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Can you avoid getting a criminal record if you’re guilty of a DUI?



- Can you avoid getting a criminal record if you’re guilty of a DUI?

- That’s what I'm going to cover in this article.

- When you get charged with a DUI, there is a range of possible outcomes.

- On one end of the spectrum, there is getting your DUI charge withdrawn or dismissed.  This is the biggest win for your DUI case.

- On the other end of the spectrum is a conviction for your Impaired Driving charge.

- Along with the penalties, a DUI conviction will result in you getting a criminal record.  

- If you have a criminal record, that will pose serious challenges in your life, including potential obstacles with employment and travel.

- And this raises the following question.

- If the evidence is strong enough to prove a DUI conviction, is there a way to acknowledge guilt but avoid a criminal record?

- In criminal law in Canada, there is a path to a guilty outcome with no conviction and no long-term criminal record.

- In this context, there is something called an absolute or conditional discharge.

- With an absolute or conditional discharge, the court will find you guilty of a criminal charge, but a conviction will not be registered.

- And, according to the Criminal Records Act, your guilty outcome would be removed from the criminal records database after a 1 to 3-year period.  And, you would not have a criminal record. 

- However, there is a problem with discharges in the context of DUI charges. 

- In Canada, a Judge cannot issue any form of absolute or conditional discharge because the Criminal Code prescribes a mandatory minimum punishment for impaired driving offences.

- So, If you’re guilty of a DUI, you cannot get an absolute or conditional discharge.  

- A DUI conviction will be registered, and you will get a criminal record.

- The only way to remove your DUI criminal record would be to get a Pardon, which is now called a Record Suspension, by applying to the Parole Board of Canada.



https://youtu.be/mC7ILyk54fI https://www.nextlaw.ca/2022/09/14/can-you-avoid-getting-a-criminal-record-if-youre-guilty-of-a-dui/

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