Our client, a single working mother of a young son, who was going through a difficult time in her life both personally and financially, concerned about being able to pay for and losing her home, came to us charged with drove a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, namely 0.189. Her biggest concern was how a conviction would affect her employment, as she was on a secondment agreement with the Government and therefore, required to undergo a Police Clearance every time she applied for a new position.
Due to the matter being a traffic offence and a particularly high reading, the application for a spent conviction was a difficult one. However, after receiving our legal advice, she entered an early plea of guilty, took responsibility for her actions, and with the assistance of some glowing references, coupled with our successful submissions to demonstrate to the Court that she was unlikely to reoffend, was a person of good character and her employment prospects would be adversely affected, the court granted the spent conviction application and imposed the minimum disqualification period and fine.
