The charge of drink driving against a Ballinrobe man was dismissed in Ballinrobe District Court last week by Judge Mary Devins after the prosecution failed to enter a medical certificate into evidence as to the reading of a urine sample taken from the accused.
Brian McGrath of Cregmore, Ballinrobe, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving and to having no driving licence but contested the drink driving charge in court. The court was told by Garda Patrick Forde that he was driving home from work at 1.15am on April 9 2009 when a black car pulled out across the road in front of him forcing him to swerve to avoid it near The Neale. Garda McGrath went on to say that he followed the car to Ballinrobe and alerted colleagues of the incident, he told the court he never lost sight of the car and both he and the black car pulled up outside Burke’s garage and a few minutes later a patrol car arrived at the scene.
Garda Josephine McElroy told the court that when she arrived at the scene she spoke first to Garda Forde then went and spoke to McGrath, and from speaking to him she got a smell of alcohol off his breath and that he was unsteady on his feet when he got out of the car. She informed McGrath she was arresting him for drink driving and brought him to Claremorris Garda station. McGrath provided a sample of urine but declined to take one of the two samples with him and he was released at 2.18am. Garda McElroy told court that the urine sample returned a reading of 225mg per 100ml.
Solicitor for McGrath, Cathy McDarby, questioned Garda McElroy as to why in her direct evidence she said her client was offered the choice of either a blood or urine sample, whereas her statement only mentioned a urine sample. Garda McElroy told the court that it was a typing error and that on her original hand-written statement she had either blood or urine sample written, and she handed the original statement to the judge.
After the State rested its case Ms McDarby told the court that the State’s case was fatally flawed in a number of areas. Judge Mary Devins agreed as the State had not produced a medical certificate of the results of the urine analysis in court, and she dismissed the charge. On the charge of careless driving Judge Devins convicted and fined McGrath €300, and for having no driving licence she convicted and fined him €50.
