St. John's lawyer Jeff Brace has been sentenced to 75 days behind bars for his third impaired driving conviction. He has also been given a three-year driving suspension and one year of probation.

"I'm not looking for pity, I don't deserve it quite frankly," Brace said following his sentencing on Wednesday morning in provincial court in St. John's.

Nobody is responsible for this but me ... of course I knew it was wrong. - Jeff Brace

"I'd like to apologize for my stupidity."

Brace pleaded guilty in September to exceeding the legal limit of alcohol in his blood when he was given a breathalyzer test in September 2016. Originally he had submitted a not guilty plea but changed it to guilty 10 months later.

The judge heard that Brace was at an intersection on Kenmount Road when he fell over on his motorcycle. A police officer stopped to help and noticed Brace had signs of being impaired.

He had a blood alcohol level of 0.230, almost three times the legal limit. It was 11:30 in the morning and Brace said he had never stopped drinking from the night before.

Brace, 55, was charged on Sept. 5, 2016. He has two previous convictions — from 1997, and from 2011, when he crashed his motorcycle in downtown St. John's, badly injuring himself.

Sending a message

On Wednesday, Brace and the Crown agreed to 75 days of jail time, a three year driving suspension and probation and counselling.

Crown attorney Adam Sparkes says even though Jeff Brace is a high profile lawyer he was treated no differently than anyone else (Eddy Kennedy/CBC)

"Some people might say you have to set an example," Crown attorney Adam Sparkes told the court during sentencing proceedings.

"He cannot be treated more leniently, he cannot be treated more harshly."

After the decision Sparkes told reporters he hopes the sentence will deter not just Brace, but other people, from drinking and driving.

"Other people who drink and drive know that there's a possibility that you'll go to jail and everything that follows from that. It impacts your family life, your career, so people have to stop drinking and driving," he said.

Brace also acknowledged the inevitability of being sentenced to jail time with a post on social media Tuesday night, saying he would "miss all the shenanigans that goes on" on Twitter.

You all know I'm not much of a tweeter but I'm sure going to miss all the shenanigans that goes on here ⚖ —@JeffBracelaw

Brace told the court he had stopped drinking in 2012 after a previous conviction for drinking and driving. He said he hadn't had anything to drink until a family crisis involving his daughter.

"The emotional turmoil caused me to go off the rails," he told the court.

"I thought I was going to be OK to have a few drinks."

Brace said he had been drinking the night before and hadn't stopped through that morning. He told the judge that nothing excuses his decision to get on his motorcycle after having that much to drink.

"Nobody is responsible for this but me, I know that," he said.

"Of course I knew it was wrong."