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Special Reasons Solicitors Leeds, Wakefield & Pontefract
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As a firm of solicitors based in Wakefield and Leeds, our team of
road traffic defence lawyers are able to attend Wakefield,
Leeds, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Barnsley and Pontefract
Magistrates Courts or police stations at short notice
to defend your case.
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Special Reasons Solicitors Leeds, Wakefield & Pontefract
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Special reasons arguments.
Special reasons can be applied to any offence which
carries obligatory disqualification or penalty points
(e.g. speeding, driving without insurance, Fail to provide
etc). The following text relates to drink driving special
reasons examples and is not an exhaustive list.
Drink Driving - Avoiding disqualification by establishing
special reasons.
Despite being guilty of driving with excess alcohol
(drink driving) which carries a mandatory minimum disqualification
defendants can avoid being banned from driving by arguing
special reasons.
For a set of circumstances to amount to a special reason
there must be:
a mitigating or extenuating circumstance
not amounting in law to a defence
directly connected with the commission of the offence
which the court ought properly to take into consideration
when imposing sentence.
(Unfortunately the fact that a disqualification for
drink driving will cause the defendant exceptional hardship
cannot amount to a special reason.
The procedure is similar to a trail, subject all the
rules of evidence and procedure, but at a special reasons
hearing the burden is on the defendant (not the prosecution)
to prove his case. The defendant will give evidence
and call witnesses to establish his case and if successful
can avoid a ban despite being guilty of drink driving.
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Examples of special reasons cases:
Laced drinks
The defendant must show that his drinks were laced, that
he did not suspect his drinks had been laced and that
had the lacing not taken place then he would not have
been over the limit. In our experience a laced drinks
argument is rarely successful without the ¢lacer¢
attending court to give evidence to confirm that the drinks
were laced and it is usual for an expert biochemist to
provide a report on behalf of the defence to confirm the
mathematics of the defendant¢s argument.
Shortness of distance driven
The court will hear from the defendant, his witnesses
and usually prosecution witnesses before considering seven
established factors:
How far the vehicle was driven
In what manner it was driven
The state of the vehicle
Whether the driver intended to go further
The road and traffic conditions at the time
Whether there was a possibility of danger by coming into
contact with other road users or pedestrians
Why was the car being driven?
Emergency
Unexpected and sudden medical emergency can amount to
a special reason (and some suggest an actual defence)
but only where the defendant can show that there was no
alternative but to drive and that all other avenues had
been explored without success.
There are many scenarios that can amount to special reasons
and careful consideration has to be given to each case
before a decision can be reached as to whether to run
a special reasons argument or not.
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Special Reasons Solicitors Leeds Wakefield Pontefract
Daniel Smith
Special Reasons Solicitor, Leeds / Wakefield / Pontefract. Daniel obtained an LLB
Hons in 1998 having previously worked in stock management/retailing
for a West Yorkshire plc dealing with a multi-million pound budget.
John Wilkinson
Special Reasons Solicitor, Leeds / Wakefield / Pontefract. John holds the Higher
Rights of Audience (Criminal Courts) qualification, enabling him to
conduct cases himself without a Barrister at the Crown Court.
Katie Edmondson
Special Reasons Solicitor, Leeds / Wakefield / Pontefract. Katie Graduated with an
Honours degree in Law at Sheffield Hallam University before completing
her post-graduate studies at the College of Law in York.
Emma Radley
Special Reasons Solicitor, Leeds / Wakefield / Pontefract. Emma graduated from Liverpool University in 2004 with an Hons degree in Law. She then obtained a
Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law in
York. |
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