The Queen v. M.T. 2022
A police officer patrolling the town of Armstrong in the middle of the night noticed a car in a gas station parking lot that contained a man sleeping in the driver’s seat. The officer approached the vehicle to check on the driver to see if he was alright. The client was surprised and slow to react after the officer awakened him. During the conversation the officer smelled alcohol and noted an open beer in the cupholder. The officer decided to skip the roadside breathalyzer and go straight to arrest and took the client back to the police station to provide breath samples. The client blew over twice the legal limit and was charged accordingly . Prior to trial Mr. van der Walle filed his Notice of Constitutional Argument alleging that the officer lacked enough grounds to go straight to arrest and was wrong to have skipped the roadside breathalyzer in the circumstances. Thankfully the Crown prosecutor agreed and dropped the criminal charges on the day of trial. No trial necessary, not guilty of all criminal charges.
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