A Law Society tribunal has reserved its decision in the case of a West Coast lawyer who pulled the cord out of a breath-testing machine and later tried to fool it by putting coins in his mouth.
Douglas Taffs was pulled over by police in March 2011 after failing to stop at a checkpoint. His blood-alcohol level was 50% over the legal limit and he was later fined in court.
The lawyer representing the Law Society's standards committee, Margo Perpick, says Mr Taffs should be suspended from practising law for two years because he could bring the profession into disrepute.
Mr Taffs's lawyer argued that he shouldn't be suspended because he doesn't have a pattern of obstructing justice.
