News Archive 2011
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.
15 December 2011: MTM comments on Carloway Report in leading legal journals
In the aftermath of the Cadder case and the ruling in the European Court of Human Rights, upheld by the UK Supreme Court, the Carloway Review was established to look into procedure surrounding the questioning and detention of suspects.
Following Lord Carloway’s report in November 2011, MTM has been widely quoted in the Law Society Journal and has contributed a piece to The Firm magazine, looking at the post-Cadder legal landscape. Solicitor-Advocate Martin Morrow explores the legal and political background to the Carloway Report, some of its unintended consequences and its potential impact on the court system.
Links to both pieces can be found here: http://www.firmmagazine.com/features/1065/The_Genie_and_the_Bottle.html and http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/56-12/1010537.aspx
18 November 2011: Legal education appointments for MTM
Neil Hay of MTM has been invited to lecture undergraduates at Edinburgh Napier University on the Scottish Legal System and the role of the criminal defence lawyer.
In the light of work at Edinburgh Napier University, Neil Hay has also been invited to join the Professional Practice Committee of the Centre for Law.
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 October 2011: Client acquitted of serious assault despite Crown evidence from three eyewitnesses
An MTM client has been acquitted of a charge of a very serious assault involving an attack on a person with weapons that caused serious injury. Crown evidence included the testimony of three eye witnesses who attested they saw our client attack a man with a hammer. The Crown case also put forward evidence that a hammer with blood on it was found in our client’s vehicle.
Extensive medical research by MTM into the complainer’s injuries, accompanied by detailed cross-examination of the Crown witnesses brought the case to a conclusion in favour of our client. The Jury were asked to acquit our client on the basis that the very serious and extensive assault as described by the three Crown witnesses was unlikely to have caused the man’s injuries and did not match the their description of how he received these injuries. Our client was duly acquitted based on the inconsistencies uncovered in the Crown’s evidence by the MTM defence team.
12 October 2011: Young client saved from ‘lengthy’ jail sentence
Ten months is a long time when you are 16. An MTM client was recently facing the prospect of spending that time in jail, having been convicted in the Sheriff Court of a number of charges of breach of the peace. MTM was able to persuade the Appeal Court to makes the sentences concurrent, which meant that the sentence was reduced to five months. The client was immediately released as he had already served the time, so he was able to go free five months earlier than anticipated.
6 October 2011: MTM Defence Lawyers admitted to Legal 500
MTM Defence Lawyers has been included in the The Legal 500, the legal profession’s 'industry bible' of recommended firms and practitioners, and the largest and most in-depth survey of the legal market in the UK. MTM’s inclusion is an acknowledgement of the firm’s expertise and service delivery to clients. All firms that apply for admission are rigorously vetted in a process that involves detailed client interviews and measurement against a range of professional standards.
MTM is the only criminal defence firm in Falkirk and Stirling to be represented in the Legal 500 (www.legal500.com), which has been published for over 20 years and includes recommended legal service providers in over 100 countries worldwide. The Legal 500 is used by private and commercial clients, including corporate counsel, chief executives, financial directors and professional advisers - as well as by other referrers of work both nationally and internationally. The Legal 500 series is widely regarded as offering the definitive judgement of law firm capabilities.
16 September 2011: MTM largest legal aid provider in Central Scotland
In the recent Scottish Legal Aid Board Report for 2010/2011, MTM Defence Lawyers was once again the largest provider of legal aid services in the Central Scotland area, which includes Falkirk, Stirling and Alloa - in all types of legal aid. The firm is the largest provider in relation to all solicitors of whatever kind of legal aid, not just legal aid in respect of criminal law cases. The firm is also the largest provider of criminal legal aid in the Central Scotland area.
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.
27 July 2011: Client cleared of serious assault charge
In another challenging case, an MTM client was acquitted of a charge of serious assault. Once again, painstaking preparation and presentation led to a successful outcome for an MTM client in the Sheriff and Jury court.
15 July 2011: Not guilty pleas accepted by the prosecution on two related charges
An MTM client has been cleared of two separate charges of attacking two individuals with a weapon. The client was acquitted following diligent preparation work which undermined the reliability of prosecution witnesses in court. In each of these very serious cases a ‘not guilty’ plea was accepted by the prosecution.
22 June 2011: Detailed MTM research in drugs case leads to minor fine for client rather than a custodial sentence
An MTM client who pled guilty to a very serious charge of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs has received a small fine rather than a custodial sentence.
The client had been found in possession of drugs to an estimated value of just under £700. Detailed research by a member of the MTM legal defence team discovered exceptional circumstances which allowed the Sheriff to take the view that this was a case which could be dealt with by imposing only a minor fine.
In the usual run of things, a person convicted of supplying controlled drugs would face a prison sentence; in this case, the diligence of MTM saved the client from that eventuality.
16 June 2011: MTM challenges jury composition
An MTM solicitor has challenged the composition of the assize of jurors selected to hear a trial at a Sheriff Court. The solicitor was concerned that jurors ultimately selected would be from a restricted age range, rather than the broad spectrum of society.
Although the challenge was unsuccessful, it highlighted the need for solicitors to be vigilant in such matters. Challenges may be rare, but it is important that clients appear before juries that reflect society and whose members have as many life experiences as possible.
9 June 2011: Successful submission of no case to answer
An MTM solicitor has successfully persuaded a Sheriff that there was no case to answer in a case involving a client who had been charged with an aggravated violent offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. MTM’s submission was that there was insufficient evidence to corroborate the allegation against the client. The client was subsequently saved from a possible conviction and custodial sentence. The dog was saved from the possibility of a destruction order.
1 June 2011: Summer Newsletter
31 May 2011: MTM interviewed on Supreme Court role
Martin Morrow is interviewed by STV's Bernard Ponsonby following the First Minister's comments on the role of the UK Supreme Court
27 May 2011: Supreme Court has enhanced Scots law not detracted from it
In a lead-page letter in The Herald, Solicitor Advocate Martin Morrow sets the record straight about the role and remit of the UK Supreme Court in light of the First Minister's comments
27 May 2011: Reputation restored on appeal in racial conduct case
An MTM client, a person of unblemished character and with hitherto no previous convictions, has been cleared of a conviction for racial conduct under the Criminal Law Act 1995. Our client, a gentleman in his sixties, had always denied committing the offence, but had been convicted at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
MTM appealed against the conviction. At the appeal hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Crown conceded that the client had not received a fair trial and the Court agreed to quash the conviction. However, the Crown asked for a re-trial.
MTM once again stepped in and we were also successful in persuading the Court that the Crown should not be allowed to have a second trial. This saved our client from yet another trial for the same alleged offence that he had denied committing all along. Our client was able to walk away with his reputation untarnished and his standing as a respectable member of the community completely intact.
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.
MTM appealed against the imposition of the fines applied by the Court, and in all four charges an MTM Solicitor Advocate was successful in persuading the Court that the initial fines had been excessive and that they should be reduced. As a result of the work we did in this case, the fines in the JP Court were overruled by the Appeal Court, which imposed new fines at only half the level that had previously been imposed.
26 April 2011: New rules on proof of income
The Scottish Legal Aid Board, which funds all publicly funded cases in Scotland, has recently introduced new rules regarding applicants’ proof of income. As a firm of defence lawyers, MTM is now required to provide proof of clients’ income to the Board as part of the funding process for their cases. Legal Aid is a public service and as such the scheme is open to the highest levels of scrutiny and accountability.
As one of Scotland’s leading defence practitioners, MTM has rigorous systems in place to ensure compliance with the requirements of SLAB. The firm makes regular applications to the Board on behalf of clients and has proven expertise in legal Aid work. In practical terms, the firm will now be asking clients to supply bank statements.
Clients are now being asked to bring with them proof of income to any legal consultation. Such proof can be a bank statement, a DSS statement of benefits or a print-out from a post office account. Having such information to hand will speed up the process for the client and help to push their case through the system.
15 April 2011: Cadder case implications lead to wider review
The implications of the Cadder case continue to be felt throughout the legal establishment. A recent consultation paper concerning Police arrest and detention, evidence requirements and possible limits on rights of appeal are all up for discussion in a consultation paper, published as part of a review under Lord Carloway.
The review was set up immediately following the Cadder decision in the UK Supreme Court last October, on the rights of suspects in police detention to legal advice, and the emergency legislation pushed through the Scottish Parliament altering the time limits for police detention and making changes to rights of appeal. Above all, the review is based on looking at the practical investigation of crime and what happens when a person is deprived of his/her liberty during that investigation
The review’s terms of reference are to look at the law and practice of questioning suspects in the light of recent human rights decisions, and the implications for criminal evidence; the extent to which the emergency Act may need reconsideration or replacement; and to make recommendations for further changes.
Covering the four main themes of key elements of custody, key stages of custody, evidence, and appeals, the paper poses 34 questions intended to help shape the discussions. Among them are questions such as: whether the requirement for corroboration should be abolished; whether the court should be allowed to draw an adverse inference from an accused's silence; what rules should govern police questioning; and when should a suspect’s right to legal assistance arise.
These are fundamental issues at the heart of delivering justice. MTM will be taking part in the consultation, promoting the interests of defence clients – just as the firm did in its public response to the issues around the Cadder case itself. The results of the review, which includes the consultation, will be published in the autumn with a list of recommendations.