Donald, Petitioner
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 09 November 1995 |
| Docket Number | No 6 |
| Date | 09 November 1995 |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
JC
LJ-G Hope, Lords Coulsfield and Allanbridge
Statutory offence—Road Traffic Acts—Driving whilst disqualified—Forfeiture of car used for purpose of committing offence—Motor car in ownership of petitioner but driven by husband who had been disqualified and at time when petitioner thought other person would be driving—Whether forfeiture appropriate—Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (cap 21), sec 436(1)
Section 436(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 enables the court to forfeit any property in the possession of a convicted person at the time of the offence and which had been used to commit an offence.
The husband of the petitioner purchased a car for family use. In 1994 he was disqualified from driving and thereafter transferred ownership of the car to the petitioner who was paying for it. The husband thereafter drove the car at a time when the petitioner believed that some qualified person would be driving it on his behalf. On being convicted of driving whilst disqualified, the husband appealed against an order of the sheriff forfeiting the car. The appeal was unsuccessful. The petitioner thereafter presented a petition to the nobile officium of the High Court of Justiciary seeking recall of the forfeiture order on the ground that she had paid for the car in good faith and had no control over the actions of her husband at the relevant time.
Held (1) that the petitioner had failed to take appropriate steps to ensure that under no circumstances could her husband drive the car whilst disqualified for all she had done was hand over the keys of the car to another who had subsequently returned the keys to the husband on the understanding that someone else would drive him home; and (2) that, by allowing that other to drive her husband, she had taken the risk that her husband might take possession of the car and drive it in breach of the disqualification order; and petition refused.
Linda Jean Donald presented a petition to the nobile officium of the High Court of Justiciary, the averments of which were in the following terms: “1. That the petitioner is the wife of Isaac Donald, who appeared for sentence on a summary complaint at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on 13 June 1995, having pled guilty to driving a motor-car, registered number F255 USX, while disqualified and without insurance on 19 May 1995. On 13 June 1995 Sheriff John Stuart Forbes imposed a community service order of 150 hours on said Isaac Donald...
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