Why You’re Not a Criminal (Even If You’ve Just Been Arrested for Drink Driving)

Why You’re Not a Criminal After a Drink Driving Arrest in Ireland

You’re home now. You can’t sleep. You feel sick.

There’s this weight pressing on your chest that won’t lift.

You keep thinking the same thing over and over: “I’ve ruined everything.”

Not just your licence.

Not just your job.

But your image of who you are.

You’re ashamed.

You don’t know who to talk to.

And the voice in your head won’t stop whispering:

“Am I a criminal now?”

Let’s stop right there.

Because I’ve been in court with hundreds of people who felt exactly like this.

And I’m telling you, not one of them was a criminal.

And neither are you.

"We live in a democracy, where judges are not

bought and paid for by the State

to bring home pre-approved verdicts"

1. Being arrested doesn’t make you guilty.

You were brought to the Garda station. Maybe breathalysed. Maybe blood or urine was taken.

Maybe you were given a charge sheet before you left.

It felt clinical and humiliating all at once.

But legally?

It means the Gardaí believe there’s enough to bring a prosecution. 

That’s all.

They are not the judge. They don’t decide guilt.

The law says you’re presumed innocent. That’s not a technicality; it’s the entire foundation of the legal system in a democracy.

We live in a democracy, where judges are not bought and paid for by the State to bring home pre-approved verdicts.

And why do we have those principles anyway, the ‘presumption of innocence’?

What’s the meaning of ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’?

A Brief History of Criminal Law

We have these principles because the legal systems in democracies were formed slowly over the centuries.

Back in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the criminal justice system was a rough place where rights were hardly even acknowledged.

"If you’ve had some run-in with the law a few years back

where you received a conviction

(maybe you were a troubled youth,

but you sorted yourself out and have lived

a law-abiding life since), that fact cant be brought

to the attention of the judge or jury

hearing your case today"

The State was all powerful and people who found themselves before the courts were all alone.

This led to abuses and over time the courts quashed convictions that were arrived at due to oppressive conduct, threats, inducements or beatings.

So, the criminal justice system that we have today (a work in progress) is the accumulation of hundreds of years of experience where the collective wisdom of many men and women recognised that defendants who came before the court were presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

What does that actually mean? It means that if you’ve had some run-in with the law a few years back where you received a conviction (maybe you were a troubled youth, but you sorted yourself out and have lived a law-abiding life since), that fact cant be brought to the attention of the judge or jury hearing your case today.

Why?

For the simple reason that if the judge or jury knew you had previous convictions they might think: “well, if he’s done before he's probably done here as well”. 

That would prejudice them against you before any evidence was even heard.

In essence, that’s what the presumption of innocence means.

And the courts ensured that the burden of proving guilt (you do not have to prove your innocence) rested on the State.

Why?

In large part because the State is enormously powerful and you are a mere individual.

How can one individual stand up to the might of a state?

They cannot, so the State must prove the case that they bring before the court to a high standard. It is the standard of ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’.  

What does this all mean?

It means that I’ve seen case after case where a client thought it was all over… but it wasn’t.

You are not your charge sheet.

2. A conviction only happens if the judge finds it proven beyond reasonable doubt.

That means the prosecution has to:

• Prove the test was done properly

• Show you were continuously observed for the required time

• Prove that the procedures around breath, blood and urine were properly complied with

• Get the timings right

• Have the documents properly signed

• Comply with your rights

• Administer cautions when required

And if they miss one part, it may lead to an acquittal.

I’ve stood beside clients who were three times over the limit, and the case still collapsed because Gardaí had skipped one critical step.

It’s not about “getting off.”

It’s about making sure the law is followed properly.

For you.

For everyone.

"The State is enormously powerful

and you are a mere individual.

How can one individual

stand up to the might of a state?"

3. The courtroom is not what you imagine.

You’re picturing some horror scene, stern judge banging a gavel (judges don’t have gavels) your name being read out while everyone stares (people are often too preoccupied with their own case to notice anyone else) or people shouting (sometimes this does happen, but usually just people with mental health problems).

But most of the time, what actually happens is quieter, slower, and more procedural than dramatic.

In fact, you might struggle to hear what's even being said.

No one’s shouting (except the guy with mental health problems).

People arrive. Cases are called. Solicitors speak for their clients.

Some people plead guilty.

Some contest it.

Many matters are adjourned for evidence or disclosure.

You don’t get cross-examined on your morals.

Nobody asks if you’re a good person.

The only question is whether the Gardaí have proven the offence.

Beyond reasonable doubt, don’t forget.

When you understand how it works, you start to breathe again.

4. Shame is the heaviest thing you’re carrying — not the law.

You’re not just afraid of the court. You’re afraid of what this means about you.

You’re asking:

• “Am I a bad person?”

• “Have I ruined everything?”

• “What if my partner leaves me?”

• “What will my kids think?”

• “What if people at work find out?”

"It’s not about “getting off.”

It’s about making sure the law is followed properly.

For you.

For everyone"

This is what you don’t realise:

Every decent person I’ve represented has felt exactly like this.

And the vast majority of my clients are good, decent people.

Ashamed. Sick. Silently panicking.

But very decent.

You're decent too, right?

I’ve seen grown men (and women) cry in court.

I’ve seen grown men (and women) afraid to even walk into the court.

I’ve had mothers tell me they feel like they don’t deserve to pick their child up from school. I’ve had client’s whisper:

“I’m not sleeping. I haven’t told anyone.”

This is the part nobody prepares you for.

But this is the part that matters most.

Because even if you think you’ve ruined everything, you haven’t.

5. You are allowed to fight for yourself.

Pleading guilty out of shame won’t make it go away.

The disqualification is mandatory.

No leniency.

Even first offence, clean record.

If you're convicted, the judge has no choice.

But if the Gardaí got a significant part of the case wrong, everything can change.

In an instant.

You don’t need to deny anything. You have a right to fairness and a defence.

That’s not arrogance.

That’s your right.

And you’re entitled to it.

6. This doesn’t define you.

You are the person who picks their child up from school.

You are the person who covers the early shift at work.

You are the person who looks after your elderly parent.

You had one bad moment.

That’s not your whole story.

Or as a doctor said to one of my clients two weeks ago: “Don’t let this define you”. 

This is not the end of who you are.

It’s the beginning of what comes next.

My client didn’t let it define him.

We fought the case, and he was acquitted.

And an acquittal means, that in the eyes of the law, it never happened.

Nice feeling, right?

Final Word

You think you’ve ruined everything.

But you haven’t.

You’re not the charge on the paper.

You’re not the worst five minutes of your life.

You’re not a criminal.

You’re a person who had a bad moment.

We all have those. And now you’re standing at a fork in the road.

"Every decent person I’ve represented

has felt exactly like this.

And the vast majority of my clients

are good, decent people.

Ashamed. Sick.

Silently panicking.

But very decent.

You're decent too, right?"

You can try to carry the shame alone, or you can get someone who actually knows how this works, both emotionally and legally, and start building a defence.

Because you haven’t lost everything.

Not yet.

You’re just the same as all of my clients. You’re stuck, “caught in the tentacles of circumstances”.

"As a doctor said to one of my clients two weeks ago:

“Don’t let this define you”. 

This is not the end of who you are.

It’s the beginning of what comes next.

My client didn’t let it define him.

We fought the case, and he was acquitted"

You’re up against a force (the State) that you can’t fight alone.

So, you’ve got choices, and you’ve got choices to make.

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

And everybody wants to drive home.