A very interesting discussion. I now see that the driver pleaded Not Guilty. Therefore he must have been found guilty after trial by the District Judge / Lay Bench. Either way, they would have had to announce the reasoning for their decision after their deliberations so he will be aware as to why the found him Guilty. Bear in mind that the criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) is a high one so they must have been sure.The passenger would have attended to give evidence for the prosecution. In limited circumstances, a witnesses statement can be read out after such an application is made to the Court. This scenario would not fit such an application.
Clearly, having heard the evidence the Court preferred the version given by the prosecution witness and not the Driver, hence the conviction. The Driver of course had the option to appeal the conviction if the Magistrates made an error in Law. I take it this did not happen. If found guilty, the Court then proceeds to sentence, hence his fine.
The Licensing Sub Committee have a very different agenda to the Court and once they have learned that a Driver has a conviction, they too are empowered to call the Driver to the Committee and make a decision based on whether he remains 'Fit and Proper' and if a sanction is warranted. In this instance they clearly felt it was. I can understand why some drivers feel that they are being punished twice.
If all of the information has been posted above (and I believe that we may not have all of the story) it may be that he was not forcefully represented (again, one can only speculate)
A large majority of our clients find us AFTER they have been convicted / plead guilty at the Magistrates Court having been represented by a Criminal Lawyer (some of whom do not understand the sanctions that can then be imposed by a Licensing Sub Committee) In this case it was a 2 month ban. Many cases are referred to us when a licence is revoked.
I hope this goes some way to explaining the procedure (albeit very briefly)
Kuldip
http://www.taxilawyer.co.ukkuldip@obiterlegal.com0121 5722746
07 575 575 494