NSW Drink Driving & Traffic Offences

Hi,
I was caught drink driving in Melbourne on Sept 15th 2011 with a BAC of 0.076. It was my first offence and licence was cancelled for 6 months. I am almost 42 years old and have had my drivers licence since I was 18. I'm due to face the Magistrate in Dandenong on the 16th of April for licence restoration. I know it's up to the Magistrates discretion to install a interlock. Do you think this will happen? Should I get some legal representation? Also I've heard some judges get cranky if you get a lawyer and make you pay a large amount to the court, don't know if this is true. Any advice will be gladly appreciated.
Regards,
Dom.

Hi Dom,

It is at the Magistrate’s discretion whether to install an interlock device, and the outcome of each case is dependent on many factors. Your best defence is to contact a lawyer specialised in this area, there is no evidence to suggest that having legal representation would work against your case in any way. Our lawyers attend Magistrates’ Courts daily all over Victoria for these matters.

Magistrates will take into account whether granting your application is in the interests of the broader community, expecting that a person who seeks to have their licence back can demonstrate their need to be re-licensed and finding that your approach and attitude to drinking and driving has changed from the date of the offence and the ensuing disqualification period. For this reason you can expect that both the prosecutor and Magistrate will ask a number of probing questions aimed at testing your understanding of the techniques you have learnt to avoid drink driving. And for this reason, a defence lawyer will help you adequately prepare for your Court appearance.

For more information on applying for licence restoration, please visit this link http://www.criminal-lawyers.com.au/web/page/Licence_Restoration