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Sentencing – Road traffic offences – Sentence discounting. Sheriff Appeal Court: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was offered a fixed penalty notice with a £100 fine and 3 penalty points in respect of a speeding offence but was unable to pay, and in proceedings raised in the Justice of the Peace Court pled guilty at the first opportunity and was fined £315, reduced by discount from £460, and received 4 penalty points, with no discount being applied to the penalty points, the court held that penalty points were susceptible to discount in the same way as any other penalty and the consideration of public protection did not justify declining to discount for an early plea of guilty, the Justice therefore erred in considering that public protection provided a valid reason for declining to discount the 4 penalty points, however given the speed at which the appellant was travelling the imposition of 4 penalty points was not excessive or inappropriate so as to represent a miscarriage of justice.
Sentencing – Road traffic offences – Sentence discounting. Sheriff Appeal Court: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was offered a fixed penalty notice with a £100 fine and 3 penalty points in respect of a speeding offence but was unable to pay, and in proceedings raised in the Justice of the Peace Court pled guilty at the first opportunity and was fined £315, reduced by discount from £460, and received 4 penalty points, with no discount being applied to the penalty points, the court held that penalty points were susceptible to discount in the same way as any other penalty and the consideration of public protection did not justify declining to discount for an early plea of guilty, the Justice therefore erred in considering that public protection provided a valid reason for declining to discount the 4 penalty points, however given the speed at which the appellant was travelling the imposition of 4 penalty points was not excessive or inappropriate so as to represent a miscarriage of justice.
Chair of the Bar reports back
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
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