James Rafferty

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Mr James Rafferty, a solicitor, was convicted on 9 June 2023 at Teesside Magistrates Court of failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath (s.7(6) Road Traffic Act 1988) after being pulled over on 9 May 2023 due to erratic driving. He received a 17-month driving ban and a £3,846 criminal fine. The Tribunal found the allegation proved as a breach of Principles 1 and 2, but expressly found NO breach of Principle 5 (integrity), rejecting the SRA's argument that the conviction equated to a lack of integrity given the absence of aggravating features. The SRA's application to admit a late, heavily redacted Police log was refused as more prejudicial than probative. The Tribunal imposed a fine of £2,500 and made no order as to costs.

Duties found breached:

• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Mitigating factors:

• One-off incident at a time of extreme stress
• Guilty plea entered at the first opportunity
• Prompt self-report to the SRA
• Good character with no previous convictions
• Insight and remorse demonstrated
• Impressive character references