay and unfortunately the breath test came back as positive.

Jay explained to us that he thought there may have been a procedural error as he did not recall crucial forms, such as his MGDDA form being completed with him. As a result of this Jay instructed us to review the prosecution’s evidence and establish whether an abuse of process has taken place.
Following an in-depth review of the Jay’s IDPC, SFR1, MGDDA form and associated footage; we advised Jay that it appeared the correct procedure has been taken by the Police/CPS and there was no abuse of power visible upon sight of his materials. Upon discussing this with Jay, he advised he did recall the MGDDA form being filled in and explained the stress of being arrested had caused his memory to be inaccurate. We find this to be quite common, especially when it is an individual’s first offence, it is very easy to not take note of every aspect of the process as it unfolds.
Following this conversation Jay decided he wished to plead guilty and present mitigation to minimise the ban he received as much as possible. As Jay has provided a positive breath sample of 70ug, he was facing a 17-22 month driving disqualification and a potential community service order. The primary aspect of Jay’s mitigation that we focused on, was the loss of his employment, should he be disqualified. Whilst evidencing this would not prevent him losing his licence, it would demonstrate to the court the hardship he would face and this can be taken in to consideration.
At Jay’s hearing the Judge looked on Jay’s case favourably owning to the in depth mitigation provided.
The Judge took the following aspects into consideration when making their decision:
- Jay had no previous convictions
- Jay was extremely remorseful at his court hearing
- Jay would defiantly lose his job as a result of being convicted which would put him into a state of financial hardship and be a heavy burden to bear
As a result of the above the Judge passed down a sentence of a 14 month disqualification and a £120 fine. This length of disqualification was lower than that suggested by The Magistrates Guidelines and the fine was very low for a case of this nature. In addition to this the Judge also allowed Jay to take a drink driving course, which would knock a further 14 weeks of his driving disqualification!
Jay was ecstatic will the result achieved and appreciated that we explored the prospects of both a Not Guilty Plea and a Guilty Plea without putting any pressure on him.
If you have been charged with a similar case to Jay’s and would like an expert solicitor to explore your options, call a member of our team on 0330 912 2124.