The Queen v. R.(F.) 2020

  A man arrived home one evening and saw a man sleeping behind the wheel of his truck on the side of the road, near the man’s driveway.  Soon later, the man saw the truck drive away but roll over into a ditch only a short distance down the road.  The man called the RCMP.  When the officer arrived he found the client in the driver seat of the vehicle trying to get out from the rolled truck.  The officer observed that the client reeked of alcohol, had slurred speech, and poor balance.  One thing led to another and the client was arrested and brought to the police station for a breath sample.  The client bluntly refused to provide a sample.  Accordingly he was charged with impaired driving and refusing to provide a breath sample.  Prior to the trial, Mr. van der Walle sent the prosecutor his Notice of Constitutional Argument, alleging that the officer had violated the client’s rights in numerous ways at roadside and at the police station later on.  Much to his credit, the prosecutor saw the merit in Mr. van der Walle’s position and offered to drop the criminal charges if the client pled guilty to driving without due care under the Motor Vehicle Act.  He received a $1000 fine as punishment and was able to keep his driving privileges so he did not lose his job.  Not guilty of all criminal charges.  No trial necessary.