Convicted taxi driver’s counsel had ample opportunity to make plea in mitigation

Judicial review – substantive decision – taxi driver challenging conviction and sentence – convicted in the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court using offensive language towards a named passenger being carried for reward and two charges of acting in an abusive and offensive manner towards the said passenger - Circuit Judge allowed the applicant’s appeal in respect of his alleged use of offensive language towards the passenger – Judge found that the taxi driver’s evidence was implausible in the extreme – immediately imposed the punishment given by the District Court - a fine of €1,000 had been imposed in respect of each summons with costs measured at €1,000 in favour of the Respondent - given no opportunity to address the Court in mitigation of penalty - Circuit Court erred in law and acted contrary to fair procedures and in excess of jurisdiction by proceeding to convict and sentence the taxi driver without hearing a plea in mitigation - breached fair procedures, constitutional and natural justice in sentencing the taxi driver by simply asking the prosecutor alone acting on the respondent’s behalf to confirm the penalties imposed in the District Court – no opportunity given to address the Court – argued that the judge heard extensive submissions prior to sentence – no objection and no plead of mitigation made - if the Circuit Judge made any error, same was not of sufficient seriousness to justify the intervention of the High Court – not denied the opportunity to address the court - Digital Audio Recording – transcript of hearing - highly accelerated consideration, tantamount to a lack of a hearing regarding the issue of sentence - sentencing is part of the trial process as a whole, and for this reason it must be conducted in accordance with due course of law - doctrine of proportionality - deprived of a hearing on sentence and costs to which he was lawfully entitled and that the Circuit Judge was not entitled to abrogate her duty to conduct a sentence hearing - whether the fact that the Circuit Judge did not invite further submissions on the issue of mitigation merits the quashing of the convictions -a party to a dispute who has lost the opportunity to have his case heard through the default of his own advisors to whom he has entrusted the conduct of the dispute on his behalf, cannot complain that he has been the victim of a procedural impropriety or that natural justice has been denied to him - counsel was engaged in note-taking during the pronouncement on sentence – open to him to then intervene at that stage and request that the Circuit Judge hear him on the question of penalty and costs and the applicant’s particular circumstances - satisfied that that opportunity was there – asked that the judge be recalled - sufficient opportunity for the taxi driver’s counsel to make his plea in mitigation – judicial review refused.