Road Traffic Results

11 January 2012: MTM argues successfully against three prosecution witnesses in usual road traffic case – client acquitted of dangerous driving and an alternative charge

MTM has successfully defended a client against a charge of dangerous driving under Section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and an alternative charge of culpable and reckless conduct. The prosecution decided to charge the client with the additional alternative offence because, although the Crown was sure that the client’s conduct was criminal in nature, the prosecutor could not be sure which of the two offences he had committed. The charge stated that our client had driven off his vehicle at a time when a person opened the door and was trying to enter the vehicle, causing them to fall out of the vehicle onto the ground, suffering a substantial number of injuries

After a trial involving cross examination of three witnesses against the client an MTM lawyer was able to persuade the Sheriff that all three of the witnesses’ evidence was unreliable and the client was acquitted of both charges.

22 December 2011: Unusual application to the Justice of the Peace Court successful in uninsured taxi driver case

An MTM client driving without insurance has benefited from a successful and highly unusual application to the Justice of the Peace Court.

MTM argued that there were special reasons why the client’s licence should not be endorsed and why he should not be disqualified from driving. Our case rested on the fact that his estranged wife had stopped paying the insurance premiums for his vehicle without telling him.

We entered a plea of “special reasons” in terms of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, which resulted in our client being simply given a warning. The case had a particular significance in that the driver concerned was a taxi driver; if he had been disqualified he would have also lost his livelihood.

18 November 2011: Businessman avoids disqualification due to MTM plea

An MTM defence of exceptional hardship proved decisive in the case of an Edinburgh businessman charged with using a mobile phone while driving. Already on 9 points, the client received a further 3, but, critically, avoided being disqualified after MTM successfully entered a plea of exceptional hardship. The businessman had recently invested some £250,000 in a restaurant; disqualification would have made it extremely difficult for him to have run his business, which employed a number of people.

10 November 2011: Senior director of national company retains licence

The consequences of losing a licence can be disastrous for anyone, and particularly for senior business executives whose jobs require them to be fully mobile. A senior director of a large national company has retained his licence despite driving at almost twice the 30 mph speed limit in a built-up area. Again, MTM’s advocacy meant that the client avoided disqualification.

19 August 2011: Diligent research leads to acquittal in road traffic case

An MTM client has been cleared of a road traffic offence that would have cost him his licence had he been convicted. The client was facing the lesser used charge of driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

Witnesses had spoken of the accused being clearly intoxicated. However, research by MTM revealed that he had been separately tested for alcohol; the test had proved negative. MTM also discovered that, although not immediately apparent, the accused had been seen by a doctor who had passed him ‘fit’. Once again, diligent and persistent research led to the prosecution dropping the case.

9 May 2011: Fines overruled and re-assessed

An appeal client who had been convicted of a course of conduct of stealing diesel from garages and also of driving without insurance has had all his fines radically reduced.

12 April 2011: Disqualification period reduced

In another appeal case, this time of drink driving with a level of alcohol over three times the legal limit, an MTM Solicitor Advocate has succeeded in persuading the Appeal Court that a discount in the period of disqualification should be allowed to the offender, given that he had pled guilty at the first opportunity. This was a novel situation and the Solicitor Advocate was able to persuade the Appeal Court to set a new precedent

The Sheriff had imposed a sentence of 30 months disqualification. Following careful research, the MTM Solicitor Advocate uncovered new legal cases which suggested that the disqualification period imposed was too high. Submissions based on this new information were instrumental in securing the discount in disqualification.

31 March 2011: Driver keeps his job by avoiding disqualification – despite previous ban for drink driving still being in force

Being disqualified from driving is one of the surest ways of losing your livelihood – and the prospect of any other job.

MTM recently saved a client from all this, in circumstances that were anything but promising. The client had been caught driving a motor vehicle before a previous ban for drink driving had expired. In such cases, a Sheriff will normally move to impose a period of disqualification as well as a community service order.

Submissions by MTM, based on extensive research of the law, meant that the firm was able to persuade the Sheriff to resort to neither option, but to impose penalty points instead. It meant the client got to keep their licence - and their job.

16 December 2010: MTM successfully argues that prosecution failure to produce supporting evidence rules out right to a fair trial

The prosecutor in a road traffic case has been persuaded to discontinue the prosecution half way through the trial after MTM raised a successful objection to the prosecutor’s failure to produce evidence for the defence to examine, in order to give the accused a fair trial. The case involved a charge under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, where the registered keeper of a vehicle had allegedly failed to identify the driver of his vehicle which had allegedly been involved in a road traffic accident. Police officers had attended the registered keeper’s house asking who the driver of his motor vehicle was on a certain date many weeks previously. It was successfully argued in Court that it was very difficult for him to know who had been the driver of his vehicle.

MTM’s approach in this case was to invoke the ‘best evidence’ rule. We objected to the trial proceeding in the absence of the production of the evidence because it meant the defence did not have an opportunity to examine it, as the police witnesses had done for the prosecution. The presiding Magistrate agreed that this was unfair to the defence and the prosecutor was persuaded therefore to discontinue the trial and our client was acquitted of the charge.

30 November 2010: MTM client avoids 12 penalty points and disqualification – and keeps his job

An MTM client accused of road traffic offences, relating to careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of a motor accident and failing to report a motor accident, has been acquitted after trial. If he had been convicted he would have had over 12 penalty points and would have been disqualified for a period of six months. Such an outcome would have led to the loss of his job, with potentially disastrous consequences for his family in terms of personal distress and economic hardship. Winning such a case for a client is always satisfying, not least because of what it means to their family.

15 March 2010: MTM wins road traffic case in Sheriff Court and protects driver’s livelihood

MTM has successfully defended a client against a charge of driving without due care and attention in an incident involving two police officers. The allegation was aggravated by the suggestion that the incident had caused a police vehicle to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The only eyewitnesses in the incident were two experienced police officers.

Fortunately, the driver involved, whose livelihood dependent on being able to drive an HGV, had the benefit of the MTM defence team to call on. MTM’s representation and challenging of the ‘facts’ led to the case being dismissed. It was all a great relief to our client, who had maintained his innocence throughout.

15 March 2010: MTM succeeds in making exceptional hardship case for client

MTM has succeededrtl in pleading exceptional hardship on behalf of a client in the Justice of the Peace Court. The defence was for a client who already had 12 points on his licence, and who was studying to improve employment prospects. The plea succeeded based on family circumstances and the need for continuing study. Instead of a ban, the court imposed penalty points and a fine.