distric court witness

rex-x

hi, very easy question
I'm being brought to court for dangerous driving by a garda, now i in no way was driving dangerously and have witness to prove this. Can I bring one along to the district court? garda told me it was me only allowed to say anything in my case i have talked to the super in the station but its a my word against the gardas situation

Victor

Talk to your solicitor.

You should be able to call a witness, but not necessarily at a preliminary hearing.

coylemj

If he's being summonsed then there typically wouldn't be a preliminary hearing, whatever date is on the summons will be the date for the Gardai to present their case and the defendant his.

OP, you can bring as many witnesses you want to, provided they can present relevant evidence which in the case of dangerous driving means they need to have been at the scene, despite what the Garda told you.

The fact that you spoke to the local super tells me that you haven't yet brief a solicitor which you definitely need to do, there is a serious risk that you will lose your licence if you're convicted and the judge feels that it was at the higher end of the scale. A solicitor will advise you as to whether your prospective witness should be called or not, believe me it will be money well spent. Appearing in front of a judge on a charge of dangerous driving without a solicitor would be very foolhardy. In such a case the judge sometimes reminds the defendant that a person who defends himself has a fool for a client.

Reloc8

The garda meant (or should have meant) that only you can address the court on your own behalf, unless you engage a solicitor to represent you.

You can still call any witness you wish to give evidence.

It is not always correct to say that the date on the summons will be the hearing date. In Dublin a case like this will invariably be adjourned to a hearing date following the first appearance. That is the date on which you need your witnesses in court. There is almost certainly no point in having them in court on the first day.

That said, individual courts proceed differently and that is why you should go to a solicitor for advice.

coylemj

If you receive a summons for this type of incident and the Garda doesn't contact you in advance to say that there will be a delay i.e. the prosecution will be asking for an adjournment, then you can safely assume that the case will go ahead on that date.

Similarly, if one of your witnesses has a valid excuse (medical appointment, daughter's wedding etc.) then it's ok for you to contact the Garda and say that your solicitor will be asking for the case to be adjourned to a later date.

If neither side wants an adjournment because a witness is not available then typically the case will be heard on the date on the summons, otherwise why not?

Kosseegan

Not is my experience. Generally it will only be dealt with if there is a guilty plea on the first day. Some offences like licences and insurance will be dealt with on the first day but anything involving cross examination will be put back. The defence may also seek statements of evidence from the guards all of which would require an adjournment.
The o/p should check out the practise in his local district court.