Drug Driving
Drug driving cases come before the Courts either by way of:
- A charge sheet procedure (you will have been charged with an offence at a Gárda station and bailed to appear in court) or;
- A summons (you will receive a summons in the post). Most prosecutions will involve three appearances before the local District Court in the area which the offence is alleged to have occurred.
Penalties
If you are convicted for drug driving, you will receive:
- A monetary fine; and
- A mandatory 4 years disqualification from driving.
Process
Generally, a drug driving case will involve 3 court appearances:
- On the first date the judge will order disclosure of evidence being relied upon by the Gárda.
- The Judge will also set a date not the next court appearance wherein you will either plead guilty or contest the charges.
- Once we receive the evidence we will examine same before advising you before the second court appearance.
- On the second date we will advise the judge that we will either contest the case or plead guilty depending on and according to your instructions. The judge will then fix the date for the third court date.
- On the third court date the case will be heard in full.
I have been disqualified, can I get my licence back early?
Similar to drink driving, if you are convicted for drug driving you can apply to have your driving licence restored early.
Successfully making this application is difficult and depends on the facts of each case, but we at MB Solicitors have a proven and successful track record.
What are the legal fees involved?
Contact us for a free consultation and an agreement on professional fees. This fee includes the initial consultation, all court attendances and also includes the barrister’s fee.
I have received a summons/charge sheet for drug driving what should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact us either by phone or email. MB Solicitors are located at Collins Avenue, Dublin, close to DCU. The earlier we receive a copy of the summons/charge sheet the earlier we can assess your case to give you the best advice.
MB Solicitors are available to advise you on all aspects of your case, represent you in Court (in Dublin and surrounding counties) and work to ensure we achieve the best outcome to your case. MB Solicitors instruct only experienced barristers, with a proven track record in drug driving cases, and who specialise in the area of Criminal Law. We also give fixed fee quotes for all of the legal work involved, including Barrister’s fees.