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No jail for driver who deliberately drove through cyclist at traffic lights

mamax

Only in Ireland, what a joke in any other country this would have been prison and would not have taken this long to go to court, we have a terrible justice system.

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/no-jail-for-driver-who-deliberately-drove-through-cyclist-at-traffic-lights/

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mikemac2

nthclare wrote: »

I think judge's should be a mixture of laymen and laywomen with a list of crimes and sentences in front of them and if the person is found guilty put them away...

Don't the Brits have local magistrates doing much of what our district court judges do

It isn't paid and I suppose is largely done by retired people who want to fill their time. Dunno if its better than what we have though.

Remind me

begbysback wrote: »

“His victim suffered minor injuries, including soft tissue damage, and has since made a full recovery.“

“CCTV footage played in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court showed Sean Kearns driving straight at cyclist Marcelo Valencia, causing him to come crashing off his bicycle on the middle of a busy road five years ago.”

That’s taken from the times article, the other source may be slightly biased as there’s a noticeable difference between the 2 reports.

That is no excuse how bad his injuries were. A car against a cyclist has 1 winner and I don’t think it’s OTT to say he could have killed him.

If it was first offence and a lot of remorse shown you could have accepted the judgement but 6 previous convictions including dangerous driving means this is extremely lenient.

He purposely drove a car at someone FFS, don’t make excuses for him.

CalamariFritti

Weepsie wrote: »

"He added Kearns had been a very good golfer but lost his form and he had become depressed."

That should be laughed out of the record.

Also Martin Nolan. Say no more. The man is a massive embarrassment to the entire nation imo

If I ever saw a valid mitigating circumstance there it is. You have no idea.

I am joking, just in case...

bmc58

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

''Kearns had been a very good golfer but lost his form ''

Ah well that explains it, good enough reason to run someone over. All well that ends well,
let that be a lesson to cyclists everywhere, don't mess with someone who has lost their golfing form.

Well I played golf for many years and was pretty handy off my handicap.Then suddently got "the shanks" (any golfer will know this ailment).It really ruined my confidence and my golf.BUT I didn't drive home each day looking to flatten someone who looked crooked at me.

is_that_so

_Brian wrote: »

That’s truly a travesty of justice.

Why? He did get a 3 year sentence, suspended for now and got fined a whole lot of money. With his track record he could find himself inside soon enough.

Blazer

is_that_so wrote: »

Why? He did get a 3 year sentence, suspended for now and got fined a whole lot of money. With his track record he could find himself inside soon enough.

He should be inside already.
Quite honestly I reckon that cyclist now has carde blanche to run him over. There’s no way he’d serve any time over it.

begbysback

Jesus people, the context of the thread here is along the lines of suitable punishment for the crime, in order to judge suitable punishment you have to be aware of the facts - I pasted the quotes from the times as they seem to contradict the added drama of the other source.

I didn’t add them as an excuse for the driver of the car, they were added as a means of arriving at a suitable punishment, rather than just reading the thread title and posting the usual rhetoric.

is_that_so

Blazer wrote: »

He should be inside already.
Quite honestly I reckon that cyclist now has carde blanche to run him over. There’s no way he’d serve any time over it.

And I guess this is why you're not in the legal system dispensing justice! It's a final warning for him.

goat2

Did he lose his driving licence,

is_that_so

bmc58 wrote: »

Some hope of getting €10,000 off that boyo.

There'll just be an attachment of earnings.

nthclare

mikemac2 wrote: »

Don't the Brits have local magistrates doing much of what our district court judges do

It isn't paid and I suppose is largely done by retired people who want to fill their time. Dunno if its better than what we have though.

They do and it works really well, I've a friend from Norfolk he's an old money new age traveller.
He's a bit rebellious, but he says that the Irish judiciary isn't a patch on the UK

Do the crime do the time

plodder

begbysback wrote: »

Now cmon, he didn’t actually drive ‘over’ him, it seems the injuries were minimal, plus the judge had the benefit of cctv which I’m sure was a factor in his decision.

Look at this rationally, if your the driver and you have to pay 10k then it’s gonna hurt, on the other hand if your the cyclist do you want the driver to go to jail, or have him pay you 10k - if I’m the cyclist I’d take the 10k

That's exactly the type of dilemma I think we shouldn't be encouraging. It may be a good result for the victim in this case. But, 'society' gets nothing out of it if he is back behind the wheel, ready to go into a "blur" again the next time someone looks at him sideways. He's been convicted of dangerous driving before. Why is he going to learn his lesson this time?

Blazer

is_that_so wrote: »

And I guess this is why you're not in the legal system dispensing justice! It's a final warning for him.

You mean the 5 previous convictions weren’t enough? Justice is a farce in this country. No one can deny that.

is_that_so

Blazer wrote: »

You mean the 5 previous convictions weren’t enough? Justice is a farce in this country. No one can deny that.

Driving offences are not always jailing offences although I do think he probably should have lost his licence in this case. Outcome here is that the cyclist is OK, will be compensated and the driver has a 3 year prison sentence hanging over him.

Blazer

is_that_so wrote: »

Driving offences are not always jailing offences although I do think he probably should have lost his licence in this case. Outcome here is that the cyclist is OK, will be compensated and the driver has a 3 year prison sentence hanging over him.

Out of the 5 previous convictions only one was related to motoring ie dangerous driving.
The guy is a complete scumbag.

Eamonnator

begbysback wrote: »

“His victim suffered minor injuries, including soft tissue damage, and has since made a full recovery.“

“CCTV footage played in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court showed Sean Kearns driving straight at cyclist Marcelo Valencia, causing him to come crashing off his bicycle on the middle of a busy road five years ago.”

That’s taken from the times article, the other source may be slightly biased as there’s a noticeable difference between the 2 reports.

And then driving away from the scene of the assault.

Blazer wrote: »

Out of the 5 previous convictions only one was related to motoring ie dangerous driving.
The guy is a complete scumbag.

These were the only times he's been convicted too. Wonder how many times he's been let off or not even been caught?

jimwallace197

One of the most unusual things about this is that the incident happened supposedly in 2014 if I'm correct, how did it take so long to get to court??

Surely, if they had cctv, it was a no brainer.

eeeee

Anyone who attempts to kill someone with a weapons should never, ever be allowed access to that weapon again.

Deliberately running over someone then leaving them for dead should mean you never, ever sit behind the wheel of a car again. The end.

It's absolutely obscene that someone who has proven murderous intent behind the wheel can just carry on driving away as before.

That Nolan cnut was the judge back home where I'm from. How does he still practice? Is there no monitoring or CPD or some sort of competency programme for judges?

paddy no 11

eeeee wrote: »

Anyone who attempts to kill someone with a weapons should never, ever be allowed access to that weapon again.

Deliberately running over someone then leaving them for dead should mean you never, ever sit behind the wheel of a car again. The end.

It's absolutely obscene that someone who has proven murderous intent behind the wheel can just carry on driving away as before.

That Nolan cnut was the judge back home where I'm from. How does he still practice? Is there no monitoring or CPD or some sort of competency programme for judges?

His sentencing on rape and sex offences are even more concerning, this is an appalling decision again, he's a threat to citizens

[Deleted User]

You'd imagine his peers seeing what goes on in his court would have had a quiet word with him about it at some point over the years

Likely they have and it's arrogance on his part, an I know best mentality.

Seth Brundle

BDI wrote: »

For a judge to say he understands that sometimes you can have an urge to run a cyclist over

Did Nolan actually say that?

ED E

Deleted User wrote: »

You'd imagine his peers seeing what goes on in his court would have had a quiet word with him about it at some point over the years

Likely they have and it's arrogance on his part, an I know best mentality.

100% on this. Anyone who works in a largeish office has such a character, in this case theyre far more than a nuisance though.

There needs to be a way for the total crank judges to be easily removed.

paddydriver

begbysback wrote: »

Dunno, think it’s preferable to going to jail and no compensation.

Seems he was provoked.

Are you fookin trolling?

magicbastarder

mod note - if you think someone is trolling, report the post and please don't try to start that 'discussion' in thread

paddydriver

magicbastarder wrote: »

mod note - if you think someone is trolling, report the post and please don't try to start that 'discussion' in thread

Agreed.. I am worse for taking the bait! Apologies

tdf7187

mamax wrote: »

Only in Ireland, what a joke in any other country this would have been prison and would not have taken this long to go to court, we have a terrible justice system.

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/no-jail-for-driver-who-deliberately-drove-through-cyclist-at-traffic-lights/

Seems that the judge who presided over the case is a bit notorious for lenient sentences if defendant is agreeable to paying large fine.

tdf7187

ED E wrote: »

100% on this. Anyone who works in a largeish office has such a character, in this case theyre far more than a nuisance though.

There needs to be a way for the total crank judges to be easily removed.

Yeah the difference is large offices the crank can be ignored and isn't likely to obtain promotion, with judges they seem to be immune. The protected legal profession.

eeeee

That's what I mean, what is or are there even procedures for judges who are dangerously under-performing? Or are they completely autonomous and untouchable?
Nolan is in a whole other league on incompetence.

RobbieMD

eeeee wrote: »

That's what I mean, what is or are there even procedures for judges who are dangerously under-performing? Or are they completely autonomous and untouchable?
Nolan is in a whole other league on incompetence.

No there’s no way to make a complaint about the conduct of judges in Ireland. They enjoy the protections afforded by Article 35 of our constitution. Remember the furore when the constitution was amended during the recession to reduce judge’s pay? That’s what it took to effect any change with them. Can’t see them welcoming any complaints procedures anytime soon