She even admitted to losing control of her car and performing a 180 degree turn at a traffic island, where she clipped a gutter before driving on. What she would not admit to, however, was evading the police car that attempted to intercept her. Ms Williams swore she did not see the car as it followed behind her with lights and sirens blaring. She disputed the charge of failing to stop largely on the grounds she had gone over a hill shortly after they were activated and the car was so far behind her, she did not see it. The two constables in the car estimated they remained between 300 and 500 metres behind her as they pursued her to her house where they eventually arrested her.

But the magistrate did not buy her argument. Ms Williams was fined $5500 and disqualified from driving for two years. On appeal, however, District Court Judge Nicholas Samios sided with Ms Williams. He set aside the conviction, the fine and the driving disqualification period and ordered Queensland's Police Commissioner, Ian Stewart, pay her $1800 legal costs. The Chief Commissioner is named as the default prosecutorial officer in all Queensland drink driving cases.

Judge Samios accepted Ms Williams went over a hill, where she was unable to see the police car behind her and that she did not see the vehicle until it pulled into her home. "Even if the police vehicle was 300 or 500 metres behind the appellant's vehicle, in my view it does not follow that a reasonable person in the circumstances of this case would have stopped the motor vehicle," he said. "The long and the short of it is that the police motor vehicle just did not get in close enough to the appellant's motor vehicle for there to be no dispute that a reasonable person would take the police as giving a direction to stop." Judge Samios said the constables also gave evidence in the Magistrates Court that they had considered abandoning the pursuit, which he also took to infer they were not close to Ms Williams' car. "I accept the submission made by Mr Heaton of Queen's Counsel who appears on behalf of the appellant today that the police vehicle on the evidence was not in a position to unequivocally give a direction or that it would by a reasonable person be accepted as a direction to stop," he said.

"Even if the appellant noticed the police, they were just not close enough, in my view, to amount to the giving of a direction required that a reasonable person would accept it meant they should stop." He gave the Chief Commissioner 28 days to pay Ms Williams $1800. The penalties imposed in the Magistrates Court on the three charges Ms Williams pleaded guilty to – dangerous driving while drunk, mid-range drink driving and unlicensed driving – remain. She was fined a cumulative $1100 on the charges, disqualified from driving for 14 months and sentenced to nine months of probation. Ms Williams has just become eligible to recover her driver's licence.