September 2016 - Page 2 of 4 - Forrest Williams Archive - Forrest Williams - page 2 September 2016 - Page 2 of 4 - Forrest Williams

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Archive for September, 2016

Drug Driving Solicitors Get Case Dropped Against Client

Drug Driving Solicitors Get Case Dropped Against Client

 

In Nottingham Magistrates’ Court this week, our client, Matthew Dunn, was elated to be informed by Steve Williams, one of the Directors of Forrest Williams, that the drug driving charges against him had been discontinued.

 

Initially charged several months ago with blood results allegedly over the legal limit for both THC (Cannabis) and MDMA (Ecstacy), we advised Matthew to challenge the reliability of the blood testing procedure for these new offences.

 

Our drug driving solicitors worked closely with independent forensic scientific companies, we at Forrest Williams are well aware that many errors are being made with the taking, storing and processing of blood samples, as police forces throughout the country struggle to implement the government’s new legislation regarding drug driving offences.

 

As it was very important to Matthew that he try to avoid a disqualification from driving if at all possible, we agreed to review in detail the paperwork relating to his case, which we obtained from the Crown Prosecution Service.

 

It quickly became apparent that several errors had been made as regards the procedure which has to be followed by the police and the medic involved, including the non-entering of a serial number on the MG DD/B form, which relates to the taking of blood samples at the police station.

 

In addition, there were errors in the witness statement of the person who had processed the blood sample at the laboratory used by the police.

 

There was also an issue as regards our client actually giving his informed consent to have samples of blood taken within the police station.

 

On the day of the trial this week, Steve Williams was preparing to cross examine the police officer involved in administering the blood sample procedure when it became apparent that the wrong police officer had attended the hearing. The officer present confirmed he had not been involved in the procedure at all, so therefore could not answer any questions relating to it.

 

The bench retired and considered the flaws in the case. An early decision was made to discontinue the charges against our client, on the basis that fatal flaws in the Crown’s case had been highlighted, and this meant there was now a much-reduced prospect of conviction.

 

Once again, Forrest Williams has been instrumental in challenging the reliability of evidence obtained and collated as a result of recently implemented legislation.

 

For Matthew Dunn, in practical terms this means that he can continue to work as a skilled operative within the building trade, a job which requires he have the ability to travel all over the country. 

 

If you need expert drug driving solicitors, call our dedicated team now on 01623 397200.

 

 

 

Drink Driving Lawyers Avoid Prison For Second Time Offender

Drink Driving Lawyers Avoid Prison For Second Time Offender

 

Billy came to us as a desperate man in need of the best drink driving lawyers.

 

He had been charged with Drink Driving, and what made things worse was it was his second offence within 10 years so the court would be taking this very seriously.

 

Billy’s reading was 147 in breath.  High.  Very high.

 

It was one of the highest readings our drink driving lawyers had seen at Forrest Williams.

 

Billy was very realistically facing an immediate custodial sentence.

 

We worked with Billy from day one to try and avoid this.

 

We spoke with Billy about the possibility of him having an alcohol misuse issue.

 

Billy was not the typical alcoholic, the popularly imagined character who replaced the water in his water bottle with vodka and sipped that at work.

 

Billy’s story was completely different.

 

Billy had recently separated from his long term partner and so was currently readjusting to life on his own. Shortly before Billy and his partner separated, they were beginning to go through the adoption process.

 

On the night before he was arrested for drink driving, his now ex-partner sent him a photo of him, his new partner and the two children that they had successfully adopted.

 

Understandably Billy was distraught by this news, and like many others, he took comfort in alcohol to make the pain go away.

 

The next morning, Billy went to the shops when he was stopped by the police and found to be over the limit.  He was arrested by the police for Drink Driving.

 

Billy was fully compliant with the police.

 

When we spoke to Billy about this charge, we reached the decision together that whilst Billy is not by any means dependant on Alcohol, he does drink too much and this does need addressing.

 

Billy attended a couple of support sessions before the court hearing and obtained evidence that he had already taken action to address this issue.

 

We prepared Billy’s mitigation focusing on avoiding an immediate custodial sentence, and gathered supporting documents that strengthened his case.  

 

We then appointed one of our senior barristers who specialises in Drink Driving to represent Billy at the court hearing.

 

Billy attended, fully expecting to either be sent to prison that day, or for the matter to be adjourned so that he could meet with probation services before being sentenced to prison.

 

We managed to go one better.

 

We knew how much this meant to Billy, so we arranged for the probation services to meet with Billy that day so the case would be dealt with within one court hearing.

 

The sentence was in…

 

Billy was given a 6 week custodial sentence suspended for 9 months. He was ordered to complete a 10 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, and was disqualified for 36 months (the minimum for his case as it was his second offence within 10 years).

 

Billy was absolutely overjoyed by the outcome.  It was more than he had allowed himself to dream of.

 

Billy commented after the court hearing:

 

I honestly cannot thank your company enough.

 

When it’s as important as keeping your freedom, then you need to have the best on your side.  Call our expert team of drink driving lawyers on 01623 397200.

 

Expert Motoring Lawyers Receive Excellent Feedback

expert motoring lawyers

 

Expert Motoring Lawyers Receive Excellent Feedback

 

Our team of expert motoring lawyers were delighted to today receive this public feedback from a satisfied client on our Facebook page.

 

We love receiving honest feedback from clients and it was a pleasure to support this client through his case.

 

The client says:

 

A massive thank you to all the team at Forrest Williams especially Steve, your customer care and can do attitude are amazing.  I can’t recommend you enough.

 

If you need expert motoring lawyers for any type of case, call our team now on 01623 397200.

 

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