Courts / Westmeath / Report

Recent challenges to drink driving law "have appearance of being cynical", judge notes

Summary

In a 2019 decision, Ms Justice Marie Baker upheld a High Court ruling that a Garda officer was not required to offer a choice of language for breathalyser statements. The case involved Westmeath man Gerard Maher, who was arrested in 2015 for driving with excess alcohol. Maher's lawyers argued that he had a right to be informed that the breathalyser could print statements in Irish or English, and that the absence of such a choice made the statement inadmissible. The High Court found no obligation for the Garda to provide a language choice and that Maher, an English speaker, suffered no detriment. Justice Baker described the arguments as technical and noted that the conviction for driving while intoxicated carries significant consequences. The Court of Appeal agreed with her decision.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Recent challenges to drink driving law "have appearance of being cynical", judge notes. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• October 25th, 2015 Incident
• 2019-07-17 Publication

Why: She said the barristers for both sides – David Staunton BL, for the State, and James Dwyer SC, for Maher – acknowledged that "society's approach" to the offence no longer showed "any tolerance of drunk driving because of the risk of death or injury to an innocent person". CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report