Article:Man has speeding case struck out

Seth Brundle

A veteran journalist, who refused to pay a speeding fine as an act of civil disobedience, has had his case struck out because the prosecuting garda was not present.

A veteran journalist, who refused to pay a speeding fine as an act of civil disobedience, has had his case struck out because the prosecuting garda was not present.
Des Nix, aged 62, of Foxfield, Raheny, in Dublin, refused to pay an €80 fine to the State which he believes is now 'a slush fund to pay gangster bankers.'
He had received the fixed penalty fine for allegedly driving his car at 63km/h in a 50km/h speed limit zone, at Tonlegee Road, in north Dublin, on 28 October last.
Mr Nix, who worked as a reporter for 22 years with the Irish Press and later as a sub-editor with the Irish Independent, had been given 28 days to pay up or face a court prosecution with a possible maximum fine of €1,000.
However, he wrote to the Garda Fixed Penalty Processing Office to inform them: 'I am returning this speeding ticket unpaid as a gesture of civil disobedience.'
In his letter to the gardaí, he said that if his defence fails: 'I will refuse to pay any fine connected to it on the basis that the money will go to the exchequer, which is now primarily a slush fund to pay gangster bankers, elitist judges and greedy politicians.'
Mr Nix was then summonsed to appear at Dublin District Court for failing to pay the fine.
When his case was called, he indicated to Judge Victor Blake that he was pleading not guilty to the offence.
Later when the case was reached, a court officer told the judge that there was an application to strike out the summons because the prosecuting garda was not present.
Judge Blake ordered a strike out and when questioned as to the reason by Mr Nix, he explained it was due to the prosecuting garda not being in court.
Mr Nix, who had opted to defend himself, asked if his expenses would be paid but the judge refused, telling him the case was struck out and that he was 'doing well as it is.'
After the case Mr Nix explained to reporters that he was not affiliated with any political organisations.
He added: 'I refused to pay money to the exchequer which I now regard as a slush fund used by the government to channel money from the Irish people to give to gangster banks.
'I regard these bankers and their bondholders as gangsters if they take money from people who never had dealings with them. And I regard it as unacceptable that the government should act as their bag men,' he added.

URL="http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0419/nixd.html"]source[/URL

I wonder did the garda not turn up because they didn't want to face this and if so would it work for other people?

Guy:Incognito

Thats a ridiculpus thign to let happen.The Gard himself or one of his superiors should have made a point to make that stickon yer man with his arsey attitude.

Will he refuse to tax his car or pay income tax too?

I bet he has no problem taking money out of the exchequer when it comes to pension time in a couple of years.

Drummerboy08

kbannon wrote: »

I wonder did the garda not turn up because they didn't want to face this and if so would it work for other people?

Whether he wanted to face it or not, he/she still should have showed up. Unless of course there was a genuine reason for it.

mickdw

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Thats a ridiculpus thign to let happen.The Gard himself or one of his superiors should have made a point to make that stickon yer man with his arsey attitude.

Its a more reasonable attitude that the 'free man of ireland' crap anyway but then, that wouldnt be hard.
I wonder would it work for my next tax return - Im giving you nothing, you will only give it to a banker.:D

bladebrew

its interesting,
im not sure how it worked though, when i clipped a woman with my wing mirror years ago, i was charged with dangerous driving despite the fact it was my idea to ring the gardai,
i went to court and was convicted of careless driving without the gardai being there,
then they didnt give me any penaltly points or an endorsment

there dosent appear to be any trace it ever happened, the court system can be a bit dodgy!

Turner

Gardai are regularly due in multiple courts at the same time. Generally they will attend the most serious court case... eg Circuit Court first or High Court and then District Court.

Also Gardai get caught up with prisioners, interviewing, involved in a major incident or fatal incident. Sometimes have worked all night when they should have been off becuase of a major incident.

If a Garda cant make a court date its best practice to get another Garda to deal with the case but it is not always possible at short notice.

Depending on the Judge they will either adjourn the matter or strike it out if nobody appears.

Hooch

Chief--- wrote: »

Depending on the Judge they will either adjourn the matter or strike it out if nobody appears.

It appears the strike out is a DMR thing.....this would very rarely be struck out in the county courts on a first date.

unkel

Chief--- wrote: »

Gardai are regularly due in multiple courts at the same time.

Chances of anyone winning the lotto are more likely

If Gardai are due in multiple courts but can not be present, they should be represented by others. Enough of the legal bull**** already.

Hooch

unkel wrote: »

Chances of anyone winning the lotto are more likely

This happens me three to four times a month........

And although I pray for it everyday.....I havint won the lotto

quad_red

A friend got a summons for speeding recently. The reason she hadn't paid the fine is because she had moved and hadn't updated her address immediately.

Anyway, she was terrified, went along to the four courts, her name was called and she went up but the judge struck the case out cos the Garda wasn't present.

So it does happen. And whilst she didn't get points or a fine, the experience itself has chastened her I think!

metzengerstein

happened myself ,was doing 10 over the limit on an empty motorway down the country ,and got stopped .i had every intention to pay the fine though as if i do something wrong ill own up to it.unfortunatly i didnt have the cash at the time and payday was a bit away so i was late to pay and i had to go to court .so i had to take a day off work and drive to a court in the country where i was stopped .

when i was called the gard didnt turn up and it was struck out ,still lesson learnt to watch my speed.:o

Seth Brundle

Just out of curiosity, had the garda appeared, would the protest have simply been ignored?

metzengerstein

i would think so ,at the end of the day he was speeding and he has to pay a fine,even if he is right as to where its going he has broken the law and there is a penalty for it .if he was protesting in the court maybe he'd be charged with disrupting the court or something .

Anan1

kbannon wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, had the garda appeared, would the protest have simply been ignored?

Only the judge can answer that - either way, though, it would have been reported.

Wolverine_1999

The guard was probably of the same opinion as the ex journalist...

cojomo2

would it not be a better idea for all fines to be donated to charity?

Cookie_Monster

cojomo2 wrote: »

would it not be a better idea for all fines to be donated to charity?

why?

they should go to the state to help cover the costs of enforcement

This man refuses to pay a speeding fine because he believes it's going straight to the bankers etc etc... ok.

I wonder does he also refuses to pay income tax and VAT on the same basis? What about the VRT on his car, or the fuel excise duty? I presume he hasn't paid that either.

Here is a man who refuses to pay the relatively small sum of a speeding fine to the exchequer after paying thousands to that same exchequer through motoring related taxes.

With a such a tenuous grasp on reality I'm not surprised to read he works for the Independent.

Most ridiculous excuse I've heard to try and dodge a speeding fine in a long time.

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

Most ridiculous excuse I've heard to try and dodge a speeding fine in a long time.

An aging journalist, used to work with the Irish Press (long gone). Probably freelance. Probably not making much money / not having much work. Needs to put his name out. It's just a publicity stunt

maidhc

kbannon wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, had the garda appeared, would the protest have simply been ignored?

Absolutely!