Do I Have to Give Evidence in Court in Ireland?

Does a defendant have to give evidence in court?

Most people arrested for drink driving tell me the same thing:

“I’m terrified the judge will make me talk.”

They imagine being dragged into the witness box, the whole courtroom staring, the Garda Inspector waiting to trip them up.

They picture their mouth going dry, their voice cracking, the embarrassment of freezing in front of a packed courtroom.

"Our legal system is different.

It’s been shaped and honed by hundreds

of years of caselaw, of mistakes the legal system

had made ad corrections it has made"

The fear is real. But here’s the reality: you cannot be forced to give evidence in court in Ireland.

The Law Is Clear

As a defendant, you never have to testify. The burden of proof always rests with the State. They must prove the case against you beyond a reasonable doubt. You don’t have to prove anything.

That’s why, in drink driving cases, 99 out of 100 defendants never say a single word.

Your lawyer does the talking. The Garda gives their evidence. The judge decides if the State has met its burden. You sit, you listen, you stay silent — and that silence is your right.

Why People Fear the Witness Box

If you’ve never been in a courtroom before, the thought of giving evidence feels overwhelming.

You picture the long walk from your seat to the witness box, the eyes following you, the judge staring down.

You imagine being interrogated, humiliated, even shouted at.

But the truth is very different:

• Judges don’t drag defendants into the witness box.

• Prosecutors don’t scream and pound tables like in TV dramas.

• And in almost all drink driving cases, you will never testify at all.

The Reality in Drink Driving Cases

There’s another reason defendants rarely give evidence in drink driving cases:

credibility.

Judges tend to favour the evidence of sober witnesses over someone who had been drinking at the time.

That makes sense obviously. After all, if two of your friends were telling you what happened on a night out and one had been sober and the other drinking, who would you believe?

That doesn’t mean your version of events is worthless — far from it.

But strategically, your lawyer will usually keep you out of the box.

It avoids handing the State an easy way to undermine you.

You want to know what the first question they'd ask you is?

"How much did you have to drink that night?"

You'd 'low-ball' the answer to sound respectable, and they'd retort by suggesting that your blood-alcohol level can only mean you drank more than you remember.

And so on.

In other words, a nightmare.

So, we'll be avoiding that thanks.

So, Do You Have to Give Evidence?

The simple answer is no. Almost never.

The State has to get all the elements of the offence right, all the time.

You don’t have to prove your innocence.

You just have to create one doubt in the judge’s mind.

That’s why you don’t need to fear the witness box.

For most defendants, it never comes into play.

Why Not?

One of the mistaken fears people have about court is the idea that they must give evidence. And then, if they did, what could they say?

That they weren’t drinking?

Of course not. Nobody would believe that story.

"You want to know what the first question they'd ask you is?

"How much did you have to drink that night?"

You'd 'low-ball' the answer to sound respectable,

and they'd retort by suggesting that your blood-alcohol level

can only mean you drank more than you remember.

And so on.

In other words, a nightmare.

So, we'll be avoiding that thanks"

Our legal system is different. It’s been shaped and honed by hundreds of years of caselaw, of mistakes the legal system had made ad corrections it has made.

It doesn’t require you prove your innocence. In fact it doesn’t require you to prove anything.

The burden of proof in any criminal case rests with the State.

They have to prove your guilt (you don’t have to prove your innocence) and they must prove your guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

In layman’s terms? They have to ‘lay out their stall’ and prove your guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

And you?

You can sit silently in court, never opening your mouth.

What does this all mean?

It means it’s important to get good, experienced road traffic advice.

After all, it’s the choice between going off the road or driving home.

And everyone wants to drive home.