Speeder's get 3 months

bop1977

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/Judge-Zaidan-loses-his-cool.5772638.jp

:eek:

JAIL sentences were last week handed down to three men in separate cases for travelling at speeds approaching 200km/h on Kildare's roads.
Local district court judge Desmond Zaidan described the speeds in the cases before him at Naas and Kildare District Courts as some of the worst he had ever seen in his career as a judge.

He said the the speeds were "suicidal". And in a warning to ADVERTISEMENT Kildare road users from the bench, he said that the message had to go out that such speeding wouldn't be tolerated.

Commenting in court on the spate of cases, Judge Zaidan said: "This redefines the word dangerous. So many people have lost their lives as a result of speed."

He told one driver that he could have been "driving his own coffin. This is madness".

He was commenting in the case of Antonio Morelli of 48 Main Street, Tipperary. Mr Morelli was clocked doing 203 km/h on the northbound lane of the M7 motorway at Cherryville, Kildare on May 28 last. The motorway is a 120km/h zone

He appeared before the court on a dangerous driving charge.

The court heard that Mr Morelli's two-litre red Fiat Coupe had been stopped by gardai at 8.10pm in the evening.

Mr Morelli, a retailer who employs over 20 people in Tipperary, had been on his way to a medical appointment in Dublin to treat his bowel condition, according to a letter from his doctor handed in to the court. His journey had been delayed by frequent toilet stops along the way and he was rushing to make his appointment.

His defence solicitor Conal Boyce said that Mr Morelli's car was "built for speed".

Commenting on the case, Judge Zaidan referred to his time as a judge in Donegal, which has a notorious speeding problem. He questioned what was the problem on Kildare roads.

He said: "I was in Donegal as a judge for some time and the worst speed I came across was 175 km/h.

"It is just not on. I do not have to wait for an accident to happen. The court does not have to wait for another human to lose their life on the roads, with serious consequences for their family."

Convicting and handing down a three-month custodial sentence to Mr Morelli, he told him he was the author of his own misfortune.

He told the defendant that he would go about his life after he came out of prison, while those who had been maimed because of accidents on the roads would be affected forever.

He also fined the defendant E2,000 and disqualified him from driving for four years. Recognisances of his own bond of E750 and an independent surety of E2,500 were fixed for appeal, and later in the court sitting a business colleague of Mr Morelli's was approved as a surety.

In a separate case also heard at Kildare District Court last Thursday, Ceprail Birgin, 25, of 4 the Willows, Abbeywoods, Clane, was given three months in custody for speeding at 192 km/h on August 31 last. Mr Birgin was not in court.

The offence occurred at 7.07pm in the evening, when Mr Birgin, driving a '00 Opel Astra, was stopped by gardai in the north-bound lane of the motorway at Monasterevin, a 120km/h zone.

Garda evidence said that the defendant, who was co-operative when stopped, produced a German driving licence and apologised profusely at the time. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and fined E2,000.

In a case heard at Naas District Court the previous day Judge Desmond Zaidan said he could not believe his ears when told that on July 27 last at 1.28am in Kill West, Kosovan chef Shaqo Laska was detected driving his black Mercedes car at 190 km/h.

The court heard that a garda, who was giving evidence, was on motorcycle patrol that night and followed the defendant who has an address listed as 86 Langrishe Rise, Summerhill, Dublin 1 onto the M7 and stopped him at Osberstown, approximately two miles later. He jailed the defendant for three months, banned him from driving for four years and fined him E2,000.

"The message has to go out there – enough is enough. Life is precious. If you maim someone, it's a life sentence. So three months is nothing."

Judge Zaidan fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal

Our man in Havana

Fair play to the Judge for taking some positive action against speeders.

roosterman71

Proper order

unkel

Fair play? Jail sentences? :eek:

Maybe he should go back to the cave in Donegal he came from. I don't know the circumstances but doing 200km/h on an empty motorway in good weather conditions is not necessarily dangerous.

mobby

Fair play great to see at last something been done, may but more then likely not slow some people down.

ninty9er

There's more merit in a mass protest against this backward thinking of people like Justice Zaidan than one against almost any other action over which protest action currently looms.

Although in fairness 192 km/h in a 00 Astra...I'd have asked for a calibration on the hairdryer because I KNOW my car can't go that fast and in general these things have smaller engines than mine. It would certainly require a lot more concentration and physical stamina to drive an Astra at that speed than a Fiat Coupe.

A "message needs to go back to this judge" that there are actual crimes with victims out there and while all of these people were driving in excess of the prescribed speed limit and in breach of the law, I'd only classify the Astra driver as "speeding", which I would see to be an amalgam of factors, such as conditions, the vehicle and the given speed.

jimmycrackcorm

I don't agree with the jail sentences as a hefty fine and ban would have been sufficient because these speeds were done on a motorway not a single lane carriageway. Our jails are full enough as it is and those speeds would not cause any attention on a German autobahn.

ION08

This is very harsh, theoretically the Judges argument sounds convincing but the punishment is far too severe.

A €2000 fine with 4 yr disqualification is painful enough but the 3 month sentence is shocking.

The judge makes a convincing point when he comments about deaths and that the driver could have been "driving his own coffin" but that is not a certainty, he is basing it on what COULD have happened.

I'm sure anyone who has ever owned even a semi decently powerful car has probably driven at that sort of speed on some occasion.

I laughed at the defense attorneys main argument being that the car was "built for speed" - whoa bet you the judge didn't see that one coming! :rolleyes:

Gary ITR

Crazy crazy decision. A jail sentence probably lost these guys their careers.

I had to go to court in Naas a while back over an unpaid speeding fine (feckin fleet company not forwarding the fine on) and the people I saw walk out of there with no more than a slap on the wrist.

bazzachazza

unkel wrote: »

Fair play? Jail sentences? :eek:

Maybe he should go back to the cave in Donegal he came from. I don't know the circumstances but doing 200km/h on an empty motorway in good weather conditions is not necessarily dangerous.

Where in the original post does it

1) SAY THE MOTORWAY WAS EMPTY

2) THERE WAS GOOD WEATHER CONDITION'S

I agree all three punishments are harsh far too harsh. But those speeds are ridiculous.

This judge is notorious hater of speeders.

Cuddlesworth

bop1977 wrote: »

Commenting on the case, Judge Zaidan referred to his time as a judge in Donegal, which has a notorious speeding problem. He questioned what was the problem on Kildare roads.

He said: "I was in Donegal as a judge for some time and the worst speed I came across was 175 km/h.

Doing 175km/h on any Donegal road has to be the equivalent of 300km/h on a motorway in terms of an accident and the chance of death.

Its not really the speed that kills its the stopping. And on a empty motorway your car will slide for a long time. Nothing like that up there in the boondocks.

B11gt00e

From what I hear on this forum, the five-O in Kildare would be doing a better job for public safety by keeping an eye on that county's drivers on the secondary roads as it sounds like they're a lot more dangerous than somebody making good time (under the circumstances descibed above by unkel) on a nice strip of motorway.

As for the judge's verdict... Ouch!!!

Tipsy Mac

I hate the way people introduce the violin onto the court to try to make themselves look good

Mr Morelli, a retailer who employs over 20 people in Tipperary

so what, does that make him somehow less punishable than someone who is say on the dole?

SV

Jail sentence for this?
:rolleyes:

I wouldn't mind but..to be honest, he wasn't even travelling that fast.

ottostreet

yeah its quick enough, but at that hour...why not? he was foolish enough to do it and get caught, and thats fair enough, but the penalty is too harsh.

Yakult

pro tip - Dont get caught speeding at 200kph.

Bobo78

They got 2000 euro fine, lost their licence for 4 years and they still get 3 months in prison????
That judge is a joke seriously.

Disgraceful decision. 200km/h on a motorway is not that fast.

APM

those punishments were far too harsh, and on good roads which were probably empty at the time.

Feel quite sorry for the drivers

Stark

Comparing doing 175km/hr on Donegeal roads to 200km/hr on an empty motorway? Apples and oranges. He shouldn't be relying on his own conceptions of what's "fast" when passing down sentence.

LookBehindYou

APM wrote: »

those punishments were far too harsh, and on good roads which were probably empty at the time.

Feel quite sorry for the drivers

The Judge is maybe a member of the GREEN PARTY,,, pushbike brigade.
a joke.

200 kph is not that fast on a motorway.

200 kph on minor roads is a different story.

Now there are less prison places for real criminals, thank to that nice judge.

MagicMarker

200kph may be perfectly safe during the day, in perfect weather conditions on a completely empty road.

Both instances happened at 7pm & 8pm respectively, I somehow doubt that the roads were empty.

Stupid speeds by stupid people who deserved what they got.

inforfun

I bet that judge is doing 60 km/h right now on a 100 km/h road in his Nissan Micra.
Those are the ones that should be jailed.

junkyard

These cases will more than likely be overturned on appeal. Even if they did have to go to jail, chances are they'd be sent home the same day as there's no room in prisons and this wouldn't be regarded as a serious crime. A ludicrous sentence I might add but many judges don't live in the real world.:rolleyes:

LookBehindYou

Judge Zaidan, who is a native of Lebanon,

Our man in Havana

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/Forget-Judge-Judy-Kildares-Judge.4350953.jp

SV

Bond-007 wrote: »

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/Forget-Judge-Judy-Kildares-Judge.4350953.jp

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=5007486250

TheNog

The prison sentences are a bit too far and any appeal would have a good chance of being successful. The 4 yr disqualification is a bit much too. The fine isnt though

peasant

Jail for doing 200 on a motorway is ridiculous. A hefty fine and a ban would suffice.

Especially in light of the fact that your man on the single carriage road outside Letterkenny doing the same speed got away with a rap on the knuckles as "he needed his car for work" or something. (Too lazy to search, but you know the case)

Do judges here draw their judgements out of a hat?

EDIT:
did a search ..here's the Donegal case
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055013016&highlight=porsche

polyfusion

The excuse of Mr. Morelli makes him sound like a right bullsh!tter.

And saying "empty road at that hour" doesn't cut it with me - I often drive very late/early and the roads are never empty. I'm just surprised that the gardai were out that early to catch him.

Bullet in the head for both them fuks as far as I'm concerned.

stepbar

Jail is pure madness for a speeding offence on a motorway. I don't disagree with the driving ban or the fine.