Judge Rules Against Chad Kroeger Before His Impaired Driving Trial

Nickelback had a hit with "Breathe," and now a B.C. provincial court judge has ruled that a police officer's order for Chad Kroeger to breathe in his face can be included as evidence in the rocker's impaired driving trial.

Kroeger's lawyer, Marvin Stern, argued that police illegally obtained breath samples from Kroeger (real name Chad Turton) when an RCMP officer asked him to blow in his face after catching a whiff of alcohol. Stem said the evidence should be excluded on the grounds that the action constituted an unlawful search. While judge Peder Gulbrandsen acknowledged that blowing in the face is unconstitutional, he's allowing the evidence to stand.

Kroeger was stopped for speeding in his red Lamborghini in suburban Surrey, B.C around 2 a.m. on June 22, 2006. Police claim the car was traveling in excess of 160 kilometres per hour. An officer noted that the singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and record label executive had red, glossy eyes and a red, flushed face, and that he allegedly pulled out a credit card when asked for his driver's licence. That's when the cop asked the man we can thank for Theory Of A Deadman to blow in his face.

After a lengthy investigation, Kroeger was charged with impaired driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.8. Although he didn't provide his first breath sample at the Surrey RCMP detachment until almost two hours after being stopped, tests still showed him to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit.

Stern also argued that the officer stayed too long on the scene with Kroeger while making arrangements to tow the Lamborghini to Kroeger's house. But the judge shot that down too, saying there were extenuating circumstances regarding how the sleek sports car would be transported, how much it would cost and what means of payment the towing company would accept. Kroeger paid more than $200 in cash for the tow.

"It was obvious that Mr. Turton was very concerned about his car," Gulbrandsen wrote in his ruling. "He was not being unreasonable. It was worth about $175,000 and was not a vehicle that most towing companies handle very often, if ever."

The case has been adjourned to March 12, when a trial date will be set.

If you want to party like a rock star on March 17, you can buy a 17-ounce St. Patrick's Day stein for $15 from Nickelback's website. As the web page says, "It's beer o'clock."