Taylor trial adjourned
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A PENDING appeal against a three-year jail sentence and convictions for handling stolen vehicles and excise licences by Lichfield haulier Philip Leo Taylor has again led to the adjournment of 104 charges against Mr Taylor alleging a variety of offences.
Mr Taylor, who traded as Taylor's Transport, faces nine charges of fraudulent use of excise licences, 11 of making false declarations to obtain excise licences, six of possessing forged photostat test certificates, three of prossessing forged 0-licence identity discs, 13 of operating vehicles without test certificates, 30 of operating vehicles without excise licences, four of failing to surrender licence identity discs, one of possessing a forged plating certificate, one of possessing a forged vehicle registration document and one of possessing a forged international journey permit (CM March 10).
Seeking a further adjournment before the Lichfield magistrates, John Douglas said a definite date within the next eight weeks had been fixed for the appeal. There was some overlap between this case and the one at Stoke Crown Court which led to the jail sentence (CM December 15, 1983) with at least 50 per cent of the alleged offences tying in with the Crown Court case.
Magistrates had felt that the hearing of the present allegations ought to await the final outcome of the Crown Court case on two previous occasions and the end was now in sight.
It was Mr Taylor's intention to deny the charges. Whether or not the Crown Court convictions were upheld was material.
Strongly resisting any further adjournment Peter Wiseman prosecuting for the West Midlands Licensing Authority said it was now four-and-a-half-years since the date of the alleged offences which involved back duty claims totalling £24,000.
The defence ought to be in a position to present its case and after four-and-a-half years the least that could be done would be for Mr Taylor to elect whether he wanted to be tried by jury at Crown Court on the indictable offences and enter pleas.
The reason that the magistrates had fixed a date for the hearing on the last occasion was that it was their intention that the case should proceed today.
The magistrates adjourned the case until July 16, indicating that it would definitely go ahead on that occasion.