Firstly, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Black as an Assistant from 2nd June 2008. Martin is a top specialist road traffic lawyer and has successfully defended motoring prosecutions the length and breadth of the country. Michael and Martin have previously worked together, wholly specialising in road traffic law in Scoland. Martin has an amazing knowledge of all the complex and technical aspects of speeding offences and detection in Scotland, including the proper use of VASCAR, Prolaser III and the Lti20-20. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.
Michael Lyon is now a regular guest on Talk Radio's "Ask The Expert" slot. Following a lively show earlier this month, Michael Lyon has been asked to appear in a regular hour-long show focussing solely on the legal aspects of motoring matters. If you fancy having your road traffic law question answered for free, and on-air, then please don't hesitate to call. Michael Lyon has been invited on the show as a recognised expert motoring lawyer in Scotland. The dates will be posted shortly once formalised with the radio station.
On another positive note, Michael Lyon has been invited to join the Association of Motor Offence Lawyers in recognition of his specialism and expertise in road traffic law in Scotland. In a recent press release, Michael Lyon commented "...pressure on Legal Aid funding is causing many general practices in Scotland to seek work in areas which may not have been part of their previous expertise. We are looking to clearly identify ourselves as motoring specialists and believe AMOL membership makes this statement loud and clear". For more information see www.amol.uk.com.
Results speak louder than advertising and we have included the decisions in some recent cases defended by our team of motoring lawyers in Scotland.
The names have been censored to protect the innocent:
Case Study A
Our client, a retired Police Traffic Sergeant, was charged in Glasgow District Court with an alleged offence of careless driving by travelling at speeds of up to 90mph, in frosty conditions, in a 50mph speed limit. The evidence confirmed that there were serious doubts about the manner in which the alleged speed had been estimated and accordingly we were instructed to defend the case. We also noticed that the case had been prosecuted within the wrong jurisdiction and the Crown were forced to desert proceedings.
The Crown re-raised the case in Paisley however, upon further consideration, it was clear that the Crown had, for a second time, raised proceedings in the wrong jurisdiction. Following a plea to the competency, the case was deserted and the Crown personally barred from taking the matter any further due to the six month rule. The case fell to be concluded in July 2008. An excellent result as our client explains:
"As a retired Police Traffic Sergeant, I had occasion to contact Michael Lyon Solicitors when I was recently charged with careless driving. I was aware of his standing as a road traffic expert Solicitor in Scotland and, from the first, was very impressed with his depth of knowledge of road traffic law and attention to detail. I had no hesitation in retaining Michael to take charge of my case as I believed in his total professionalism, work ethic and determination to achieve the optimum result....My faith in his ability has now been amply rewarded as due to his expert knowledge of road traffic law, my case has now been deserted!
I know a lot about road traffic law as a retired Police Traffic Sergeant, but perhaps not as much as Michael Lyon! I would unreservedly recommend Michael Lyon Solicitors to anyone in similar circumstances: your future could not be in better hands!!
Case Study B
The client contacted our office having been charged with an offence of speeding at 115mph in a 70mph limit at Perth Sheriff Court. It was clear from the outset that the alleged speed could have been supportive of a dangerous driving charge in Scotland and the implications were fully canvassed. Accordingly, we were instructed to plead guilty and advised the client to expect a lengthy disqualification. Upon perusal of the case papers, it became apparent that there was a problem with the Crown case and we advised our client to plead not guilty and proceed to trial. Our client followed our advice and proceeded to trial at Perth Sheriff Court and was subsequently found not guilty. Our client commented after the case:
"The initial phonecall gave me real confidence as you went over the various options and possible outcomes for my case. Your knowledge of road traffic law greatly impressed me as I had called a number of other solicitors who seemed to know less than I did about road traffic!......I would also like to add that the level of communication was excellent, from returning simple email questions very promptly to answering the phone every time I called, this was particularly important because during this time I was very worried about going to Court and had a lot of questions......I would not hesitate to recommend your services to anyone"
Case Study C
We became instructed in relation to this case post-conviction. The client was subject to the totting-up provisions having accrued nine penalty points with a further speeding offence pending. Our only option was to present an exceptional hardhip argument to the Dumfries District Court. Our client commented:
"I wish to pay tribute to your handling of my case, and your presentation to the Court on the day. Obviously this was a crucial matter to for me and my patients. Your understanding of the law, reading of the attitude of the Court in Dumfries, and your preparation of my case was most impressive.....The final presentation to the Court was impressive and I am sure was crucial in achieving the favourable result that was gained. I would not hesitate to recommend your services. Hopefully I won't actually need them myself again!"
Case Study D
This was another case at Perth Sheriff Court where our client was charge with speeding at 109mph in a 70mph limit. We eventually persuaded the Crown to reduce the speed to 100mph and the licence was saved. The client was delighted and said:
"After one conversation with Michael Lyon you will think you have known him for years so relax and put your feet up....I am sure I would have lost my licence if I had filled out the paperwork from the Court instead of sending it to Michael Lyon Solicitor.....My bill for keeping my licence was very reasonable especially if you value your licence.....I would have no hesitation in recommending Michael Lyon Solicitors to anyone requiring a motoring lawyer in Scotland, the whole company was just so easy to deal with"
Case Study E
This was a simple case of careless driving. The Crown evidence indicated that the police had failed to issue the requisite notice of intended prosecution within 14 days of the alleged road traffic offence. A quick plea to the competency later, The Crown deserted the case.
"I am so pleased.....Thank you so much for achieving such a quick and simple result.....Thank you once again, I can't tell you how happy I feel"
Case Study F
This case involved an allegation of speeding in Dumfries - 104mph in a 70mph limit. A difficult case due to the evidence and the treatment of speeding prosecutions in Dumfries. With a lot of hard work our client appeared at Dumfries Sheriff Court and received 6 penalty points. For those in the know, this represents an excellent result.
"I was particularly delighted with the result you achieved representing me in front of the procurator fiscal in Dumfries....I travel over 40,000 miles per annum by car and am the Director of three companies so my licence is crucial to me....Your fees were very good and it is a crying shame you do not cover the Midlands as I was photographed by a mobile van last week!....Thank you anyway for representing me so well...."
Case Study G
We were instructed to defend this case, a drink driving allegation in Glasgow District Court, on the basis that the Police had failed to follow the correct intoximeter procedure at the station. Drink driving cases are complicated and it took some time to obtain the necessary information from the Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow. The key to the defence case was Section 8 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which requires the Police to properly offer an alternative sample in the event the lower proportion of alcohol contains no more than 50 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. It was clear that the correct procedures had not been followed and the allegation of drink driving in Glasgow was deserted. This is the type of scenario when the benefit of employing the services of an expert motoring lawyer is clear. Our client was unable to write his own testimonial due to his poor understanding of English although confirmed he wished his case to be posted through the services of an interpreter.
Case Study H
This was an interesting case at Hamilton Sheriff Court involving an allegation of careless driving and failing to report an accident on New Year's Day. We had very real concerns that a negative inference may have been drawn due to the timing of the road traffic accident although following a locus inspection and a mobile phone record trace, the Crown deserted the more serious charges upon the complaint.
" Firstly may I thank you for your expert representation and consider the outcome was extremely favourable, in all the circumstances.."
Case Study I
We were approached by this individual who had already tendered a plea of guilty to a charge of dangerous driving at Stranraer, within the Dumfries and Galloway jurisdiction. The evidence suggested that the plea was inconsistent with guilt and accordingly we successfully moved the Court to withdraw the plea and arranged for intermediate and trial diets to be fixed. This case is a good example of the the importance of expert legal representation for road traffic cases as we eventually managed to persuade the Crown to accept a plea to the lesser charge of careless driving. There was still work to be done as careless driving still carries the possibility of disqualification. Thankfully, the Sheriff agreed that our client should retain his driving licence. Our client took the time to express his gratitude and wrote following the case:
"i came across the website for Michael Lyon during a search for Scottish Road Traffic Solicitors. When I spoke to Mr Lyon, his information came across as thorough unlike other motoring solicitors who seemed to pause and be accessing information....he didn't undermine the serious nature of my offence unlike other road traffic solicitors...First of all he got my original guilty plea to dangerous driving overturned....Come the day of Court, Mr Lyon was able to get the more serious elements dropped...things took a more positive turn when the prosecution reduced the dangerous driving charge to simply careless driving. Eventually sentence was passed and no disqualification was passed...So I can seriously advise contacting Michael Lyon for legal advice if charged with a motoring offence in Scotland. No matter what the Police may have told them or how they personally feel their chances are. As my case has proven; nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Case Study J
An extremely complicated case of a an alleged s.143 contravention of the Road Traffic Act 1988 at Selkirk Sheriff Court. Our client's testimonial following the desertion of the case sets out the facts:
"After being charged with driving with no insurance under complicated circumstances, I looked around for a specialist lawyer to defend not only the charge but in effect my licence. I was immediately impressed by Michael Lyon after receiving a phone call direct from Mr Lyon within 30 minutes! It makes a refreshing change to deal direct with the organ grinder in the first instance. Michael Lyon got to work on my case and sorted through the complexities of it with ease, keeping me very well informed at each stage. After several months of court cases and communication with the Crown, Michael Lyon achieved the ultimate result and I was found not guilty of the offence. One would need to fully understand the complexities of my case to appreciate what an exceptional job Michael Lyon did for me. I cannot fault the service I have received from Michael Lyon in any area, a true professional who clearly cares about the clients he represents and promises nothing less than he delivers. An exceptional service from an exceptional specialist Firm!...I would have no hesitation recommending Michael Lyon to anybody facing a road traffic prosecution in Scotland no matter how complicated the case may be. Thank you Michael Lyon!!"
At Michael Lyon Solicitors we believe that whilst it is beneficial to illustrate our excellent track record in relation to defending road traffic cases in Scotland, we do not consider it appropriate to advertise the more technical aspects of our defence strategies for reasons that we hope are obvious.
Michael Lyon Solicitors exclusively practices road traffic law and defends all types of motoring offences throughout Scotland. All Solicitors within the Firm have an expert knowledge of motoring law in Scotland with a particular focus drawn on speeding, dangerous driving and drink driving allegations in Scotland. Specialist legal representation provided for motoring offences in all Courts including Glasgow, Paisley, Dumfries, Perth, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Dunfermline and Kilmarnock.
The studies referred to above represent true and accurate accounts of road traffic cases defended by Michael Lyon Solicitors in Scotland within the last few months and we wish to thank our clients for their kind words and support.
We do not exhibit client testimonials that are in excess of one year old and will provide a fresh and updated section on a monthly basis. We take the view that you are only as good as your last result and we seek to differentiate our Firm by refusing to exhibit historical testimonials.
We are the appointed the Road Traffic Specialists for a number of Law Firms in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom and consider we offer an unrivalled degree of expertise in the field of Scottish Road Traffic Law.
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