The defendant appealed a refusal of legal aid. She wished to establish that her drink had been spiked, and thus to establish special reasons for not being disqualified for driving with excess alcohol.
Held: Expert evidence would assist the magistrates in deciding the matter. That would not be available without expert evidence, and therefore legal aid was necessary.
Judges:
Lord Justice Mccowan -And- Mr Justice Popplewell
Citations:
[1997] EWHC Admin 373
Links:
Citing:
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v O’Connor and Chapman and Others 1991
The court looked at the elements needed to be established to support a defence to a charge of driving with excess alcohol on the basis that the defendant’s drinks had been spiked: ‘On the authorities, it is now clearly established that the matters . .
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Vincent QBD 1992
(Year?) ‘From the authorities the following principles can be established. Firstly, it is for the defendant on the balance of probability to establish that his drink had been laced unknown to him. Secondly, it is very rarely that a court will be . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Road Traffic, Magistrates, Legal Aid
Updated: 25 May 2022; Ref: scu.137318