A high-level sportswoman has won a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression on a drink driving charge, partly because it would affect her ability to compete overseas.
The woman appeared in Gisborne District Court yesterday where Judge Graham Hubble granted the woman permanent name suppression and discharged her without conviction on a charge of driving with excess breath-alcohol.
The woman, who had no previous convictions recorded a breath alcohol level of 801mcg per litre of breath, double the legal limit of 400mcg.
Judge Hubble said defence counsel Marcia Insley's application for a discharge was persuasive.
She said her client had reached an exceptional level in her sport and had been offered a chance to compete overseas again.
