NORTH Shore drivers who've been handed a 90day licence suspension under B.C.'s new drunk driving laws are asking questions after parts of those laws were recently struck down in court as breaching fundamental charter rights.
But so far, lawyers on the receiving end of those inquiries have few indications about what will happen next or what the ruling means for those who've been handed one of B.C.'s tough administrative penalties.
"Yes, we've been getting calls. I had a host of them last week," said Harry Hunter, a North Vancouver lawyer who has defended many accused drunk drivers in court.
Hunter said it looks like the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles has adjourned most of the review hearings where drivers handed 90-day suspensions have attempted to argue their penalties under the new laws. But it's not clear if those drivers will get their licences back in the interim, said Hunter.
Those who blow a fail on roadside screening devices will likely now be taken back to the police detachment for a breathalyzer reading and be processed through the criminal court system, as was previously the case, said Hunter - at least until the provincial government comes up with a proper way for drivers to appeal their suspensions.
Last week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jon Sigurdson ruled B.C.'s harshest administrative penalties for drunk drivers violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because they allow police to impose criminal-style penalties without giving drivers a chance to appeal.
Although drivers can apply to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles to review the decision, those cases have essentially been unwinnable, said Hunter.
"It was just not a fair hearing," he said. "The chances of overturning them are almost nil."
Even before the most recent court decision, two other B.C. Supreme Court justices have recently handed down rulings that have been critical of the process.
In one decision, a judge noted the adjudicator had favoured the police officer's version of events because her notes were written at the scene while the driver's were written afterwards.
"How do you argue against that?" said Hunter. "An officer's evidence is always going to be done at the scene."
Many people handed a 90-day suspension and other penalties that went along with it have been out of pocket up to $5,000 and some have even lost their jobs because they couldn't drive, said Hunter.
That's a severe penalty to inflict without any right to appeal, he said.
Hunter acknowledged that defending those accused of drunk driving may not be a popular position, but said having the right to a fair hearing is essential to our justice system.
Otherwise anyone could be declared guilty of a wrongdoing simply because a police officer said they are, he said.
Following the court ruling last week, West Vancouver police chief Peter Lepine said police will not back down from cracking down on drunk drivers over the holiday season.
West Vancouver officers arrested two people for drunk driving last weekend - including one who was driving the wrong way on Highway 1 and blew almost three times the legal limit.
