A bus driver who was acquitted for lack of evidence of using a mobile phone while driving, is to face renewed court proceedings after it resulted that the principal witness for the prosecution could not give evidence because she was stuck in a queue at the court building's entrance. 

The Attorney General appealed the Magistrates' Court decision in favour of driver Gordon Borda.

Mr Borda had been accused of using a mobile phone while driving his bus in Żurrieq in the afternoon of April 6, 2016.

The first court acquitted him, however, finding a lack of evidence after the principal witness failed to turn up.

The Attorney General asked the Court of Appeal to revoke the sentence and for proceedings to continue. He observed that the accused twice did not appear before the Magistrates' Court, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

At the same time, the principal witness, Kelly Marie Goodenough had appeared for those sittings. Owing to a misunderstanding between the witness and the police, the witness did not appear for the third sitting.

However, she appeared in court for the final, all-important fourth sitting but was held up at the entrance because of a longer-than-usual queue and could not make it to the courtroom when her name was called.

The AG said that while he appreciated that the magistrates' court needed to decide the case, in the interests of justice, the need to decide quickly should not prevail over the interests of the prosecution.

If anything, the sitting before the Magistrates' Court could have been suspended for a few minutes, since the court had been informed of what was happening.

Madame Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera upheld the AG's arguments.

It added that when suitably notified witnesses failed to show up and the parties did not renounce to such testimony, the court should not pass on to judgement, but could resort to other measures.

Otherwise, the outcome of cases would be dependent on whether witnesses opted to show up. When a witness was indispensable for the prosecution, as was this case, the court should put off a sitting and take action against the absent witness. If this did not happen, the Attorney General had a right to appeal.  

The court therefore sent the proceedings back before the Magistrates' Court for Ms Goodenough's evidence to be heard.