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.
