reohn2 wrote:All odd, and smacks of organised crime IMHO.
Sounds not too unusual for an overworked prosecution and court service. Once it's at court and the defence and prosecution agree there is insufficient evidence to identify the driver it's always going to be a conviction of S172 RTA and nothing else.
Go and sit in a court. There are always amendments getting made, charges dropped for lack of evidence, charges dropped to get a plea on other charges. If it's a anything the way it works in Scotland there is one prosecutor per court. On the day there will be a dozen or more cases scheduled for trial. The prosecutor won't necessarily have seen any of the cases before that morning. So he won't be up to speed with the finer points of the evidence. Some cases will be put off because the accused hasn't turned or witnesses haven't turned up. Other may be delayed for legal reason. The prosecutor will be left with a handful of cases ready to go to trial but with a court that only has time to run one or two trials per day.
Some cases may have to be put off to another day. Do that too often though and a defence lawyer will argue it get dropped as the delay is unfair to his client. The comes the negotiation. Lawyers will suggest that while their client would plead to charge A he denies charges B & C. If the actual evidence is not 100% perhaps relying on witnesses of variable quality it might be thought that a plea to charge A is acceptable.
I believe Glasgow Sheriff and Magistrates courts are not as busy as they used to be. More low level crimes getting dealt with by tickets etc. But Tuesday this week there was 281 criminal cases being dealt with by Glasgow Sheriff Court.
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/current-b ... 74aa7#COP2
Obviously as a cyclist I feel the case wasn't given a high enough priority by the police or CPS but there is a lot of competition for limited police and court time.