High Court rules District Judge can decide charge of alleged drink driving against man stopped at checkpoint

A District Judge can proceed to decide a charge of alleged drink driving against a man whose Land Cruiser was stopped at an early morning Garda checkpoint in Co Mayo, the High Court has ruled.

After evidence closed in the District Court case, the man's solicitor submitted the charge must be struck out because the arresting Garda had not asked the man whether he had taken 'nil by mouth' for 20 minutes before administering a roadside breath test which returned a fail reading.