All posts by Andrew Wesley/h3>

In a case earlier this year His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson QC was faced with the task of sentencing 3 offenders for their part in causing death by dangerous driving of 4 people, and seriously injuring 3 others. The main offender Elliot Bower received a total prison sentence of 11 1/2 years.

Maximum sentence of 14 years for offence

The offence of causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, but what happens if 4 deaths are caused during a single incident?  Does the total rise to a maximum of 56 years?

The answer to that question is no, the maximum remains at 14 years.

There is nothing wrong in principle with consecutive prison sentences.  Had the defendants committed 4 offences over 4 days, causing one death on each occasion, the theoretical maximum open to the Judge would actually have been 56 years, or 4 times 14 years.

So, why was it not possible in this case?

Consecutive sentences not possible

The Judge was obliged to follow the case of R v Jaynesh Chadusama [2018] EWCA Crim 2867 which led to the Judge observing:

“I am compelled to take 14 years imprisonment as the maximum sentence open to me where multiple fatalities arise from a single incident of dangerous driving.”

The Judge did, however, have the following to say, which indicated his general unease as to the state of the law:

“Before passing sentence, I wish to make this observation. It is my intention to refer these sentencing remarks to the Secretary of State for Transport. I am aware that HM Government has embarked upon a review of extant road traffic legislation including sentencing. It is not for me to recommend changes in the law. I simply invite those who have that responsibility, namely the Secretary of State, to consider the following point.

It may be worthy of consideration whether a court, when there are multiple deaths arising from a single episode of dangerous driving, particularly when the dangerous driving is of an exceptionally serious kind – as in this case, should have power to impose a higher level of custodial sentence than would be permitted by the current law.

I merely call this case to the attention of the Secretary of State for consideration.

It is not for me to make this observation, but there may be some who feel that Parliament may wish to revisit the issue of the powers available to a court when sentencing in an exceptionally serious case of this kind.

I repeat what I said earlier – the sentence I pass today is governed by the law which is operational today. I am bound by that law and I shall pass sentence in accordance with it.”

Will the law change?

The Attorney General in the days following this case indicated that a change in sentencing policy is likely. This will be more easily achieved not by trying to reverse the rule in R v Jaynesh Chadusama  but by simply increasing the maximum penalty available to one of life imprisonment.

It is also likely that we will see increases in sentences where death is caused by driving, and perhaps even in the relatively new offence covering the causing of serious injury.

Contact an expert road traffic law solicitor

If you are arrested or know that the police wish to speak to you about any offending involving dangerous driving then make sure you insist on your right to free and independent legal advice.  As you can see, the courts will always take such offences seriously upon conviction.

The advantages of such early advice legal advice can be found here.

If you have already been interviewed or face court proceedings we can still make a real difference to the outcome of your case.

Legal aid may well be available to fund your defence at court.

We have offices across the East Midlands and will happily travel across the country to provide representation for all football related offences.

Alternatively you can contact us using the form below.

All posts by Andrew Wesley/h3>

Many people face very lengthy court proceedings, and it is therefore hardly unusual that on occasion a person may not be too ill to attend court.

Despite this fact, courts are sceptical of alleged illness.  Unless the rules are followed in close detail, a defendant who does not attend faces the serious prospect of being arrested by the police and taken to court in custody. This may involve a stay in police cells over the weekend, so it is essential that you understand what you need to do.

 

Too ill to attend court? Let us know straight away.

The first step is to inform your solicitor as soon as you are able.

All of our office numbers can be called at any hour of the day or night.  This will allow you to contact us before the office opens so that you can inform us what is happening.

In almost all cases, if you do not need to see a doctor, the court is unlikely to accept your illness as an excuse not to attend court.

It will, of course, depend on the exact circumstances.  As a result it is essential to speak to us and obtain advice as to what is the best course of action.

A doctor will be able to issue you with a sick note.  This is not, however, necessarily the end of the matter, and the opinion of a doctor does not bind a court.

Doctors have been issued with guidance concerning medical notes for court non-attendance, but a busy practitioner may very well miss the detail.

The Criminal Practice Direction sets out the following minimum requirements:

• The date on which the medical practitioner examined you;
• The exact nature of your ailments;
• If it is not self-evident, why the ailment prevents you attending court;
• An indication as to when you are likely to be able to attend court, or a date when the current certificate expires.

Circumstances where the court may find a medical certificate unsatisfactory include:

• Where the certificate indicates that the defendant is unfit to attend work (rather than to attend court);
• Where the nature of the defendant’s ailment (e.g. a broken arm) does not appear to be capable of preventing his attendance at court;
• Where the defendant is certified as suffering from stress/anxiety/depression and there is no indication of the defendant recovering within a realistic timescale.

Contact your criminal law solicitor

You will have information from us about who your solicitor is.  All of our office numbers will be answered out of hours to deal with emergencies like this.

If you are not sure, you can find your nearest office here.

All posts by Andrew Wesley/h3>

Few people would disagree with the suggestion that sentencing law in England and Wales is a complete mess. The provisions that govern how a defendant is to be sentenced are both complex and disparate and to be found across a significant number of statutes.  The proposal is to replace the variety of provisions with a new sentencing code.

 

Why does this matter?

Research has shown that thousands of sentencing errors are made each year.  Many end up going completely undetected. Sometimes the mistakes make little difference in practice, but often the failure leads to unlawful sentences being imposed.

The complexity of the statutory provisions is only one consideration.  There is also a large body of case law that mjust be taken into account. Again, we see many errors, most notably concerning protective orders where conditions imposed are often draconian and unnecessary.

Sentencing errors can lead to a failure to protect victims as well as unlawful or inappropriate sentences for defendants.  Any appeal proceedings that follow to put matters right will be costly.  Ironically the Court of Appeal often makes mistakes itself.

So, what is being proposed?

The Law Commission has proposed a ‘Sentencing Code’.  This will be a single Act of Parliament that will place all sentencing provisions in one place.

To achieve this, a two-stage process will take place:

1. Minor amendments to existing statutes will be made to ‘tidy up’ the statute book.
2. Immediately afterwards the provisions will be consolidated into one Act of Parliament (‘the sweep’).

This clean sweep of law will then lead to a single consolidated statutory provision resulting in a sentencing code that can be further amended in the future.

It is important to note that this procedure is a consolidating procedure  Apart from minor changes to legislation there will be no material change to existing law. There will be no increases to the existing sentences available to courts.

Will the sentencing code make a difference?

Given the effect of this is merely to move sentencing law into one single statute, it is a reasonable question to ask whether this will make a difference.

The Law Commission carried out extensive testing of the proposals.  It was demonstrated that having a single reference point for sentencing leads to fewer errors. Errors will continue to be made, for all manner of reasons, but we should see a massive reduction.

When will these changes happen?

The first piece of legislation was laid in the House of Lords last week, and the provisions could be law in a matter of months. Much will depend on the legislative timetable and the uncertainty of the political situation at the present time.

When the relevant legislation is enacted, there will need to be a period of training for lawyers and judges before the new statute takes effect so it seems unlikely that the provisions will come into effect before mid 2020 at the earliest.

What happens until then?

Until that time we will continue to be alert on your behalf.

Our lawyers take great care to ensure lawful and proportionate sentences are passed and will not hesitate to take corrective action where that is required.

We prefer to work hard to avoid mistakes in the first place to avoid problems later.  As a result all of our advocates are highly trained in the complexities of sentencing law. Our ethos is  that we must ‘get it right first-time’.

If, however, you believe that your sentence before either the Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court was unlawful or excessive then please contact us immediately.

Contact a specialist criminal lawyer

The earlier we are involved in your case, the greater the opportunity for us to ensure that everything goes right at each step of your case.

If you are arrested or know that the police wish to speak to you about a criminal offence then make sure you insist on your right to free and independent legal advice.

The advantages of such early advice legal advice can be found here.

This will allow us to make sure that you are doing the right thing by answering police questions or exercising your right to silence.

If you have already been interviewed or face court proceedings we can still make a real difference to the outcome of your case.

Legal aid may well be available to fund your defence at court.

We have offices across the East Midlands and will happily travel across the country to provide representation for all football related offences.

Alternatively you can contact us using the form below.

All posts by Andrew Wesley/h3>

The government has passed legislation which permits for the first time a new traffic camera which will assist in catching those motorists using closed lanes on the motorway network.

Enforcement of red x offences

The Secretary of State grants type approval only to devices that have a high degree of accuracy and reliability in performance. This is assessed through rigorous testing by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Division of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), formerly the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), and the police in the field.

Testing ensures that all devices are robust, reliable in operation and can produce accurate readings or images under a variety of extreme conditions. The courts and public at large can, therefore, rely on the evidence they produce.

So-called ‘smart motorways’ increase road capacity by converting what used to be the hard shoulder into a fully functioning traffic lane. If a car does breaks down and needs to utilise that lane, a red X sign is displayed to signal to motorists approaching that the lane is closed.

Regrettably, and somewhat puzzling, is the high number of motorists who ignore the lane closure, placing themselves and others at immense risk of death or injury.

Research suggests that up to 1 in 5 motorists ignore the red x restrictions.

How will the new cameras work?

From June 2019 the new camera will capture the number plates of offending motorists committing red x offences, and significantly will be admissible as evidence in court – this is likely to lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people being given fixed penalties of a £100 fine and 3 penalty points.

Highways England has been working with manufacturers to modify the existing REDFLEXhadecs3 speed enforcement device to prosecute Red X and speed offences simultaneously. This has been developed primarily for the English motorway network.

This device will be used to prove an offence under section 36(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 consisting in the failure to comply with an indication given by a light signal that vehicular traffic is not to proceed and/or an offence under section 36(1) of that Act consisting in the failure to comply with an indication given by a light signal to vehicular traffic not to enter, or proceed in, a traffic lane.

It can also be used to prove an offence under section 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 consisting in a contravention of regulation 9 of the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 (restriction on the use of hard shoulders) by the driving of a vehicle on the hard shoulder of a motorway.

Contact an expert motoring law solicitor

Our motoring team has extensive experience of dealing with cases right up to the Court of Appeal and geography will not be a bar to instructing us.  We will travel anywhere in the country to protect a motorist’s driving licence.

We will always investigate the circumstances of your case and see whether legal aid is available for your free representation in your motoring law case before the Magistrates’ Court.  You can read more about the legal aid scheme here.

If you are not eligible than we will provide representation in your road traffic case for a fixed fee.  This will allow you to know about and budget for the cost of your legal fees.  You can read about these fees here.

You can find your nearest office here.  Alternatively you can use the contact form below.

All posts by Andrew Wesley/h3>

On 16th May 2019 the controversial Offensive Weapons bill received Royal Assent, bringing into law the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.

Why were new weapons laws thought necessary?

This legislation has been passed in order to assist in stemming the current problems in relation to knife crime and other serious offending involving weapons.  Whether or not it will be successful remains to be seen.

These new weapons laws do, however, bring in a number of new measure that we will be monitoring closely.

Are the new laws in force now?

As with most Acts of Parliament different provisions come in to force at different times.  As a result, if you have any questions please consult us to ascertain the up to date position.

What are the main changes?

New offences:

Sale of corrosive products to persons under 18

This offence carries a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment and may present a significant challenge for some smaller retailers.  They will need to ensure that comprehensive training is provided to all sales staff to avoid the potential prosecution and punishment.

The offence of having a corrosive substance in a public place

This offence carries a maximum sentence of 4 years’ imprisonment.

The offence of breaching knife crime prevention order

This offence carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment.

Sale etc. of bladed articles to persons under 18

This provision extends existing law but introduces several complex challenges for retailers.

Online retailers will also be affected by these provisions.

Knife Crime Prevention Orders:

This new order is essentially a ‘knife crime ASBO’.  It is one of the most stringent preventative orders ever to have been brought into law.

This aspect of the new weapons laws has been widely condemned.  The scheme is likely to be piloted first in London.  The implementation is likely to be extremely controversial.  We are currently awaiting further details of the pilot along with statutory guidance on their use.

Other changes of note:

• Amendments to the definition of “flick knife” to cover knives fully opened from a partially open condition and by ‘manual pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the knife’. This change will close existing ‘loopholes’ in the current legislation
• Prohibition on the possession of certain dangerous knives
• Prohibition on the possession of offensive weapons on further education premises
• Prohibition on the possession of offensive weapons (numerous statutory amendments)

Numerous changes to offences concerning:

• The offence of threatening with an offensive weapon etc. in a public place etc
• The offence of threatening with an offensive weapon etc. on further education premises
• The offence of threatening with an offensive weapon etc. in a private place
• Searches for corrosive substance on school or further education premises
• Various firearms offences

We will be carefully monitoring the implementation of these new measures to ensure that we are always able to provide up to date and comprehensive advice to our clients, whether in police interview or at court.

Contact an expert about the new weapons laws

If you are arrested or know that the police wish to speak to you about any offending involving a weapon then make sure you insist on your right to free and independent legal advice.  The courts will always take such offences seriously upon conviction.

The advantages of such early advice legal advice can be found here.

If you have already been interviewed or face court proceedings we can still make a real difference to the outcome of your case.

Legal aid may well be available to fund your defence at court.

We have offices across the East Midlands and will happily travel across the country to provide representation for all football related offences.

Alternatively you can contact us using the form below.