Legal Argument
My client had accumulated 18 points on his licence and was disqualified for 15 months as a totter. At the Crown Court on appeal, a carefully worded technical argument on the interpretation of the statute was sufficient to persuade the court to reduce the disqualification to 9 months! Sometimes investing…
Astonishing Cheek
Astonishing Cheek I represented a client today at the Crown Court. The history of this case shows how careful you have to be in choosing a lawyer. Here is the story: The client committed a series of minor traffic offences and a solicitor was instructed. The solicitor did not bother…
Prosecution weaknesses
There is nothing certain about the outcome of a criminal trial. It involves a complex matrix of evidence, procedure and law applied to the uncertainty of constantly shifting sands of live witnesses and changing circumstances. There is no doubt that the skill of the lawyer, in this combatant arena, will…
Drink drivers beware
I have recently been asked to advise a Surrey motorist who was convicted of drink driving following a road traffic accident. The other party to the accident is making a claim for damages. The Surrey motorist’s insurance company is avoiding paying out on the basis that the drink driving conviction…
Surrey highways information
The link for Surrey highways information is: http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/highways-information-online
Faulty breathalyser
When the police stop a motorist and suspect alcohol consumption, the motorist is required to provide a breath test at the roadside. The roadside device simply gives a general indication of the level of alcohol present in the system. If the device shows alcohol above a certain level, the driver…
Save our cyclists
When I wrote my blog yesterday, I could not have predicted that today The Times was going to run a front page spread on the dangers to cyclists on out city roads. See the entry at: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306502.ece So, be careful out there.
Beware Cyclists
This may be anecdotal but worthy of an entry. Colleagues at the Bar report an increase in prosecutions of motorists causing accidents involving cyclists. Therefore, be careful when opening doors and that goes for passengers too. And, please remind yourself of the obvious, visibility is reduced in inclement weather. On…
£100 speed fines ‘will be tax on drivers’
According to the front page of the Daily Telegraph: “Motorists face a huge increase in speeding fines to as much as £100 to help fill a funding gap for victims of crime, Kenneth Clark has disclosed. Standard £60 fines could increase by almost 70%.”… “Ministers hope to raise around £30…
Speeding totter keeps licence
A surgeon kept his driving licence despite being caught driving at twice the speed limit, taking him up to 12 penalty points, according to the Daily Telegraph 25/1/12. Magistrates decided that the impact of a driving ban on his patients would be too great. This is an example of exceptional…