Drunk driver could be declared dangerous offender

Canadian legal history could be made this week when a Quebec man finds out whether he will become this country's first drunk driver to be declared a dangerous offender.

The dangerous offender designation is usually reserved for the very worst criminals in Canada — like murderers and serial rapists.

But in a Valleyfield, Que., courtroom this Wednesday, a judge could set a legal precedent that would make it easier for repeat drunk drivers who kill people to be locked away under that designation.

Roger Walsh pleaded guilty to a 19th impaired driving charge last December — this time after he mowed down Anee Khudaverdian in October. The wheelchair-bound mother was out with her dog on her 47th birthday.

While awaiting the decision from Quebec court Judge Michel Mercier, the victim's sister said it's a historic opportunity to make roads safer.

"If they don't hand it down [in this case], we're in trouble — an impaired driver will never be given a sentence like this again," said Clara Khudaverdian, a Montreal sociologist who has pushed for stricter laws since her sister's death.

"If people know this [dangerous offender status] is a possibility if you reoffend, they may think twice."

Case could set legal precedent

Although prosecutors have tried on two occasions — once in Ontario and once in Alberta — no Canadian judge has ever granted a dangerous offender tag for an impaired driving conviction.

But in this case, Crown lawyer Joey Dubois said he's taking advantage of a 2008 Criminal Code amendment.

The change allows him to seek the dangerous offender status with a lengthy prison term — 20 years, followed by 10 years of close surveillance — as opposed to an indeterminate prison sentence.

The change was introduced in the Tories' Tackling Violent Crime Act.

Under the old rules, the dangerous-offender designation automatically meant an indefinite prison stay and was reserved for the worst violent criminals. Now, someone with the designation can get a fixed prison sentence — but if they breach conditions once they're freed, they could be thrown back in jail indefinitely.

Walsh's lawyer, Jacques Vinet, has proposed a 10-year sentence.

He pleaded guilty this past December to hit-and-run causing death, impaired driving causing death, and violating a court order barring him from drinking.

Anee Khudaverdian was propelled into a ditch after being struck by his minivan. Walsh kept driving and was arrested less than 10 kilometres away after driving into a ditch himself.

'If people know this [dangerous offender status] is a possibility if you re-offend, they may think twice."' —Clara Khudaverian, Victim's sister

The court has heard that Walsh had been binge-drinking and was at more than double the legal blood alcohol limit of .08.

Walsh's 18 previous impaired driving convictions and 114 previous convictions in total for assault, uttering threats, breaking and entering and theft were entered into evidence.

So were four expert reports, drawn up during previous incarceration, that suggested Walsh had little hope of curbing his alcohol addiction.

Legal experts are keen to see how the judge rules, given the changes to the law and the jurisprudence that has urged judges to use the status sparingly.

"Even if an individual meets the statutory requirements, there's a residual discretion in the judges and they've been directed by the Supreme Court of Canada and by various appellate courts to not impose the label unless the offender is the worst of the worst," said Sanjeev Anand, a law professor at the University of Alberta.

"But I don't know how the [Quebec] court is going to deal with the prior jurisprudence under the old version of the legislation," Anand said.

"It'll be interesting to see."

Two previous attempts to have recidivist drunk drivers declared dangerous offenders have failed.

Prosecutors in Alberta had sought a dangerous offender designation for Raymond Charles Yellowknee.

He was eventually declared a long-term offender and sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison for killing a woman and her three children.

Yellowknee pleaded guilty to 18 charges in the January 2006 collision, including four counts of drunk driving causing the deaths of Misty Chalifoux, 28, and her three daughters — Michelle, 13, Trista, 9, and Larissa, 6.

He committed suicide in prison last month.

Clara Khudaverdian said it's time for society to start taking impaired driving more seriously.

Her older sister Anee, stricken with polio and using a wheelchair since childhood, had lived a rich life and loved animals, volunteering at local shelters. Most of all, she lived for her daughter, whom she had at age 40.

Clara said she'll fight on for her niece Bailey, who was left without a mother.

"I'm doing this for my niece so that when she grows up, she'll know her aunt fought for her mom," she said.

"I want her to see that in this world, you need to fight and you're capable of making change — one single person can."