BY KEITH LACEY
A man convicted of his 11th drunk driving charge uttered profanities at one of SudburyÂ?s most experienced judges after the judge refused to sentence him to a penitentiary term, Wednesday.
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After Justice Guy Mahaffy sentenced Joe McDougall to 14.5 months on top of seven weeks heÂ?s already served and refused McDougallÂ?s request to increase the sentence to a penitentiary term, McDougall raised his voice and swore at the judge while being led away to the Sudbury District Jail in handcuffs.
Mahaffy calmly told defence counsel Alex Toffoli he had decided to ignore the profanity and wasnÂ?t going to impose any further sanctions, however, he wanted it on the record another judge might not have reacted so kindly.
Adults sentenced to provincial reformatory time must serve two-thirds of their sentence before being released.
Those sentenced to the penitentiary can apply for day parole after serving one-sixth of their sentence.
Repeat offenders like McDougall almost always have to serve one-third of their sentence before being considered for parole.
Court heard McDougall, 49, had managed to stay out of trouble with alcohol for over 10 years before getting
intoxicated at his own stag and then deciding to get behind the wheel once again on July 3.
Between the early 1980s and 1992, McDougall had been convicted of drunk driving on 10 separate occasions, but there hadnÂ?t been a single incident in almost 11 years until he was caught and charged almost two months ago, said
Toffoli.
His driverÂ?s license had already been suspended for life when he was caught in this latest incident.
Toffoli requested a sentence of an additional four to six months behind bars.
Assistant Crown attorney Andrew Slater said society must be protected from people like McDougall who, despite the long break in his record, canÂ?t be trusted to not get behind the wheel while intoxicated.
Slater had asked the court to impose a penitentiary term of two years.
Court heard McDougall was given a 15-month sentence following his latest conviction in 1992 and had before that been given a penitentiary term for repeated drunk driving offences.
Toffoli said McDougall hadnÂ?t completely quit drinking when this incident took place, but no longer drank to excess on a regular basis.
McDougall has also become a loving stepfather to his fianceeÂ?s three children and she is fully supportive, he said.
Slater said Â?this accused obviously has a longstanding problem with alcoholÂ?but he repeatedly has decided to
operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated, which puts members of society at risk.Â?
Considering the breathalyser tests were low, McDougall was co-operative with police, there were no overt signs of intoxication and his plea of guilt, the appropriate sentence in this case is 18 months in jail, said Mahaffy.
Any sentence imposed must be harsher than the previous sentence the courts handed down, said Mahaffy.
When asked by Toffoli to increase the sentence to penitentiary time, Mahaffy said he could not Â?in good conscienceÂ? impose a more punitive sentence than he believes is appropriate.
The total sentence handed down is 18 months in jail, but McDougall was given credit for almost four months time
served as Mahaffy granted him the traditional two days time served for every day heÂ?s spent in pre-trial custody.
