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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 24-year-old man was fined $1,200 Tuesday and given a year's driving prohibition after passing out drunk in his car at the Tim Hortons drive-through.

When RCMP found Matthew Wisebrodt slumped over in his grey Dodge van on a July morning, the vehicle was still running in drive: his foot, however, was on the brake.

When tested, his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

"This is the first time I've ever head of someone passed out in a drive-through," said Judge Bernadette Schmaltz. "My first inclination is, 'What were you thinking?' That Tim Hortons parking lost at the best of times is hard enough to negotiate."

Taxi cab assault

An 18-year-old woman was given four months of what's commonly referred to as "house arrest" for a January assault on a cab driver and later breaching her undertaking.

The woman, who was 17 at the time of the incident, would have likely faced a much harsher sentence - including time in jail - if she'd been just one year older at the time of the crime, said Schmaltz.

The Jan. 29 assault left the cab driver with a broken arm - the man slipped and fell as he was running away from the woman and her friend. The woman was intoxicated at the time.

"(She) doesn't perceive herself as a problem drinker," said Schmaltz. "That perception is wrong."

Giant Mine widows will appeal

The families of the 1992 Giant Mine bombing victims will try to appeal their case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The move is an attempt to overturn a May 2008 decision that exonerated defendants from paying $10.7 million.

However, not all cases are approved to be heard in front of Canada's highest court.

The Supreme Court receives hundreds of applications each year, but only about 20 per cent are approved to go before the court, said Mike Triggs, the lawyer for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission representing the families.

In order for the case to be heard, counsel has to prove the issue is of national importance. Triggs said the case will be made on two fronts: union liability and duty of care to the public.

"There's a strike and strikers are involved in a violent act. At what point in time do unions become responsible for their members' actions?" he said.

It will take the Supreme Court of Canada anywhere from three to six months to decide if they'll hear the case.