Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW
DRINK- AND DRUG-DRIVE CASE NOTES
4th edition
Compiled and edited by P M Callow
ISBN: 978 0 85490 309 2
WILDY, SIMMONDS & HILL PUBLISHING
wildy.com
A MOST IMPORTANT CASE BOOK FOR CRIMINAL PRACTITIONERS IN 2020s
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers
and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”
Pauline Callow’s notes from Wildy remain legal gems for practitioners, comprising as they do summaries of the many cases on the drink- and drug- driving offences which have come before the higher courts. Over 600 judgments are summarised in this fourth edition.
Each note is presented simply as a headnote summarising the “ratio” of that case, a short statement of the facts, the issues in any appeal and an extract from the judgment for ease of reference. These notes are intended to provide a broad outline of the trends in the case law and as starting points for readers seeking guidance on specific points depending on what you are looking for.
The book is divided into chapters which follow, generally, the stages in any investigation with the following headings: the requirement to provide specimens of breath, blood or urine; the offence of failing without reasonable excuse to cooperate or to provide specimens; challenges to the breath testing and breath analysis devices; the “statutory assumption” that the proportion of alcohol or a drug at the time of the offence was not less than in the specimen; evidence, including issues such as the admissibility of the printout from the breath analysis device and of the contemporaneous records of the procedure completed by the investigating officer; the discretion under PACE to admit or exclude evidence; definitions, notably of “public place”; defences, including no likelihood of driving while over the limit; special reasons for not disqualifying; and finally a host of procedural issues, featuring the courts’ insistence on compliance with the Criminal Procedure Rules.
Callow’s fourth edition includes notes from over fifty cases decided since the third edition was published. The themes which run through the new case law include the availability of judicial review as a means of challenge, case management, the appropriateness of adjournments and preparedness for trial.
What we also found very useful were the longer-standing issues which the editor also re-visited, such as the disclosure of records, consulting the forms completed during the investigation to refresh memory at trial, the discretion to admit or exclude evidence and burdens of proof. Very helpful for all levels of practice.
This hardback book was published by Wildy in 2025.
BOOK REVIEW
DRINK- AND DRUG-DRIVE CASE NOTES
4th edition
Compiled and edited by P M Callow
ISBN: 978 0 85490 309 2
WILDY, SIMMONDS & HILL PUBLISHING
wildy.com
A MOST IMPORTANT CASE BOOK FOR CRIMINAL PRACTITIONERS IN 2020s
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers
and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”
Pauline Callow’s notes from Wildy remain legal gems for practitioners, comprising as they do summaries of the many cases on the drink- and drug- driving offences which have come before the higher courts. Over 600 judgments are summarised in this fourth edition.
Each note is presented simply as a headnote summarising the “ratio” of that case, a short statement of the facts, the issues in any appeal and an extract from the judgment for ease of reference. These notes are intended to provide a broad outline of the trends in the case law and as starting points for readers seeking guidance on specific points depending on what you are looking for.
The book is divided into chapters which follow, generally, the stages in any investigation with the following headings: the requirement to provide specimens of breath, blood or urine; the offence of failing without reasonable excuse to cooperate or to provide specimens; challenges to the breath testing and breath analysis devices; the “statutory assumption” that the proportion of alcohol or a drug at the time of the offence was not less than in the specimen; evidence, including issues such as the admissibility of the printout from the breath analysis device and of the contemporaneous records of the procedure completed by the investigating officer; the discretion under PACE to admit or exclude evidence; definitions, notably of “public place”; defences, including no likelihood of driving while over the limit; special reasons for not disqualifying; and finally a host of procedural issues, featuring the courts’ insistence on compliance with the Criminal Procedure Rules.
Callow’s fourth edition includes notes from over fifty cases decided since the third edition was published. The themes which run through the new case law include the availability of judicial review as a means of challenge, case management, the appropriateness of adjournments and preparedness for trial.
What we also found very useful were the longer-standing issues which the editor also re-visited, such as the disclosure of records, consulting the forms completed during the investigation to refresh memory at trial, the discretion to admit or exclude evidence and burdens of proof. Very helpful for all levels of practice.
This hardback book was published by Wildy in 2025.
