We had blogged about Lawyer Marc Dreir in December and reported his arrest in Toronto on criminal charges for orchestrating a $400 million dollar usd fraud.  It is not until in this week the firm’s client list were filed in the New York court.    According to an article in Globe and Mail, the list includes:  Bill Cosby, Tim Burton, Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Sammy Sosa and others.  Click here for the article

The actress/singer made huge headlines across major News station for allegedly breaking her parole terms given out for her dui and drug offences back in 2007.  After alot of media speculations, back and forth between Beverly Hills Police Department and Lindsay’s attorney, the warrant was later dropped by the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge citing that the terms were not in fact broken.

Amy Winehouse, along with her lawyers, pleaded not guilty to her assault charges laid against by a fan.  The fan claims Amy struck her at a charity concert in London held on September 26, 2008.  The common assault charges were laid on Amy in early March.

There are millions of vehicles on road at any instant in the world. It is very important that people who are at the driving wheel be responsible enough to understand that a minor mistake from their end could lead to devastating results. Many a times it happens that the person at the wheel is not sober enough to even stand properly, let alone drive a vehicle. He could be under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any other consciousness impairing substance. The laws concerning these types of offences wherein the person is driving under the influence of such substances are called Dui laws.

The Canadian Dui laws are very strict. If the alcohol content in the driver’s body is above 80 milligrams per 100mls of blood then even if the person’s motor skills are fine, he would still be indicted under DUI laws. There are several ways by which the authorities can test the drug level in the driver’s body. Some of them are complexion flushed face, dilated pupils, stench

of an alcoholic beverage, difficulty in walking or standing and slurred speech.

According to the Canada DUI laws if the offence is committed for the first time then the usual penalty is a fine, for second timers the minimum penalty is 14 days in jail, whereas for the third time it is 90 days in jail. The local province has a right to suspend the driving license of the offender.

If at all you face such charges then you take the assistance of a DUI lawyer who can help you throughout the legal procedure. The Dui lawyer would make sure that you get the minimum penalty and in some cases even help you walk away Scott free.

Lawyer Ahead Inc, helps clients find a lawyer for their legal needs. Post your case and have lawyers assist you with your legal needs.

Not sure if every one can remember the election days of 2000 and not sure if every one can recollect the controversy regarding Mr. Bush’s DUI charge. George W. Bush was arrested for DUI near his family home in Maine. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, individuals with a DUI records are not permitted to enter Canada. So how did Mr. Bush manage so many travels into Canada with his DUI record?

In order enter Canada with a DUI record, the record must be at least 5 years old. Further, you must prove to the Canadian Immigration officers that you have gone through the necessary rehabilitation steps and must have friends give written statements on your recent behaviors. But of course if you are the President of United States and were invited by Canada heads, I am sure the process was pretty sweet to gain access into Canada.

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Among driving violations, impaired driving is most emphasized upon, it can also be referred to as driving under the influence, or DUI, driving while intoxicated and operating while intoxicated. Impaired driving usually results in stronger fines and penalties than normal driving violations. Impaired driving entails that the person driving has consumed enough alcohol to impair his driving abilities and can be usually determined either by a blood-alcohol test, some other sobriety test, or just by the observation of an officer.
Drinking and driving is the most common crime committed in Canada. It is also the greatest cause of personal injury and death. Drivers who choose to drink and drive face not only endangering themselves or someone else, but also face severe legal and other consequences

In Canada there aren’t any national laws covering all aspects of drinking and driving, instead all provincial governments have enacted their own measures against impaired driving. The Constitution of Canada defines the powers of the federal and provincial or territorial levels of government.
All provinces and territories also use their authority under their respective highway traffic laws to impose administrative sanctions and measures that apply to drivers convicted of Criminal Code drinking-driving offenses. Note that some provinces may suspend driver’s license upon an individual being charged with impaired driving, rather than being convicted.

References to Criminal Code

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol is a generic term for a series of offenses. The main offenses are laid down under section 253 (a) and (b) of the Canadian Criminal Code and include:

1. operating a motor vehicle while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, and
2. operating a motor vehicle while having a blood alcohol concentration of greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.

Different types of Offenses
Impaired Driving causing death or bodily harm, drinking and driving if it causes death or bodily harm and if the right circumstances exist, could lead to serious charges, such as dangerous driving, manslaughter or criminal negligence.

First offense
The minimum charge if convicted of impaired driving is a $600 fine and 1 year driving prohibition.

Second offense
The minimum charge if convicted for the second time with impaired driving is 14 days jail time and and 2 year driving prohibition.

Third or subsequent offenses
The minimum charge if convicted for the third or any subsequent offenses is 90 days jail time and 3-year driving prohibition or worse.

Live in Alberta? It’s time to find a lawyer to help with those traffic tickets. Apparently they’re about to start cracking down on unpaid traffic fines.

Apparently the Justice Department, in pursuing unpaid fines, have the ability to seize wages, bank accounts, and property, as well as block you from registering your vehicle, or renewing your license.

Well, that sucks. Then again, in the US that stuff happens automatically, so maybe we’re just behind the times.

In any case, it’s not like the Justice Department (headed by Minister Alison Redford) is without motivation to do this right now- apparently there are over $126,000,000 in unpaid traffic fines right now. That’s more than 650,000 unpaid tickets, including some people with up to 50 tickets they just haven’t bothered dealing with. (Then again, if the police didn’t do anything when you ignored your tickets, why not just keep ignoring them? Well, not anymore, I suppose).

Apparently 15,000 letters will go out by the end of this month, to people with outstanding tickets in Edmonton, and then they’ll expand with more letters to people elsewhere in the province.

This, of course, is not too long after a recent Edmonton “ticket blitz,” where, in the space of 24 hours, police issued nearly 1,700 speeding tickets, and another 444 tickets for other things, including impaired driving. They also apparently caught someone going 200km/hr in a 100km/hr zone.

So, I’m sure the police, who apparently weren’t really aware that not all of the tickets they issued were having their resulting fines paid, will rejoice at this news, as their coiffures fill with the money of all of us who have received speeding tickets in Alberta. Besides the sort of… suspicion of a general excess in ticketing here, doesn’t it seem odd that millions of dollars in traffic fines would have gone unpaid for so long? And with the police themselves not noticing? Well, they know now. And maybe once they have people actually paying the tickets they hand out, they’ll stop going on “ticketing blitzes”, and actually just focus on, y’know, dangerous driving and road conditions.

In any case, good luck finding a lawyer for traffic court- it’s going to be busy season soon.

[Globe and Mail]

So apparently this week is “celebrities not really facing repercussions for bad driving” week, and we’ve got Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Hulk Hogan’s son, all in the news.

Let’s start off with Britney, who’s been fighting a driving without a valid license charge from, yeah, that time she hit a parked car and then drove off without notifying the owner. Apparently she didn’t have a license then, either! Oh, Brit. Well, it’s been declared a mistrial, in any case- since jurors were deadlocked (10-2 for her acquittal), and apparently the prosecutors aren’t going to pursue this further. So, Britney and her lawyers are rejoicing, as she’s no longer being threatened with a criminal record, or, as one of the plea deals had offered, paying a $1000 fine. Hopefully dear Britney can remember not to hit and run in front of cameras, next time. (People, MSNBC)

Lindsay Lohan’s drama is also everlasting, it seems. While these days she’s cleaned up and settled down with New York City-based DJ Sam Ronson, she’s still got troubles from her past- now including another lawsuit. Remember that drunken car chase of hers, from 2007? (Yeah, back then we had a poor, closeted little Lindsay borrow some random people’s car to chase after her recently-fired assistant, through Santa Monica. How she’s changed!). Well, while she reached a plea deal on the actual DUI charges, she’s now facing a lawsuit from the passengers in the SUV she commandeered- Ronnie Blake, Jakon Sutter and Dante Nigro. They’re now alleging that the ride was traumatic, and they feared for their lives, as they stayed with her in the speeding vehicle, and then at one point exited and re-entered the vehicle… Well, they can have fun trying to extort some money from the actress, but, maybe I’m partisan here, I’m kind of rooting for her to win, so she can put all this stuff behind her, and, y’know, start acting again. (People, MSNBC)

Finally, in our roundup, Hulk Hogan’s son was released from Jail yesterday, after serving five months in an eight-month sentence. Nick Bollea, the boy, was in jail for his 18th birthday, after speeding down a busy street and crashing Hulk Hogan’s car, leaving a friend with permanent injuries. Apparently the victim’s family asked for a shorter sentence than the five years that normally accompanies vehicular assault, and then the kid behaved well in jail. Well, here’s hoping jail taught him to avoid future car accidents, and that not everyone is indestructible, like his wrestler-father. (AP, MSNBC)

Back in October of 2007, Tammy Kobylka was found dead of alcohol poisoning in her home in Calmar, Alberta. Kobylka came back from a night of binge drinking and passed out, after which her two companions left her house. Another friend found her the next afternoon, and called emergency services after he couldn’t revive her.

Now, the owner of Skip’s Bar, where Kobylka was drinking, and the bartender from that night have been charged with criminal negligence causing death. They could potentially face life imprisonment if they’re found guilty of these charges. Derek Tithecott, the bartender, is also facing manslaughter charges.

Apparently Tammy drank shooters with her two companions, whom she has arrived at the bar with. She then went home and passed out, and her two friends left her (some friends). She was found the next afternoon by a third friend. She wasn’t breathing, so the friend called the hospital.

Now, as tragic as all of this is, it seems like the criminal charges pressed aren’t really addressing the issues at hand. Apparently Tammy had a history of binge drinking- something that her mother had apparently been concerned enough with to talk to her about before she died. She was also a regular at the bar whose owner, Brian Bromley, is being charged with criminal negligence. Another bartender commented that she was sensible and usually knew her limit- though clearly not on that particular night.

So, with all of these things in mind, it seems like the questions that should be asked- why did she drink so heavily when she normally knew her limit, and what her two companions were doing that they didn’t notice she was too drunk to continue- just aren’t going to be. Yes, binge drinking is a very big part of youth culture now- and while it’s always pretty unhealthy, most of us don’t die from it. Also, what questions would we be asking if she’d gotten in her car to go home- and then driven drunk, and hurt someone besides herself? Would we still blame the bar if she committed a DWI?

So, while Tammy’s death is tragic, and inevitably upsetting, I think there is some question of personal responsibility here (Indulge me in some mild social libertarianism). Most people know their own limits, and know when to stop. So, either she chose to go beyond that, or she was pressured into it. If she was pressured into drinking beyond her limits, who was doing the pressuring? If the bartender did, indeed, pressure her into drinking too much, then yes, he should face all the charges. But if these nameless companions who were with her may also be to blame, why haven’t they been charged? It’s senseless to just press charges for the sake of doing so, to “feel better” about someone’s self-inflicted or accidental death.

I’m not sure if many of you have heard about this or not - I heard about it over the weekend and thought many people may not yet know that there is a new law targetted at multiple drunk driving charges.

In February of this year, the government amended the existing law on drunk driving by adding that for anyone charged with drunk driving more than twice, will have their car taken away by the government.

Its not fun for anyone to be in this situation.

We don’t recommend drinking and driving, but if you are in this position, we highly recommend consulting with an experienced dui lawyer. This is why we created lawyerahead.ca service, for anyone to find the right legal needs easily and quickly. Use it.

Laura M.