How Defoe used legal loophole to get motoring charges dropped

Jane Bell

Defoe

Premier League footballer Jermain Defoe has got off his second set of motor offences after using a legal loophole to escape the law.

In February the Tottenham Hotspur striker had three allegations of speeding dropped when his case was halted due to red tape.

And, again, this week he has used a legal technicality to get his case dismissed.

Mr Defoe, 26, had been accused of unlawfully allowing his cousin to use his customised Range Rover, but his lawyer, 'Mr Loophole', said the charge had been dropped after key evidence was ruled 'inadmissible'.

Defoe faced charges of allowing the use of a vehicle without a licence, allowing the use of a vehicle without insurance and an offence connected to the vehicle's tinted windows.

Defoe's lawyer outlined how Defoe's case was thrown out of court:

'The prosecution's evidence rested on the telephone call the police officer made at the roadside. He believed he was talking to my client when in fact he wasn't,' he said.

'When the Crown Prosecution Service applied to admit this evidence we opposed it on the grounds it was hearsay and therefore inadmissible.

'Our defence was successful, the CPS decided not appeal and, therefore, as there was no prosecution evidence, the case against Mr Defoe was dropped.'

Defoe's cousin, Ryan Edgar, of Plaistow, east London, has now been charged with the motoring offences of using a vehicle without third party insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger.

The alleged offences happened in Canvey Island, Essex, last April.


Celebrity speeding escapes

Defoe is one of a long list of celebrities who has used lawyer Nick Freeman, dubbed as 'Mr Loophole', to get his motoring convictions quashed.

Mr Freeman, whose celebrity clients include Jimmy Carr, Jeremy Clarkson and David Beckham, is a motoring law expert who uses legal red tape to his advantage.

But celebrities are not the only people who can use legal technicalities to avoid a speeding fine or parking ticket.

If you know the rights and wrongs of motoring law, you, too, can make a successful appeal.

Jeanette Miller, of Geoffrey Miller Solicitors in Manchester, is one of the UK's leading experts on motoring law. Author of Lawpack's Fight a Motoring Ticket Kit, she knows all of the legal loopholes you can use to get off a parking ticket or be cleared of a speeding fine. 

She says: "If you get a motoring ticket, it's important that you know all about the procedures the police, or the local council, should follow as you can be cleared of the charge if these procedures don't take place.

"If , for example, you get charged with speeding and the police fail to record a check of their speed testing equipment, you can escape your penalty.

"Also, if you receive a parking ticket and you think it's unfair, then appeal. Only 1% of people can be bothered with appealing their parking ticket, but if you do, you have 60% chance of success."


Further information

How footballer Jermain Defoe escaped a speeding ban

How Jordan used legal loopholes to escape a ban

Read insider tips from a motoring law expert, who shows you how you can use the legal loopholes to fight your speeding fine and parking ticket..and WIN...here.

Top tips on contesting a speeding ticket

Want to get off your speeding ticket? Speeding loophole myths explained.

60% of drivers who appeal against their parking ticket win! Read our tips on how you can fight your parking fine here.

Do you know that if you park too far away from the kerb, you can get a parking fine? Find out the new rules here.


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