Police have challenged the way judges fine drink-drivers as the first offenders of the year appeared in court yesterday.
Most drink-driving cases are resolved within a couple of minutes once a defendant pleads guilty, but first offender 54-year-old Craig John Fisher had an unexpectedly lengthy stint in the Dunedin District Court dock.
He was stopped at a checkpoint in Crawford St on December 22 and told police he had consumed a couple of craft beers.
His breath-alcohol level of 447mcg narrowly exceeded the criminal limit.
Prosecutor Sergeant Chris George said for many years judges had worked on an informal basis of fining defendants about a dollar for each microgram.
But he argued that method was now outdated.
''The fines have not kept pace with inflation,'' Sgt George said.
The minimum wage had also increased in recent years, he said, and the approach judges took to drink-driving was no longer a deterrent.
Judge Michael Crosbie accepted some of the prosecutor's concerns but said the court required more notice to deal with such a matter.
He said Fisher's case was not the right one to single out to make his point but Sgt George said it was the ''perfect case'', being the first of its kind in Dunedin this year.
Judge Crosbie suggested the appellate courts were the place for police to challenge the way the court dealt with drink-drivers.
The Otago Daily Times requested comment from police as to whether there was a national stance opposing the fines status quo but did not receive a response before going to print.
Fisher followed the debate in court, wide-eyed.
''If all that hasn't been a huge message, nothing will,'' the judge said, when he finally came to sentencing.
However, he suspected it would be the last time the man would be in court.
Counsel Cate Andersen said her client was ''very embarrassed'' to be in the dock and since the incident he had remembered having a few sips of his daughter's gin and tonic, which he believed might have tipped him over the limit.
Despite the police suggestion of a greater monetary penalty, Judge Crosbie fined Fisher $450, court costs $130 and disqualified him for the mandatory minimum of six months. It was the driving ban, he said, that was the most significant deterrent.
