Video: Comic Carr's speeding trial adjourned
THE Suffolk speeding trial of comedian Jimmy Carr has been adjourned after legal arguments over the admissibility of evidence.
Russell Claydon
THE Suffolk speeding trial of comedian Jimmy Carr has been adjourned this morning after legal arguments over the admissibility of evidence.
Proceedings were due to get underway from 10am but by midday magistrates in Sudbury had apologised to Carr, who lives in north London, and said that the case would not be able to go ahead due to an administrative error.
The comedian, 36, is accused of driving his silver Bentley at 50mph in a 40mph speed limit in Boxford, near Sudbury, at about 12.15pm on April 30 last year. He denies the charge.
Carr's lawyer Nick Freeman - known as 'Mr Loophole' for his previous successes in representing clients in speeding cases, flagged up what he perceived as problems with the trial, but insisted it should go ahead anyway.
But magistrates were advised by the court clerk it would be inappropriate to go ahead under the circumstances and the trial was adjourned to a later date which is yet to be fixed.
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John Dennehy, chairman of the bench, said: “Our legal advisors are strongly of the opinion if we commence with the trial today it could become very messy and drawn-out, so, therefore we are going to adjourn it so the issues that are under discussion can be formally agreed before the trial takes place.”
The arguments stemmed from a letter and phone calls made on behalf of Mr Freeman who had requested the same three magistrates and legal advisor sit in the trial as sat at the preliminary hearing.
But when parties turned up at Sudbury today that was not the case.
Mr Freeman told the court his and his client's time had been wasted as a result of the aborted hearing.
Outside the court Carr, of Corsica Street, London, told the gathered journalists: “I have got nothing to say about this. It is not funny.”
The alleged offence was the day after his performance to a sell-out crowd at the Ipswich Regent.
An administrative hearing will now take place at the court at noon on May 27 to fix a date for a preliminary hearing into the matter.
