A cold day at Katoomba
In this Katoomba mid range drink driving case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at Katoomba Local Court in the Blue Mountains on 26 June 2023, which he describes as an absolutely freezing and windy day. His client had been charged with a middle range drink driving offence, with a reading of 0.099.
The aggravating feature was that her 11-year-old son was in the car as a passenger. She was pulled over for a random breath test, not because of her manner of driving.
A very stressful week
The client is a high school teacher with three young children, all with varying degrees of mental health issues. Joshua describes her life as tough and tumultuous in the lead-up to the incident.
- Her youngest daughter had been placed on new medication that had not gone as planned.
- The night before, she and her husband were getting their home ready to rent out for the weekend to earn some extra money, and when the cleaner cancelled at the last minute, they spent all night cleaning.
- The next day she drove the children to and from their sporting activities.
- The family had camped at a friend’s property the night before, and she went back to the campsite to pack up.
Between about 4 pm and 6.30 pm, while packing up, she had three glasses of an alcoholic drink (the captions are unclear about which drink). She waited an hour and a half before driving home, and was pulled over for the random breath test.
Placed in the back of a paddy wagon
She was placed in the back of a paddy wagon, which Joshua says is quite unusual for a person charged with drink driving, particularly a mother with no criminal background who was compliant with police. He thought it was an excessive step. It was a harrowing experience for her, and her son, who was with her, was quite emotional at the time.
Preparing for court in this Katoomba mid range drink driving case study
Joshua says there was a lot of material to work with:
- a letter from her boss;
- a letter from a family friend;
- a letter from the church pastor;
- a strong letter of apology;
- a letter from the family psychologist; and
- completion of the Traffic Offenders Program.
The submissions outlined how hard it would be for her not to drive. She has a one-hour commute to work and young children with mental health issues who rely on her.
The outcome
Joshua pushed for her to keep her licence, and the court agreed. She received a conditional release order for 12 months without conviction, with no disqualification.
Joshua notes that this does not always happen, and estimates it happens in perhaps about 20% of matters. In his view, the facts of this case and her strong subjective case were exceptional and different from the average drink driving matter that comes before the court.
What this case shows
A child passenger is an aggravating feature, but the court also weighs the person’s circumstances, their record and what they have done since. Here, detailed material from people who knew the family helped show why this offence was out of character. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts.
Key general information (NSW)
General information only, not legal advice, as at October 2026. Every case turns on its own facts.
- Drink driving (PCA) offences: In New South Wales most drink driving charges are “prescribed concentration of alcohol” (PCA) offences under the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).
- The broad penalty picture: As one example, Transport for NSW lists the maximum court-imposed penalty for a first mid range PCA offence as a fine of $2,200 and up to 9 months’ imprisonment (as at October 2026).
- The Alcohol Interlock Program: A zero alcohol limit applies to all interlock drivers, and a person who receives an interlock order but does not enter the program is disqualified for 5 years.
- Conditional release orders: The NSW Sentencing Council explains that a conditional release order (CRO) can be made with or without recording a conviction.
- The court process: Drink and drug driving charges in NSW are usually dealt with in the Local Court.
Further reading and related videos
Boorman Lawyers has more on appearing at Katoomba Local Court, no-conviction outcomes for drink driving in NSW and NSW drink driving penalties. Its NSW DUI site covers drink driving matters across regional NSW.
On this site, see another Katoomba case on how matters get dismissed and a Tamworth mid range case that ended with a CRO, or browse all NSW and drink driving videos.
For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s guide to drink and drug driving charges at Katoomba covers the local court and plea process. (DIY DUI is a self-help program for people preparing their own guilty plea. It is not legal representation and is not part of Boorman Lawyers.)
