On November 13, 2008, and April 3, 2009, respectively, the Court of Justice heard the matter and handed down its decision. The judge in charge was Kenneth W. Dechert. Her Majesty the Queen was the plaintiff in the lawsuit, and Jacek Trela was the defendant. The City of Burlington, the prosecutor, was represented by Ms. D. Howarth, and Jacek Trela was represented by Mr. M. Forte. Jacek Trela was charged with operating a vehicle in which he had easy access to alcohol, meaning he was able to grab the drinks while operating the vehicle. The highway act on subsection 1(1) defined a motor vehicle as any automobile which is powered by muscular power (Highway traffic act RSO 1990, n.d.). The incident happened on 30th December 2007 in Oakville municipality, Third line, and South Service road. A member of the Halton Regional Police Service, Constable Paul Fretz narrated how on the 30th December 2007 he investigated the accident in which Jacek's car engine was found to be running and liquor bottles in the vehicle were within Jacek's reach. Jacek's offense violated subsection 32(1) of the Liquor License Act states that a person should not drive a vehicle in which there is liquor available to him or her (Law Document English View, n.d). Subsection 32(2) provides exceptions for the situations in which subsection 32(1) does not apply. For instance, the subsection 32(2) states that when the liquor container is not opened, that is the seal is not broken then subsection 32 (1) is not applied. Also, when the bag or a luggage containing the liquor bottles is fastened or is beyond the reach of the driver, then subsection 32(1) is not applied. In Jacek's case, an accident occurred in which he was involved. The police constable Paul found Jacek in a situation which portrayed that he was driving, and the liquor in the vehicle was within Jacek's reach. On 30th December 2007, a motor vehicle accident occurred in the Town of Oakville, Third line near South Service road. Two vehicles collided with one another, a sports utility vehicle and a Dodge Caravan.
Jacek Trela was the sole occupant of the Dodge Caravan. The circumstances behind his arrest included the fact that his car engine was found running with keys in the ignition when he was removed from his vehicle after the accident as confirmed by Constable Paul Fretz. Also, the constable detected a strong odor of an alcoholic drink when he leaned into the caravan after Jacek was removed from the vehicle. Behind the driver's seat there was a bottle of liquor. To the right of the same seat, slightly behind it, there was another bottle on the floor. Constable Paul entered the Caravan and sat on the driver's seat to see whether he could reach the two bottles from the driver's seat. He further took a look at the bottle to determine the amount of liquid inside the container. One bottle was approximately three-quarters empty and Constable Paul determined that it was a one-liter bottle of tequila with alcohol content forty percent (CanLII, n.d.). A standard procedure to determine whether a drink is alcoholic is to conduct an odor test (Nebeker, 2017). Constable Paul did an odor test both at the scene of the crime and at the police station and confirmed that the contents of the bottles were alcoholic beverages.
In the court room, there was evidence which was marked as exhibit 1 and another one as exhibit 2. At the scene of the accident, Constable Paul Fretz seized two liquor bottles from Jacek's caravan; a bottle of tequila, and a scotch-whisky. A one-liter bottle of tequila with alcohol content forty percent was found to be approximately three-quarters empty. It was tabled as exhibit 1 in the courtroom. Another bottle of Scotch-whisky was found slightly at the back of the driver's seat. The bottle was a 1.125-liter container and Constable Paul stated that its content was only one-sixth full labeled Johnie Walker (CanLII, n.d). The alcohol content according to the label on the bottle was forty percent. Constable Paul carried out an odor test on the contents of the bottles both at the scene of the accident and at the station. He confirmed that indeed the contents were alcoholic beverages.
At the time of the accident, Jacek Trela was found to be in a vehicle where containers with an alcoholic beverage were within his reach and had bottle seals which were tampered. Also, Trela did not have a license which permitted him to drive a vehicle in which liquor was contained inside. According to subsection 32(1), a person should not be in control of a vehicle while there is liquor inside the automobile. The defendant, Jacek Trela, was found guilty of driving with alcoholic beverages readily available in his vehicle. He was also found guilty of possessing containers of alcohol which had broken seals. The judge decided that since the offenses arose from a similar set of circumstances, Jacek could not be handed multiple convictions. The judge cited the case of Regina v. Kienapple (1974) and Regina v. Prince (1986) while stating his judgment (CanLII, n.d). The case ruling was fair as the judge sought insight from other similar previous cases (Kiefel, 2012). The evidence presented by constable Paul and his statement helped shed more light on Jacek's involvement in the accident (University of Melbourne, n.d.).
In conclusion, the liquor license act states the circumstances under which a person is allowed to be in control of a vehicle with alcohol beverages. It also stipulates the exceptions when a person without a license is found in possession of liquor while driving a vehicle. The evidence presented in the courtroom was sufficient to show that Jacek Trela acted contrary to subsection 3(1) and subsection 32(2). The judge cited other similar cases which helped him arrive at the ruling making the whole process fair and just.
References
CanLII. (n.d.). CanLII - Captcha. Retrieved from
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/doc/2009/2009oncj167/2009oncj167.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQASbGlxdW9yIGxpY2VuY2UgYWN0AAAAAAE&resultIndex=29
CanLII. (n.d.). CanLII - Captcha. Highway traffic act RSO 1990, c H.8. Retrieved from https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-h8/latest/rso-1990-c-h8.html
Kiefel,S. (2012). Reasons for Judgment, Object and Observation. Retrieved from
http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/speeches/current-justices/kiefelj/kiefelj-2012-05-18.pdf
Ontario. (n.d.). Law Document English View. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90l19
Nebeker, M. L. (2017). What Do Police Typically Look For At The Scene Of An Accident To Suspect A DUI? Retrieved from
http://www.callmrdui.com/what-do-police-typically-look-for-at-the-scene-of-an-accident-to-suspect-a-dui/
University of Melbourne. (n.d.). Judgments. Opinions on High. Retrieved from
https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/opinionsonhigh/about-the-high-court/judgments/
