An Auckland-based lawyer specialising in getting "police officers, doctors, lawyers, accountants - you name it" off drink-driving charges, hasn't had the same luck in Hastings District Court.
Lawyer Zahir Mohamed yesterday represented orchard worker Simon Blackberry, 30, who failed to successfully defend a charge of driving with excess alcohol.
Blackberry returned a
blood alcohol reading of 211mgs after he was pulled over in Hastings on November 4. The legal limit is 80mgs.
He took the stand yesterday and claimed the officer processing him at the checkpoint, Sergeant Paul Ormerod, had failed to request a roadside breath screening test before asking him to step into a booze bus on Heretaunga St. Under the Land Transport Act, an evidential breath test is a mandatory requirement of anyone who fails an initial passive test.
Blackberry, of Crownthorpe, did not deny his blood reading was nearly three times the legal limit, but said on oath he was not asked to complete the screening test.
This was refuted by the sergeant, who said he had followed procedure to the book.
Mr Mohamed claims an 80 per cent success rate and runs an advertisement stating: "You are a bloody idiot if you drink and drive and go to court without my 30 years of expert legal consultation."
At yesterday's hearing the lawyer raised a number of concerns over his client's processing, including semantic issues in the reading of the bill of rights, the failure to take Blackberry's middle name and apparent discrepancies in the recording of his client's driver's licence number.
Judge Tony Adeane, who stated the case wouldn't have turned on the finer points raised by Mr Mohamed, rejected Blackberry's claim he wasn't subjected to a screening test, and said he found the sergeant a "credible" witness.
Judge Adeane said Blackberry had shown no remorse, despite a previous drink-drive conviction in 2008.
"He's without the social consciousness that is these days required," he said.
"There's a huge public campaign to educate drunken drivers and he ignores that and drives to the significant endangerment of the rest of the community."
Judge Adeane sentenced Blackberry to 300 hours community work and disqualified him indefinitely.
Blackberry was also ordered to pay $172 medical and analyst fees.
