Over the weekend including Bank Holiday Monday, our phones are manned by members of the Geoffrey Miller Team. If you need motoring law advice over the bank holiday weekend you can seek help from us IMMEDIATELY rather than wait until Tuesday 28th May when our offices are fully open.
The personnel on call over the weekend are as follows:
Vicky Miller – Friday 24 May 2013
Vicky Miller – Saturday 25 May 2013
Paul Loughlin – Sunday 26 May 2013
Alison Ashworth– Monday 27 May 2013
Our phone lines 0800 1389 123 will be operative from 10am until 10pm and sometimes beyond these hours. All messages will be returned within 12 hours.
All members of the motoring law team are passionate about the clients’ cases we deal with.
To give you a flavour of some of our 2013 successes, here’s what each of our weekend call handlers said about their most satisfying case result so far this year:
My most satisfying success of 2013 was an excess alcohol case where my client had a sample of urine taken by the police in the Bedford and Luton area. Upon analysis, the forensic laboratory used by the police claimed to have found that our client’s sample contained enough alcohol to put him over the limit. My client was adamant upon being charged that he wanted to defend his case as he truly did not believe that he was over the prescribed limit of alcohol. Very early on in the case we discovered that there were mathematical flaws in the analysis carried out by the laboratory used in my client’s case. Despite this the Crown were persistent in taking their case to trial.
I remained focussed and confident that we would secure my client’s acquittal at trial. 8 days before the trial was due to take place the Crown served upon us a notice of discontinuance as they did not have enough evidence to secure a conviction against our client. This case was the most satisfying as I was able to achieve a fantastic result for my client without the need for him attending a trial.
Of the cases I have been involved in so far in 2013 my most satisfying was an excess alcohol case. After discussing his various options the client was decided that he would go ahead with a guilty plea. This was one of the few cases where the client could accept a disqualification without any serious consequence to his day to day life. There was no necessity to use his vehicle for work and his employers were understanding of his position. A disqualification was accepted by the client however the threat of a Community Order was most concerning to the client. The implications of the level of alcohol provided in breath were such that a Low Level Community order was to be considered as a starting point alongside a disqualification within the sentencing guidelines. This would have been disastrous for the client as this would have impacted seriously upon both his position in work and his day to day life.
I attended the hearing in Stockport Magistrates’ Court and the Magistrates accepted my arguments, supported by character references and other evidence, that our client’s circumstances were such that a fine would be more appropriate than a Community Order. As an added bonus the client was also given maximum credit in respect of the length of disqualification imposed. Whilst this was not a case were the client was acquitted it was a result that showed the Court departing from the sentencing guidelines that was proportionately just as important to that particular client.
Alison Ashworth
My most satisfying win of 2013 so far involved a client who was charged with failure to provide a specimen. Throughout the case, we faced many hurdles and delays which were caused by the prosecution who were not prepared to consider the evidence which we obtained in defence of our client. We identified numerous flaws in the police station procedure, the CCTV appeared to have been tampered with, and there were serious doubts over whether the breathalyser machine itself was working properly. On discovering these issues, we invited the Crown to discontinue their case against our client in light of the growing defence case. The Crown refused. Eventually, due to the serious issues in the case, we listed an abuse of process hearing to fight over the Prosecution’s conduct in Court.
We served a skeleton argument ahead of the hearing, outlining the Prosecution’s failings, and they did not respond, nor was there a need for the hearing after all, since the prosecution dropped the case against our client. This victory was particularly sweet due to the personal way in which our client felt he had been victimised and treated unfairly through no fault of his own. Thankfully and deservedly, he is still on the roads and is lodging a formal complaint against the police and prosecution as a result of what happened to him.
We know that as soon as you have placed your instructions with us you will regain some of your peace of mind and so urge you to call us now to see how we can help you. 0800 1389 123
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Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialists defending drivers nationwide for all types of driving offences. Call our team of expert driving offence solicitors for some free initial advice.
You can also book an appointment with Jeanette Miller a.k.a. Miss Justice using our online booking system. If Jeanette is unavailable for your preferred date and time you can book an appointment with a member of our legal team. Please have as much information about your enquiry before the call e.g. Date of Hearing, Paperwork etc.
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