DUI Charges Dropped for Woman with "Botox Defense"

Did you hear about the DUI defense attorney that got a Canadian woman's DUI charges thrown out of court by using a "Botox Defense"?  This is no joke...it is true.  Now DUI defense attorneys everywhere (well maybe not the US) are trying to find new defendants over what has proven to be a new defense for refusing a breathalyzer test.

The “Botox Defense” may change frowns into smiles for defendants like Paddi Anne Moore, 51, as she was pulled over under the suspicion of a DUI, telling officers at the time that she just couldn’t blow into the breathalyzer. She was given four chances to blow into the breathalyzer before officers legally charged her for refusing to provide a breath sample. 

Even though Moore admitted to drinking that evening, the prosecutors haven’t been able to make a DUI case since there is no real proof as to the women’s level of sobriety.  (Apparently in Canada when you refuse to take a breathalyzer there is no other course of action to prove a DUI.  In the US you would be subject to a blood test).  The woman claims it wasn’t a matter of refusal but the inability to perform the test.  Due to receiving Botox injections she was unable to pucker her lips therefore she couldn't suck or blow on any object and that included a breathalyzer device. 

The Botox Defense seems to work as the judge threw out Moore’s DUI charge after he received a letter from the doctor that performed the Botox injections. The doctor stated that some patients who receive Botox injection are unable to wrap their lips around an object for up to six months. (Using a straw is one of the main reasons women get wrinkles around the mouth).  In the United States, Botox is basically injected around the eyes and in the forehead and not recommended around the lips.  Moore injected Botox into the muscles around the mouth to treat smoker lines; in the US we typically use dermal fillers like Juvederm or Restylane to treat those areas.  Not being able to suck or blow for six weeks has really paid off for Moore and due to the result of this case there may be a surge in plastic surgery for men and women opting to receive more frequent Botox treatments.