"Robbosliding QC
" A QC I am not. I'll clear that up now. I do have some knowledge and experience of the Criminal Justice System and I think it far from ideal. Of course as a biker and a citizen things like this make my blood boil but look. You have reacted in exactly the way the media intended. "Cop gets off". Typical tabloid type headline written to provoke and promote sales of newspapers.
It is written to suggest the driver to be at fault and the biker innocent with a selective amount of disclosed facts. Without a court scrutinising evidence miscarriages of justice would regularly occur with innocent folk getting locked up for police success stories and "public confidence". The whole point of the immensely annoying and undermining "discontinuances" is to prevent innocent people getting sentenced. I agree with you that she should have been prosecuted for using the phone if it was shown she was on the phone whilst driving but it looks like CPS missed that by charging DBCD and not adding "use mobile phone" to the tariff- they went for the whole hog and missed the boat.
OK, try and look at it this way. If you were riding "enthusiatically" one minute passing cars at "a percieved but not evidenced speed" and an accident occured down the road and lets say you killed a driver in a car for arguments sake. The real facts were that you slowed down for the junction and the driver was totally at fault but there were no witnesses to say otherwise. Would it be right that evidence gathered by police from the car drivers you passed at excess speed minutes earlier concluded that "It would have been the bikers fault, he was speeding". Its the same thing here. It would appear she has benefitted from doubt cast. A Jury member will be directed by an experienced Judge who will direct/advise them to prevent miscarriages of justice. It is actually there to protect the innocent however the by product is the guilty sometimes walk free. Just for one minute open your mind to this. She did use her phone but she put it down to negotiate the junction. The biker overtook on the junction and is actually at fault - The police, new young traffic officer makes the evidence fit for his first successful fatal investigation. He does it out of over zealousness, not maliace.This is why the system is not perfect and safe gaurds are put in place but even then it isn't without fault.
I completely empathise, relate to and feel your frustration but this is a headline grabbing report designed to captivate and outrage bikers, now lets not let the facts get in the way of a good story!!!!
In 1998 I was investigated for an allegation of attempt murder. I provided my own defence out of neccesity and after 18 months of immense stress the case was dropped citing "no case to answer". I have studied Criminal Law and what may surprise some is I don't resent the police for what I went through. They were doing their job and they did it objectively achieving a proper and correct result. Just like this MCN report, some mud has been thrown and some will presume I did something violent to become a suspect. I won't go into details (thank God I hear Bobtra69 say) but some reading this will now put me in a criminal box because of that allegation. On the flip side I recently suffered a serious injury as a result of assault. The CPS discontinued the case. As clear cut as it was I wasn't surprised (I hold realistic expectations - important in this arena). The bullshit system is nonetheless the established system. It is inadequate, antiquated and at times hugely disappointing but it is the system and it won't get changed - the Barristers both defence and Prosecution will see to that - they earn too much money through it. Highly expensive and ineffective IMHO. Did you know that Barristers who earn their money in a career of defence can go on to be Crown Court Judges - how mercenary is that - or not? Perhaps make an outstanding Judge as he will see throught the muddy waters of the Defence? Seems wrong to me though.
Bobtra69, please forgive me if I have been a little lengthy but a string of comments and speculation (of which most I agree with in spirit) need a little more discussion and substance if this forum is not going to degenerate into a Kangaroo court. She may well have been guilty as sin but I stick to my point - better a murderer go free than an innocent man go prison.
Added to that Bobtra69, I have the right of free speech on this public forum....... so now then, human rights...............................
