Smith, William

William Smith was convicted in his absence in June 2011 in relation to a drink driving offence committed in July 2005. He was fined £400 and banned from driving for 12 months.

Mr Smith was arrested on a money warrant on New Year’s Eve 2011 due to non-payment of the fine and was taken directly to prison where he spent six days.

Shortly after his release Mr Smith tried to appeal against his conviction but his application for appeal was rejected. He applied to the CCRC in March 2015.

During review, the CCRC obtained new evidence that Mr Smith, who had never held a full driving licence, was not in fact the driver of a car who failed a breathalyser test in July 2005, and that another identified individual was driving the car at the time.

The CCRC considered that errors made in obtaining information about the identity of the driver led to Mr Smith being falsely accused.

In addition, errors in the administration of the trial and post-conviction process prevented Mr Smith from the opportunity to defend himself and prevented him from being able to apply for an extension of time in which to seek leave to appeal.

The CCRC referred the conviction in February 2019.

The County Court quashed the conviction in May 2019.