Donnachie Law, Court Solicitors

07/09/2022

22/01/2022

If you didn’t know this before, ye ken noo!

Cars must leave at least 1.5 metres room when passing bicycles - while revised guidance also says "it can be safer" for cyclists to ride two abreast.

30/05/2016

A motorist who refused then failed to provide a specimen of breath when required to do so has lost his appeal against the forfeiture of his car. He had a previous conviction (in 2009) for failing to provide a specimen, as well as a number of other previous convictions including one from the High Court; and some for disorder offences. He was banned from driving for 4 years but no fine was imposed by the Sheriff. The car was thought to be a valuable one. The forfeiture issue was the sole matter before the Sheriff Appeal Court.

In concluding that the forfeiture order was not excessive, the Sheriff Appeal Court looked into the offence itself, the appellant's record (including the directly analogous previous conviction) and the reported prevalence of such offences in the locality (Shetland).

The Opinion of the Court was delivered by Sheriff Principal M M Stephen QC. It can be accessed here: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/sheriff-appeal-court-(criminal)/duncan-john-dec.pdf?status=Temp&sfvrsn=0.6213757691439241&utm_source=Scottish+Legal+News&utm_campaign=30e645b3f2-SLN_25_05_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_07336e1dbf-30e645b3f2-66732081

18/04/2016

A driver who committed 2 serious road traffic offences within 10 days of one another in August last year has lost his appeal against forfeiture of his vehicle (valued at about £15,000). He had also been: (1) fined (a) £750 (discounted from £1,000, because of an early guilty plea) for drink driving; and (b) £1,200 (discounted from £1,500, again, because of an early guilty plea) for failure to provide a specimen; and (2) banned from driving for 3 years. (The appeal related only to the forfeiture.)
The Sheriff Appeal Court held that the forfeiture, when considered against the fines and ban, was not disproportionate and that the sheriff had taken all relevant factors into account, including the driver's attitude to the offences; and the fact he was on bail in relation to the first offence when he committed the second one.
Sheriff Principal C A L Scott, QC, Vice-President of the Sheriff Appeal Court, delivered the Opinion of the Court, which can be accessed on: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/sheriff-appeal-court-(criminal)/li-chenao.pdf?sfvrsn=2&utm_source=Scottish+Legal+News&utm_campaign=c32cca6311-SLN_22_03_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_07336e1dbf-c32cca6311-66732081

06/04/2016

A driver who pled guilty to careless driving by tailgating has lost his appeal against the imposition of 8 penalty points on his driving licence. (The points range for careless driving is 3-9; and the court has a discretion to disqualify.) The Sheriff who imposed the 8 points could, therefore, have imposed 9 points; and could have disqualified, but chose not to.
Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen QC delivered the opinion of the court, which can be accessed here: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/sheriff-appeal-court-(criminal)/mcinally-mark.pdf?sfvrsn=2&utm_source=Scottish+Legal+News&utm_campaign=f2c5acee96-SLN_22_03_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_07336e1dbf-f2c5acee96-66732081

10/01/2014

Our new website is now live at http://www.donnachielaw.com!

We'd love it if you had 5 minutes to check it out!

Is your driving licence at risk? We're on your side whether it is mounting a defence or submitting mitigating circumstances