A constitutional challenge by the BC Civil Liberties Union to the automatic penalties in B.C.’s drunk driving laws has been dismissed.
In 2010 the government changed the law to add automatic penalties for drivers who blow a ‘warn’ or ‘fail’ on a roadside screening test, but part of the law was ruled unconstitutional by the B.C. Supreme Court.
In 2012 it was amended, with police now forced to tell drivers they can ask for a second test on a different machine.
The BC Civil Liberties Union was arguing that the automatic penalties violate the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
On Unfiltered, former Solicitor-General Kash Heed and Kyla Lee of Acumen Law agreed that the battle over the law’s legality will continue for some time
“Even if we save one life, that’s success as far as I’m concerned, but we cannot go out and create a law that abuse the civil rights of the individual in order to do that,” said Heed.
“You can’t cast a net and if you catch a few dolphins, who cares…the goal was not to create general revenue for government and circumvent federal legislation in the criminal code for drunk driving.”
WATCH: Former Solicitor-General Kash Heed and Kyla Lee of Acumen Law on Unfiltered
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