Friday 10 November 2017

Finally, A Judge Who Knows His Job!

Luke Lanham, 19, chose to ignore a suspended sentence order imposed at Bradford Crown Court in October last year that disqualified him from driving for 18 months.
Lanham, of Cavendish Road, Thorpe Edge, Bradford, was spotted by the police driving a Daewoo Matiz in Eccleshill on August 25, prosecutor Paul Nicholson said yesterday.
Not the car your average self-respecting lawbreaker would choose, I'm sure....
The teenager admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance in breach of a 12 month custodial sentence, suspended for two years.
His barrister, Mark Brookes, said Lanham was a vulnerable young man with learning difficulties.
Judge Jonathan Rose conceded that Lanham had ADHD but told him: “You chose to drive in breach of a court order.”
/applause
Lanham was sent to a young offender institution for a total of 12 months. Ten months of the suspended sentence was activated, because he had successfully completed a six month curfew order and a rehabilitation activity requirement, but two months were added consecutively for the new offence of driving while disqualified.
I know, it's only two, but still...
Judge Rose told him then: “This city is rife with people like you who should not be driving at all. People who buy cars cheaply with no insurance, licence, or ability. They drive like lunatics through our streets, putting people at risk of serious injury or death.”
I doubt he'll have learned his lesson. We can but hope he hits a wall instead of a person next time.

3 comments:

Tom said...

I’m amazed that it was two consecutive months. Don’t they usually let them serve them concurrently?

Pcar said...

@Tom F

The UK norm of concurrent has angered me since I understood the term. However, the USA norm of consecutive leading to hundred year plus terms is equally absurd.

@Judge Jonathan Rose, Thank you.

JuliaM said...

"I’m amazed that it was two consecutive months. Don’t they usually let them serve them concurrently?"

Good point!