Mr V P Failing to Provide a Specimen Testimonial

I am writing this to express my sincere thanks to Jeanette, my barrister and Sharif following my recent acquittal of the charge of ‘failing to provide a specimen for analysis’.

Briefly, I was stopped late in the evening over the festive period. I had not drank any alcohol for approximately 7/8 hours, so was surprised when the roadside breath test came back positive.

I was arrested at the scene and taken into custody. I was then taken to the intoxilyzer and despite attempting on almost a dozen attempts to provide a sample, the machine only successfully recorded one. On the basis of this I was charged with the offence of failing to provide a specimen.

Immediately on my return home I looked at the reviews for legal expertise in this field. I was impressed by both the results Geoffrey Miller obtained, but also the candid nature of how they explained their achievements.

I work in a professionally regulated field and the consequences of a conviction would have been career changing – where I worked, my ability to emigrate, the challenges to completing my higher professional training; It almost didn’t bear thinking about.

From the start Jeanette clearly and sympathetically understood my concerns. From the first phone call she suggested immediate steps to secure evidence, direct my case, and gave a broad outline of how she felt the case would proceed.

It was made clear to me that the costs would be significant, that more than one hearing may be necessary, and success would require patience and hard work.

Ultimately three expert witnesses were involved in my case. They were invaluable to my defence and I had confidence in them throughout. It is to the credit of Sharif and my barrister that they were not ultimately required.

I will not divulge too much regarding the court day to preserve some dignity for the prosecution team. Suffice to say, at points the district judge looked frankly incredulous, and I overheard the prosecution advocate asking my barrister’s advice on one of his own subsequent cases.

At the end of first witness giving evidence, I heard the prosecution advocate opine along the lines of ‘I can’t see this going much further’. The case was then thrown out. It ultimately felt like being involved in a legal tutorial rather than an adversarial contest. I will say no more other than my barrister is clearly a man fulfilling his life’s vocation.

I must offer my most sincere thanks to Sharif. He was simply wonderful throughout the many months it took to bring the matter to court. He always returned my calls, went over areas of concern or confusion as many times as necessary, and explained legal elements to me in a way I readily understood.

He was also excellent at understanding the consequences of ‘double jeopardy’ of the legal and professional aspects of disclosure of evidence. I cannot thank him enough; he was superb and I hope his career progresses as it deserves to.

One final piece of advice. This should be new territory for anyone unfortunate enough to be involved in these circumstances. Be patient, listen to the team’s advice and I am confident a similar result will occur for you.