The Christmas Horror Story – Santa Behind Bars!

At the start of November 2021 Santa Claus received a notice of intended prosecution for an offence of speeding in his sleigh. However, as he had a very important delivery to make in the following month, and couldn’t afford to lose his licence, he asked his chief elf, Elsie Sparkledust, to admit that she was driving his sleigh at the time of the alleged offence and accept the penalty points on his licence instead of Santa’s.

Always keen to be helpful and supportive, Elsie agreed to help Santa as Santa’s driving licence was more important than hers and she didn’t want to disappoint Santa who always seemed to be under so much pressure at this time of year. As Santa already had 6 points on his licence for foolishly speaking to Mrs Klaus on his mobile phone during the delivery last year, if he admitted to being the driver for this latest matter of speeding he would risk another 6 points and be subject to the totting up provisions and face a disqualification from driving for 6 months.

Santa completed the notice of intended prosecution naming Elsie Sparkledust as the driver. What Santa didn’t realise, is the Police had photographic evidence of who was driving the sleigh that night, and the image clearly shows a tubby, bearded man in a red suit driving the sleigh and not a petite female elf!

Both Santa and Elsie Sparkledust have knowingly perverted the course of justice and in doing so have jeopardised not only the Christmas delivery they were so concerned about but they also face a high risk being locked in a cell for some considerable time!

The offence of Perverting the Course of Justice (PCOJ) is committed when acts do or intend to pervert the course of justice are done. The offence, therefore, includes acts that attempt to pervert the course of justice and it does not matter if the act results in a perversion of the course of justice.

The offence of Perverting the Course of Justice is committed when an accused:

• does an act or series of acts;
• which has or have a tendency to pervert; and
• which is or are intended to pervert;
• the course of public justice.

When the ticket office staff grew suspicious of the completed notice naming Elsie, both Santa and Elsie Sparkledust were required to attend the police station for a police interview following a police investigation.

The Crown Prosecution Service will consider whether to lay PCOJ charges against both Santa and Elsie Sparkledust following their police interview and the police investigation. This can even be the case if they come clean during interview.

The CPS decide to charge Santa and Elsie Sparkledust with perverting the course of justice as;

• Their acts have wrongfully exposed Elsie Sparkledust and put her at risk of prosecution;
• They have obstructed a police investigation;
• Their acts were premeditated and prolonged; and
• The acts strike the proceedings in a “fundamental way” as the false details provided are intended to avoid a totting up disqualification being imposed.

The offence is a serious offence that is not taken lightly by the Crown Court when imposing the sentence. Santa and Elsie Sparkledust will be required to attend the Magistrates’ Court for the case to be sent to the Crown Court where the sentencing powers are unlimited, and attend the Crown Court for sentencing. The current Crown Prosecution Service guidelines recommend an average sentence length of between 4 and 36 months if convicted.

The Court will consider the following:

1. The seriousness of the offence or alleged offence to which the perverting of the course of justice related;
2. The degree of persistence in the perversion; and
3. The effect of the attempt to pervert the course of justice on the course of justice itself.

Santa deeply regrets his decision to pervert the course of justice as in hindsight, even if he had totted up and reached 12 points, he could have put forward an exceptional hardship argument and avoided the totting up disqualification rather than making the situation worse for him, and his loyal employee, Elsie Sparkledust. Santa could have even insured Elsie Sparkledust to drive his sleigh to deliver his presents which would have allowed Santa to enjoy one or two alcoholic drinks left by grateful parents.

Santa and Elsie Sparkledust have decided to plead guilty rather than try to defend the case with a jury trial. They now face a lengthy prison sentence in Santa’s least favourite coloured clothes, orange.

Santa’s situation is one of many examples of what can constitute PCOJ. Other examples can include:

• Making a false allegation of a crime;
• Assisting a person to evade arrest by the police;
• Interfering with witnesses, evidence or jurors;
• Publishing material that could prejudice a fair trial; and
• Taking penalty points for someone else when you were not the driver.

It is vital that you take legal advice if you believe you have perverted the course of justice even before you have been charged. This offence does not have a “one size fits all” approach and cases need to be assessed individually for advice and strategy.

The legal team at Geoffrey Miller can provide advice on these tricky situations and have successfully avoided PCOJ charges being laid for clients previously. It may be possible to avoid a charge of PCOJ being laid if the proceedings are at a very early stage and the action taken has minor impact on those proceedings.