Accused of a crime but no book of evidence

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Kerrigan

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My brother runs a small couriering business, has a spotless driving licence and is 20 + years on the road.

He was on a job and accidentally tipped the bumper of another vehicle. All parties agreed there was zero damage but the owner of the other van insisted the Gardai were called. Forty minutes later; no sign of the cops so my brother tells the person that he can no longer wait as he had to be at another location but gave the individual all his details, phone number etc. Fatal error not waiting.

Months went by and no word from his insurance company until he got a call from the Guards who wanted to inspect his van. Van was inspected and no damage was evident.

One of the guards happened to mention to my brother that he believed the whole scenario was a “try on” and that when they inspected the other vehicle there was no evidence of damage to that vehicle either but they were being pressed by the other vehicle owner to make charges against my brother i.e. fleeing the scene and/or hit and run; both of which are serious crimes and enough to put my brother off the road, in jail and subsequently out of business.

After the guards inspection no more was heard for weeks, possibly months, until he was informed to appear in Court.

I went for support and we sat through the usual cases; dangerous driving, drink/drug fueled antisocial behaviour you name it. The judge had an emotive face for each case (rather sickening to say the least). Some people should have been hauled away in handcuffs but because the local pillars of society confirmed to the judge that the perpetrator had cleaned up their act and could not have a criminal record as that would only affect their chances of setting up a new life overseas.

We talk about vetting refugees coming into this country; how about other countries vetting the Irish who have committed crimes but the judiciary sees it fit not to issue a custodial sentence as it might hamper the perpetrators new life in the sun!

My brother’s case came up and he was asked to plead; he pleaded not guilty. The judge had the audacity to ask him why he was wasting his (judges) time. I thought I was hearing things. The guard spoke and told the judge the same as I have described.

The individual who initiated all of this failed to show in court and apparently will not be pursuing; however the guards are pursuing it as a case of hit and run. Nobody was hurt and zero damage was caused.

The gardai failed to provide evidence in court but informed the judge they had evidence which my brother has yet to see.

Should my brother have been issued with a book of evidence by now?

The entire situation is bizarre.
 
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District Court = Summary case = No book of evidence.

I would retain a solicitor to try and get this prosecution bounced if there is no new evidence by the next court date.

Obligations of the parties in the event of an accident are covered principally by S. 106 RTA 1961 - Link http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1961/act/24/section/106/enacted/en/html#zza24y1961s106

You will note the obligation is to remain at the scene for a reasonable period of time - not forever.

P.S. If this goes sour there is a right of appeal to the Circuit Court. However, this is better killed off in the District Court in the first instance.
 
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Thank you D.D.

Excuse my ignorance but should all evidence automatically be shown to him prior to the next court date? The first court appearance and now the second court appearance are in very close proximity to one another.

Would it be wise for him to contact Garda station directly and ask to see evidence or am I being naive?
 
@Kerrigan - doubtless expert advice from Direct Devil, but I would be on the phone right now to speak to my solicitor (as he suggests) .. rather than wait for more comments here.
 
The District Court can be like a football match i.e you deal with what turns up on the pitch, on the day, including the evidence.

If there was some kind of complex evidence to be presented I would expect that a case would be adjourned for enough time to allow the defence to consider or investigate it so that there is a fair chance for the accused. However, this looks like a case to be dealt with on the simple facts. That being the case I would not really expect some kind of grand disclosure especially if the complainant does not give evidence.

The failure of the complainant to show up might be the real reason why the Gardaí sought an adjournment ! The evidence of the complainant might be the "evidence" that your brother has yet to see. The complainant's evidence must be given by the complainant, in person, in the court. i.e. Gardaí cannot just hand in the complainant's statement as his evidence as it, and he in particular, must be available to be cross-examined or challenged.

I would not be too inclined to ask the Gardaí for evidence in advance. If it is something of great moment that your brother might not be able to deal with on the day you can always seek an adjournment for the reason set out above. Tactically, I would not go looking for evidence as that could display undue anxiety.

In summary, I recommend very strongly that your brother engages a solicitor who deals with RTA type cases as that is the best chance of getting this thing sorted out. It might be a bit expensive but a successful acquittal would pay for itself in terms of saved insurance costs for a conviction.
 
Your brother should have gone to his local Garda station and reported the accident, especially given the Gardaí had been called. In fairness, look at this from the Gardaí and judge's point. An accident happened, the Gardaí are called, one of the people involved didn't bother staying so regardless of the damage to either vehicle, it looks at first glance as a straight-forward hit and run and the Gardaí have only one side of the story

It then makes you wonder why is the other party pushing this? If your brother is convicted will it be followed up with a damages claim?

he needs a good solicitor, District Courts can be a lottery depending on what side of the bed the judge got out of
 
Thanks guys for the feedback.

Hi T.D.M, the guard who inspected both vehicles did say they believed it was a "try on" so you are most likely correct that it will be followed by a damages claim.

The judge asked the guard was my brother a flight risk; which I though was odd. He has no convictions for anything. His stupidity by not waiting around has caused a huge mess. I understand he is meeting with a solicitor today so I will keep the thread updated.
 
Update:

Solicitor engaged. To reiterate Leo's previous post . . . the solicitor said exactly the same.

On further investigation CCTV footage of the incident was requested resulting in the solicitor saying my brother had waited all reasonable time at the incident etc.

The solicitor is hopeful that case will be struck out.
 
AFAIK gardai will not come out to an accident unless someone is injured, so if your brother had an accident where there were no injuries and no damage done, I'm not sure why the gardai were called at all? Secondly, I thought a hit and run specifically referred to leaving the scene of an accident without leaving details (contact details, insurance details), which your brother didn't do? I mean, he can't hang around forever.
 
Since my last post my brother has engaged a solicitor. The solicitor has been successful in quashing the hit and run allocation as cctv footage proved he stead at the scene beyond the time frame as stated by law. If he had pleaded guilty; as I felt the Judge wanted him too, then he would have been off the road and out of business and would never have been aware that he done nothing wrong insofar as leaving the scene of a hit and run.

Of course there was a catch to this good news i.e. he must pay the other van driver for damages caused!!! We all know there was no damage caused but the Judge insisted the bill must be paid. My brother is contesting this and of course he is losing work because of the amount of time he is spending with his solicitor.

The bill produced by the van driver is for a couple of thousand euro which is farcical. Not once has he approached my brothers insurance company but merely wants to be paid in cash!!! The work to this drivers vehicle has yet to be fixed and all he has to offer is a quotation from a random mechanic - no doubt a friend of his. He has simply refused to obtain other quotes yet our wonderful judge wants this bill paid.
 
@ Kerrigan,
Something has been out of sync since the beginning of this. The Gardai generally, dont waste everyone's time with this type of carry-on unless there is more to it than meets the eye, even most Judges, not all, have some common sense to see through a lot of bullish behavior.

If this were me, and I found myself being frogmarched down this very road, I would engage a motor Engineer, Plenty of them about, and if he is as sure about the lack of damage caused, pay €200 for a report and an opinion on the matter.

Unfortunately, bumper impacts can cause serious damage to the structure of a vehicle without any evidence to the contact point due the the flexibility of the plastic material and paint.

The other side to this is, If there is no damage, and the other individual is trying it on, I would love nothing more than to see the person be held accountable for his actions. It never fails to get my blood going as much as when someone in court has being proved, to be lying about their injuries, for them to just withdraw their claim and move on without any repercussions.
 
Even if there is genuine damage to the vehicle, while the owner may be entitled to compensation for that damage, they are under no obligation whatsoever to actually carry out the repairs. They are free to take the cash settlement and use that as they see fit.
 
LS400 said:
Unfortunately, bumper impacts can cause serious damage to the structure of a vehicle without any evidence to the contact point due the the flexibility of the plastic material and paint.
Click to expand...

Happened me once. Gently rear-ended in slow-moving traffic. Excused the other driver and shook hands. Thought nothing of it at first, but afterwards, my car's boot used fill with water every time it rained heavily.
 
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