Alan Cameron | Partner

Motoring offences – Don’t take a “chance” when it comes to your licence

Dakota County Sheriff’s office posted a Facebook message recently advising that their Deputy Vei arrested a gentleman on an outstanding warrant and at the time of arrest, the accused provided him with a Monopoly card that read “Get out of Jail free card”. Unfortunately for that gentleman, his plea was unsuccessful and we rather suspect it would be the same outcome this side of the pond.

Happily for our clients at Jackson Boyd Lawyers we rely on knowledge and experience rather than monopoly cards when dealing with criminal motoring cases. This is evidenced by the fact that I was in court twice last week for 2 separate trials and on both occasions our clients were found not guilty after all the evidence was heard.

Using a Mobile phone while driving

Our client was pulled over at the side of the road by 2 Police Officers who advised that they had observed her using a dark interactive device. Our client confirmed that the Police Officers were mistaken and that the only device in her vehicle was locked safely in her bag, away from her person. However, showing the officers the bag and its position she was charged and required to go to trial to defend her position.

During the course of the trial, it became apparent that our client’s mobile phone had not received incoming or outgoing texts, phone calls or data usage in the 90 minute period before and after the alleged incident. However despite this being put to both officers they were still adamant that they had observed the device in her hand and that it was being used.

Following a detailed examination in chief of my client and a lengthy cross examination of the police officers I was able to persuade the court that the Officers’ observations were simply mistaken and our client was found not guilty.

What is important to take from this is that you should always contact your service provider as a matter of urgency to confirm whether or not there was any incoming or outgoing texts, voicemails or data usage around the time of the incident. While this in itself is not guaranteed to overturn the witnesses’ statements, it certainly does go a long way to assist the court in holding that there was no usage of any interactive device.

Failure to stop or report an accident

Our client was charged, following an alleged collision, with failing to stop and provide his details or report the accident thereafter. His position to both the police and the court was that he was not aware that he had been involved in a collision. During the course of the trial the court heard from many witnesses regarding the alleged collision and their views on our client’s knowledge at that time. However following a detailed examination in chief of my client and cross examination of the witnesses I successfully persuaded the court that my client was not aware of the collision at the time of impact and he was found not guilty of both offences.

It is important when preparing for court that careful analysis is given to both the build-up to the collision and the actions of all parties thereafter. That and specialised questioning will assist in preparing for and conducting your defence in court.

Here at Jackson Boyd Lawyers, we regularly deal with these types of cases and are happy to offer our expert advice should you find yourself in this position. For more information please contact us online by clicking here or speak to a member of our specialist team on 0333 222 1855 .

Alan Cameron

Alan Cameron

Dispute Resolution Team

“My motto is: ‘First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.’”

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