Sean Joyce

The definition of theft under Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 is the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it. Picking up cash found on the street (which is the...

This week retired, Welsh, international rugby player, Gareth Thomas, went public with his decision to agree that the police should use restorative justice to deal with teenagers who were responsible for what has been described as a homophobic attack...

A regular issue that arises with commercial vehicle operators (both PSV and HGV) that we represent at Public Inquiry before the Traffic Commissioner, is the legal entity of the “person” or business that holds the operators licence. Often the...

Carlos Tevez has been in the news a lot recently and not always for his skills with a football. Mr Tevez has been before Macclesfield Magistrates Court previously with the assistance of a specialist motoring law solicitor . He has been looking for ways...

On the 3rd of September 2012, a man was stopped for speeding in Whiston in Merseyside. When he was pulled over by the Police he gave his details as Mr Matthew Morley and provided a date of birth and a home address. Despite providing an incorrect address and...

Any criminal solicitor worth his salt will be able to tell you that crashing a recently stolen vehicle into a Police Officer's car is not going to end well. This was exactly what happened to a Mr Beard who was already well known to the...

Attending court for anything can be very daunting. However, nothing feels quite so serious as attending a criminal court as a defendant. Some tachograph offences may be dealt with in the Magistrates Court but more serious tachograph falsification...

The Vehicle Operator Services Agency (“VOSA”) investigates and prosecutes offences of tachograph falsification. The road transport law department at Stephensons Solicitors LLP has noticed that, these days, VOSA tend to target their resources on...

Drivers who were convicted of speeding on the M42 motorway may be able to challenge the conviction. The warning comes after the Crown Prosecution Service alerted Warwickshire Police to the fact that the font used to...

Mr John Moir has recently appeared before the Magistrates Court and received his 43rd disqualification from driving after reportedly previously telling the Police that even facing jail would not deter him from driving again on the roads....

When weather conditions worsen over the winter months there is an increase in road traffic accidents. Many drivers are aware of the problems this can cause in raising the cost of their insurance if they are involved in an accident. However we...

Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed that they will repeat the month long crackdown on drink drivers that resulted in 1,133 arrests last December. With many Christmas and New Year parties in the coming month the number of people driving...

Gary Dobson, who was driving a BMW motorcycle, pleaded guilty to the offence of speeding at 144mph in a 70 mph zone. We are currently representing the defendant in this case to help him mitigate the sentence and reduce the length of ban he will receive. His...

Hungarian HGV driver Pal Korbely, 50, has been sentenced to 8 months in prison and disqualified from driving for 3 years after admitting dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol Mr Korbely was arrested...

Stephensons Solicitors LLP successfully defended an HGV Driver who was prosecuted by VOSA for a number of offences of breaching Drivers’ Hours Regulations. Our client had maintained from the outset that the tachograph unit in the vehicle had been...

Most of us would know Kris Marshall better from the BT advertising campaign that he has long been the star of, yet on this occasion the news has featured Mr Marshall for an appearance at the Magistrates Court theatre. The actor was charged and...

England footballers are never too far away from the news and it would appear that this observation applies equally to former players as it does to current ones. Mr Paul Merson has again made the news recently with a serious incident that...

The latest views on proposals to change the current Northern Ireland drink driving laws have come from the Environment Minister Mr Alex Attwood. He has confirmed that he wishes to push through proposals to reduce the current...

Lancashire police have announced that the factors which they believe are the four major contributors to severe road traffic crashes are to be given special attention over the next few months. The police have confirmed that the...

Linford Christie has now been sentenced for a road traffic collision that he was involved in after crashing his black Audi head on into a silver Mercedes taxi that was in the opposing lane. The crash happened in Buckinghamshire and the case was...

The summer campaign to combat drink driving and drug driving by Cheshire police has got off to a fast start with 70 people having been arrested within the borders of Cheshire within the last two weeks. A month long campaign in June last year...

The latest news from the Magistrates Court involved a gentleman from Blackburn, in the County of Lancashire, who is driving on our public roads with a grand total of 30 points endorsed on his driving licence. He was able to convince Magistrates that he...

The latest large scale crash on our roads has occurred in Lincolnshire and resulted in eight people being treated for a variety of injuries at the local hospital. The road traffic accident took place on the A17 at Fleet Hargate and the Police have confirmed...

Police forces across England & Wales have announced campaigns aimed at reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from drink driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs. Forces are conscious of the increased risk of offending during the summer...

Chris Huhne is the well known Liberal Democrat MP who is currently at the centre of a scandal for allegedly asking his wife to accept some speeding points 'on his behalf.' There is no doubt that this type of conversation is...

The corridors of power are currently full of people considering whether to provide the Police with the power to fine careless drivers at the roadside. The initiative is part of a government strategy to make Britain's roads safer and...

Two company directors have received prison sentences for their part in a conspiracy to falsify drivers’ hours records . Patrick James Boyle, 65, and Mark Anthony Boyle, 36, were directors of Boyle Transport, based in Northern Ireland. ...

The Government has created new powers to deal with uninsured vehicles. Official estimates suggest that up to 14 million motorists drive without insurance. This offence carries an endorsement of 6 - 8 points or a period of disqualification, together with a...

Mr Zaheer Patel worked at the police penalty office which deals with mobile phone offences and no insurance offences for the Lancashire police, after appearing at the Crown Court he has now pleaded guilty to eight counts of perverting the course of...

It has been interesting to note that recently the Government has been examining the possibility of introducing a criminal charge for the offence of causing death by dangerous cycling. The road traffic offence would be relatively self explanatory...

A man has avoided a prison sentence despite being caught driving his car through a city centre with a wheel missing whilst 3 times over the drink driving limit. Andrew Mackay, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and ...

The driver of a Heavy Goods Vehicle involved in a fatal collision has received a 3 year prison sentence and a 3 year disqualification from driving for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving . ...

The Government recently decided against lowering the current drink driving limit from 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood to 50 mg. The new limit, which would equate to one pint of beer, was put forward in a report by Sir Peter North. The...

Two Police Constables have denied aggravated vehicle taking following a late-night crash in Hale, Cheshire. PCs Mark Colebrook, 30 and Stuart Foy, 39 appeared before the Rochdale Magistrates’ Court on 15th March. The...

Paul Gascoigne has found himself with unwanted media attention as a friend of his hit the news after being charged with driving with excess alcohol . Michael Harvey was handed a four month suspended prison sentence after he...

Police forces across England & Wales are being told to retain and refrigerate specimens of blood and urine obtained from motorists until further notice. The Forensic Science Service (FSS), one of the main organisations responsible for...

I acted for a client accused of an offence concerning a Goods Vehicle Operator’s License. The Prosecution was brought by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). The implications of this were very serious....

Manchester Crown Court has now sentenced Stephen Benson after he admitted causing death by careless driving and conspiracy to commit fraud. He was given a custodial sentence of four years and two months and disqualified from driving...

At Bournemouth Crown Court recently Henry Wallace, who serves with the Royal Tank Regiment, pleaded guilty to drinking 11 pints of lager and six shots in just two hours and then driving a Mazda 323 sports car. ...

A new set of Government proposals will attempt to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road in the UK which is currently estimated at one million. The aim of the legislation is to reduce illegal drivers and...

Drivers in the UK could be facing a greater risk of prosecution for driving licence offences after a change in policy by the DVLA. Should a motorist receive points on their driving licence there is a requirement that the licence is...

The Road Safety Act 2006 created a number of new offences intended to impose significant penalties on drivers who are involved in fatal collisions. One of the most concerning of these offences is causing death whilst driving...

The wife and son of MP Brian Binley are facing jail at the Crown Court for Perverting the Course of Justice after a drink driving allegation that spiralled out of control. Mathew Binley, a former police officer, crashed into a bollard in the...

Musician Nick Cave recently crashed into a speed camera and roadside barrier whilst driving along the seafront near Brighton, East Sussex. Nobody was injured in the incident but the roadside barrier and speed camera were seriously damaged after Mr...

The Police in Avon and Somerset have just completed their first week of a drink driving and drug driving campaign. Operation Tonic started on 1st December 2010 and will aim to make as many arrests as possible for these types of offences...

Crawley Magistrates Court has recently heard the case of Katie Price, sometimes known as Jordan, in respect of a speeding offence where it was alleged that she drove at 83mph in her Land Rover. After a Guilty plea was entered with the Court the...

The celebrities of this world are as fallible as the rest of us and often find themselves at Court for a variety of civil and criminal matters. The case of Paul Gascoigne highlights the problems that can arise when an allegation of ...