February 2016

The reality is that not all lawyers are Denny Crane. And Denny Crane’s motto of “Never lost, never will” was qualified all the time. In fact, that was one of the running gags in Boston Legal. Even the best lawyers lose some cases. But just because your lawyer lost your case (or you argued it yourself and were unsuccessful) does not mean that you should count yourself out.

Under British Columbia’s Immediate Roadside Prohibition legislation, the deck starts out stacked against you. You’re serving the penalties before the matter is decided. The police have an advantage in that their evidence is set out in pre-printed forms and tailored to answer all of the questions. If you are unfamiliar with defending an IRP case, you are not likely to know how to best respond to their version of events. Even the adjudicators have powers to seek out other material for the sole purpose of rejecting your arguments.

This is what makes an appeal of an unsuccessful IRP case all the more important.