Tuesday 3 January 2012

RACING POST LETTERS SUNDAY JANUARY 1st 2012 BHA CALLED TO ACCOUNT OVER LEGAL PRACTICE INJUSTICE


RACING POST PSUNDAY LETTERS (01.01.2012)

SITUATION UNACCEPTABLE KEVIN DARLEY Chief Executive Professional Jockeys Association.

"THE Professional Jockeys Association absolutely supports the need for central funding of defence costs in the most serious disciplinary cases heard by the BHA, as highlighted by solicitor Andrew Chalk.
 
"These cases are usually extremely complex, so an unrepresented defendant will rarely be able to present his or her case adequately, and the sanctions imposed can be career- ending.
 
"Against that background it must be unacceptable for a defendant to be deprived of legal representation for financial reasons when the BHA does not suffer from the same difficulties. The interests of justice demand a level playing field.

"This is something that has troubled the PJA for some time and, together with the NTF, we will raise it again with Paul Bittar in the new year.
 

"We expect other industry bodies will also offer support, as it is a subject of great importance to all those for whom racing is their livelihood."

SITUATION UNACCEPTABLE KEVIN DARLEY Chief Executive Professional Jockeys Association Racing Post Letters Sunday January 1st 2012

BRITISH HORSERACING AUTHORITY CALLED TO ACCOUNT OVER ONGOING FAILURES RELATED TO 'EQUALITY OF ARMS'

RACING POST PSUNDAY LETTERS (01.01.2012)



"DEFENDANT MUST HAVE AN 'EQUALITY OF ARMS'
Andrew Coonan Solicitor, Naas, CountyKildare.



"TONY SMURTHWAITE'S article of December 22 was timely in that it raises a number of fundamental issues regarding BHA investigations and prosecutions into the future.



"As a defence lawyer, I am pleased to say that the Appeals Body and the Referrals Committee of the Turf Club in Ireland have accepted for some time that the standard of proof in prosecution cases that potentially involve a deprivation of the right to earn a livelihood is below the criminal proof of 'beyond all reasonable doubt' but certainly higher than the 'balance of probabilities', being applied more strictly in accordance with Court of Arbitration for Sport decisions and with the approach now adopted by the World Anti-Doping Code.



"This is only as it should be in circumstances in which the penalties available to the BHA are far-reaching and, more importantly, equivalent to those imposed by the courts.



"The other issue that arose from the article is that raised by solicitor Andrew Chalk regarding the significant imbalance between prosecution and defence in terms of financial support.



"A cornerstone to our justice system, as any defence or prosecution lawyer will tell you, is the principle of 'equality of arms'.



"I have long been concerned that in presenting defence cases at the BHA or, indeed, Turf Club a client is potentially at a critical disadvantage through lack of personal finance and have often wondered whether a defendant, met with a fully funded and well- prepared prosecution firepower, would have achieved a different result.



"The BHA have apparently been pain-staking in the preparation of its recent cases. This is only to be expected and should continue so into the future in its determination to ensure racing is properly protected, but in the protection of this sport it is, at the same time, simply unacceptable to provide that an innocent man- be it trainer, jockey or otherwise - suffers termination of his career, his livelihood and his reputation as a result of a miscarriage.



"A simple and effective measure to ensure this will not happen is to provide that defendant with at least the equality of arms to defend himself, and the day is certainly now here when both authorities either side of the water consider carefully the provision of legal aid in certain qualified circumstances."


"DEFENDANT MUST HAVE AN 'EQUALITY OF ARMS'
Andrew Coonan Solicitor, Naas, County Kildare.