Prison sentence possible?

[zworth1995]

Hi,
I am due to appear in court 23rd March for drink driving 120ml per 100 ml of breath. I crashed my car into a field and ended upside down. Nobody else involved and I had no injuries.
I have been researching and it looks very possible it will result in a prison sentence?
I am 26, this is my first ever criminal offence and have had a clean license for since I passed my test at 19. I had just split up with my boyfriend, got locked out of the house and it was my birthday so my head was all over the place. I had been drinking late the night before/early hours of the morning. I do not have an alcohol addiction and work full time as a key worker. I do not normally excessively drink either.
I am terrified of what the sentence will be, what is you advice and what would you expect of the sentence to be?
many thanks

 

[Martin Hammond]

Good morning,

The sentencing guidelines would definitely mean the Court will be considering this as an option. However it is a guideline and the Court have a lot of power to use their discretion if they hear good mitigation. This is one of those situations where having a great solicitor will make the world of difference at Court as what is said at that hearing may be the difference between custody or community punishment.

In short, don't be taken in by horror stories that you will read online. Custody is an option but Courts can also be very sympathetic.

Best of luck with it
Martin.