Arresting officer not available for court

Convicted Driver Insurance

jon

New Member
In my case the arresting officer did not attend court and the PF claim that because he has moved to a different area (from grampian to tay side) they have sent a citation through his old division but have no idea if he has recieved it. He then failed to appear in court and the trail was put off untill february. The second officer did however appear. But my question is, if he does not show up again, will affect the case against me in anyway. i.e will it go ahead, delayed, thrown out etc.

Obviously i am pleading Not guilty.


thanks
 
The Scottish legal system is a completely different jurisdiction to England and Wales. You should seek advice from a Scottish lawyer immediately. In England and Wales, ordinarily, any witness in a case must attend court in person to give their evidence and written statements are inadmissible. If either side wanted to rely on a written statement instead of calling a witness to court then they can only do so with the agreement of the other side or by asking the court to allow the written statement to be used under the hearsay rules. Under English law there are specific grounds that must be satisfied before the court can allow hearsay evidence (such as a written statement) to be used in court but I cannot advise you about the rules in Scotland.

In England or Wales, if the officer failed to attend next time then the first question would be whether the prosecution could prove all the necessary elements of the offence without him. If they could then they may just decide to go ahead with the case and there would be no need to adjourn again. If not, then they would have no option but to ask for another adjournment. I would object to this and ask the prosecution to produce evidence of the steps taken to secure the officer's attendance. The Court must decide whether to adjourn or not based on the interests of justice test, weighing all relevant factors in the balance. If the court refused the adjournment then the prosecution would be unable to prove the case and it would be dismissed. This decision could mean the difference between winning and losing the case. For this reason it is important that your objections are well argued.

If you need help in finding a Scottish solicitor who specialises in drink driving cases then I can point you in the right direction.
 
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