Speeding lawyer lied to court again
Simon Courtney is led out of the courthouse in handcuffs, July 2016
(CNS): Simon Courtney, a corporate lawyer jailed last year for mowing down two tourists walking along the West Bay Road while he was driving a souped-up sports car after a champagne brunch, was accused of lying to the court again in another case of dangerous driving. Magistrate Valdis Foldats described Courtney as “evasive, arrogant and condescending” in his ruling following another trial where the lawyer had, despite the evidence against him, denied speeding, being drunk and driving dangerously.
In this case Courtney was pulled over before he hurt anyone, but the magistrate pointed out that he had put other road users in danger and forced a police patrol car to swerve out of his way as he barreled down the West Bay Road in a Porsche, driving around 85mph, according to the radar reading. He was also drunk and a breathalyzer test found him to be twice the legal booze limit.
The events regarding this case, which was dealt with recently in Summary Court, happened in 2011, almost four years before Courtney was arrested for knocking down the tourists outside the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman in January 2015. However, the trial was delayed because the Ritz incident, which went to the Grand Court and resulted in a three-year jail sentence, took precedence as it included the more serious offence of grievous bodily harm as well as driving offences.
Courtney was also found guilty in this case after the trial was eventually concluded in November last year. He had claimed that he was not speeding and the police lied about him swerving into their path. He also claimed he was not drunk and that the breathalyzer machine was distorted by his mobile phone.
Once again, the corporate lawyer was found to have lied to the court and the magistrate said there was “no merit to his defence”.
He received no additional jail time, however, just another driving ban of 15 months and a list of fines totaling $1,250.
Courtney has already appealed the first conviction, and on hearing his fate in this case earlier this month, he indicated his intention to appeal this conviction as well.
This case is an on-going saga and truly defines Cayman these days. It’s like watching a plane crash in slow motion..
The man has wealth, political ties, he’s arrogant (lawyer) and he doesn’t care about anyone who he deems to be below him. Sounds like Cayman Islands at its best!
The government and its puppets in office share similarities: money, favoritism, public lies, and coverup. They’re able to slither away, right through penalties designed for you and me. Unfortunately, this time his political preferential treatment (or his get-out-of-jail-free-card) was revoked by the old-boy network. They couldn’t bail him out…not from making speed bumps of the two American tourists. That kind of lifesaver is reserved for Caymanians in government only.
It would be great if you all could cut the stereotyping, the generalizations and blanket insults. I’m sure all those making them would argue vehemently against any such attitude aimed at them!
He is a man. He is an arrogant man. The man has no self-control or moral compass. The man thinks himself superior, better, above others. The man is dangerous.
I’m a Brit. That’s where I first saw the sun (for the two days a year it shines). But I love the ridiculously positive generous attitude of most Americans. I admire the generally quiet, practically always pleasant, loving attitude of many Filipinos. I admire the laid-back respectful often tongue-in-cheek fun attitude of most Caymanians and the good grace and humour of most Jamaicans I know. And I learn from and try and adopt these behaviors and traits where they’re desirable. That’s part of why I’m here.
Those comments would apply wherever the subject of such an article is from, was born, has citizenship, or is otherwise connected to. You’d be taking a large step towards making Cayman, yourself, everyone you interact with and the world, by degrees, a much better, more tolerant, loving place if you could apply that. Pretty please.
Word meme **Just like an Indian buffet on a children’s roundabout – good Korma comes around.**
Sincerely,
An arrogant, haughty, condescending Brit.
I’m glad there is at least one of you. The selection process for Brits in Cayman somehow seems to skew the other way.
Envy is a sin 1.29. We are always right. Deal with it.
I doubt the poster is an Englishman. An Englishman does not reduce himself to the description of “Brit”, that moniker tends to be used by the Taffs, Jocks and Ulstermen who want to ride on the coat-tails of the English.
Taffs Jocks and Ulstermen use the term Brit so that people won’t confuse them with the English
Poor souls, to be so close to having the joys of being an Englishman but yet being so far away.
lol
Thank you for this.
It’s true what they say….” Sadly, there are no lawyer jokes they’re all true stories “.
I am neither a Brit nor an Aussie. I know of this man well, but have never personally met him. Neither of those countries where this lawyer practiced would have condoned his behaviour let alone enjoyed his special personality. By the way, neither would his recent employers. Comments from those who position his behaviour as being typical of domination practices from the mother country can be characterized as nothing short of ignorant. Inflammatory, sure, but sourced from complete ignorance, absolutely. The man is from Australia. Get a grip. Australia isn’t sending political imposers. Grow up.
I hope he is deported and listed as an undesirable after he is released. I also hope his appeal results in additional jail time. But then that only happens to the poor criminals – not the white collar ones. And certainly not the rich, white and English ones. I bet he’ll have status or PR if he doesn’t already by the time it’s all done. It’s time to take back Cayman from these arrogant and condescending pieces of excrement who come here and mow us down (literally in his case.) Please Caymanians, smarten up and vote for people who have our interests at heart and who will resist UK pressure and tighten up our immigration laws. Stop wasting time hating the workers from.the third world who come here to work jobs paying peanuts. Look at the ones who come here to lord it over us and keep us out of their professional ivory towers. They’re the ones doing the damage.
I’m not a fan of the English either but even I can admit he’s not English
-Hoo
You mean like your acting chief fire officer…?
Maybe he helped with the Miller Shaw report.
I doubt he will be deported as Marco and Alden need the w/p fee for their surplus.
This is just the kind of justice we get with the wonderful PPM. Police ran into my car and 26 months later and numerous times going to court and paying the Lawyer each time the case was finally decided that the Police was at fault.
Then after going back to court several times and paying for Lawyer each time again I finally gave up, The case never reaching the court for payment of all the times I went to court, I finally gave up. This is what you get in this court system in the Cayman Islands.
“JUSTICE”!!!!!!!!!
dat wa ya get
Shoulda gone to quick images
This guy shoul pay his room and board in jail. After his idiotic defense in his drunken hit and run, you would think he would have the decency to avoid another equally foolish defense.
“evasive, arrogant and condescending”, sounds perfect to be a corporate lawyer
Free Courtney Free Courtney he innocent bro ! Remember what Alden said they are here for us?
I had a DUI, and will probably never drink again, but definately won’t drink and drive. I got 12 months for a first offence. But I’m nobody. And grateful.
“Speeding lawyer lied to court again”.
In addition to the other convictions this “lawyer” has racked up, surely he will be banned from practicing law ever again, correct?
Not via a subjective judgement of partners and colleagues, but via the standards of the professional body.
Any insight into the above would be much appreciated.
– Who
*Simon Courtney is the epitome of a thug. Despicable.
For once I find myself in full agreement with you. The lying and attempted cover up mean he is essentially dishonest and should not be in a position of trust or integrity again.
I trust you have a similar view in relation to similar road traffic offences where people have clearly tried to avoid the consequences of their crimes by repairing their vehicles and not coming forward, fleeing the scene of the accident or advising the authorities about their “friends” illegal activities who purportedly committed the offence?
He should be struck off
Like the heading ” Lawyer Lies to the Court'” This occurs on a daily basis LOL
Hahaha boom.. best and funniest comment of the day right here, respect 🙂
I have dealt with him in person. He is as they say “a piece of work”. Thankfully cloning is still banned and having to see his face for awhile is much appreciated.
In general this is the new arrogant and entitled attitude of expatriates…we have the Premier to thank for that.
In general.. you are a retard. 8 years an expat. Never committed a crime.
I can’t help but think if he had been convicted of this incident in a more timely manner he may not have been behind the wheel when he nearly killed someone. There were 4 years between this event and the Mustang accident. Surely, that was enough time to have prosecuted him for the 2011 DUI.
ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Who cares. He’s off the road for along time now and will hopefully leave when he gets out of prison since I can’t imagine him being able to get a job.
I wouldn’t bet on it. He will be ‘licky’ and land another job.
If he had been charged and had his license taken away (in a timely fashion) the first time around those 2 poor tourists would have been spared so much pain and suffering!
I hope this is a lesson to the police and courts not to sit on cases for too long! Those tourists should lawyer up and sue the Cayman Islands Government for this.
But he was a ‘corporate lawyer’ and clearly used friends in the right places to obstruct due process. Maybe it’s time to round them all up and charge them with misconduct in public office or conspiracy to pervert the course of justice? That’s one way to stop this happening again.
Driver’s license is usually surrendered immediately in DUIs…how was he allowed to leave the station with his license in his wallet?! Why hasn’t Court ordered him to cover the Crown’s costs? Our justice system is a joke.
@3:52 not true. Your license is only taken if you plead guilty in court or are convicted.
I totally agree. If the original court case had been dealt with in a timely manner perhaps he would not have been on the road. If I was the family, I would sue the CI Government for neglect.
As the old saying goes, if the dog hadn’t stopped for a sh*t it would have caught the rabbit. To paraphrase.. with the benefit of hindsight we would all deliver 20:20 judgements.
Yeah in a perfect world this probably should have been avoided. But i stop short of using if:then arguments as a convenient means of justifying a position in a debate. It is called monday morning quarterbacking for a reason.. we are all correct on monday.
Ok. So I support the sentence for this POS he is obviously without remorse and empathy, actually needs the separation that jail time will afford him to reflect and gain self awareness as to how his actions destroyed the life of another. But in the meantime.. maybe he ran someone down a different day and killed them? Its not for us to know and speculation is pointless although the greater question of timely justice is, i agree, merited in this case.
To summarize, in 2011 Courtney “put other road users in danger and forced a police patrol car to swerve out of his way as he barreled down the West Bay Road in a Porsche, driving around 85mph, according to the radar reading. He was also drunk and a breathalyzer test found him to be twice the legal booze limit.”
In 2011 folks. I find it unacceptable that this case could not be resolved before the couple was mowed down in 2015. This certainly begs the question, if the wheels of justice had turned more quickly would he have lost his license and therefore not been in a position to knock down the two tourists in 2015?
Justice delayed is justice denied.
This guy sounds like the biggest asshole on earth. He should have gotten 10 years as far as I’m concerned as well as being banned from practicing law in Cayman.
Definitely an undesirable but our work permit and PR boards are useless…they are only really engaged when it involves a friend or family. Sad times for Caymanian youth with no connections.
10 years would mean 700,000 of public money to feed, clothe and house him.
This guy is a piece of sh*t FULL STOP
Agreed he is full of shit, he is the skim of the skum and should be banned from practering law in Cayman Is.
Oh don’t worry. Soon he will be able to practice Vayman law overseas!!!!
Evasive, arrogant and condescending applies to many with similar background who find themselves in the ‘colonies’.
It’s the dream coming to reality, that gets them all twisted on cloud nine.
Who are you talking about he is from Australia? or do white people all look the same to you?
WTF is happening to this country?!?!? One can ignore the law, tell lies in court and then get slapped with a tiny fine and a few months driving ban?
I am no longer surprised that people who have a low moral compass opt to not follow the law cause chances for them being caught are minimal and if being caught, the fines are idiotic at best!
Tell me something, if someone is being caught driving without license or registration, and have done so for years, does it end up cheaper at that stage just to pay a fine? It sure sounds that way!
There was a time when expatriates realized they were guests in this country…now they are gods
Free Courtney!
No hes getting 3 meals and is watching HBO he will be okay.
So, “expensive Courtney!”?
Yeah its not coming out of our salary just the crown’s.
I say it again – the fines for various offenses are laughable and should be 20 fold or more than what is being imposed. Those tiny financial fines and the driving bans are absolutely no deterrent. Given that police is very lax regarding traffic laws, he will probably be driving himself home from jail and going on a jolly for the next few years.
I hope however that he will only be given two days to pack up his crap and then be put on a plane out of here, never to return!
Cayman’s justice system sucks. This creep should not have been driving!
Scum.
oh well….money money money…..but the law applies to all
All… With the exception of government employees!
Does It?
Unless you’re a civil servant of course.
And that, as they say, rubs you the wrong way. Because these ‘Civil Servants’ you speak of happen to be local. Oh well, like it or lump it.
I made that comment, and I’m Caymanian. I shouldn’t have to lump it, and I certainly don’t like it. I’m fed up of the bee ess that envelopes so much of the goings on in my country and I’ve seen it first hand bro. God knows what type of society my kids are going to face when they finish school, if they choose to stay here.
Civil Servant, locals, driftwood or visitors. “The law is the law” and although I support the verdict given here it sure left a rotten stink taste in my mouth thinking about what justice was just given in the Johnny Bodden Case. The similarities in both cases were so close and the verdict so different…..the only thing I can say is God HAve Mercy on US. Let’s hope we are not depending on evidence presented or precedence set by our court system to receive justice.
2:06 Or simply well connected?
This man should been tried long before fours years had elapsed, then hopefully those innocent tourist would not suffered the blunt of his arrogance. white collar criminals should not be treated any different from regular blokes on the street. one word to describe this COLONIALISM. Deport him when he leaves Northward.
Let me ask you 3:50. If you’re using the term COLONIALISM to describe this man and his timeline of austrocities because he ultimately CHANGED THE LIVES OF TWO PEOPLE FOREVER. What term would be used when a Caymanian (in government) runs down a cyclist and CHANGES ANOTHER PERSONS LIFE FOREVER BY KILLING THEM, covers it up, plays stupid, and ultimately gets just a slap on the wrist BS jail sentence??
NEPOTISM maybe.?.
I’m curious, what would Caymanians have to bitch about if there were no ex patriots on their Island? And don’t say there would be no bitching.
I imagine that conversation would head in this direction: “oh great, none of us are educated enough to run this country, how are we going to attract tourists, how do we even a keep this island afloat, I think we may need to make a phone call to the US or at least send some flowers to the UK, hey we have Dart, otherwise it’s back to fish and basket weaving.”
Seriously people, stop layshing out toward expats…your problems were seeded by your own lineage.
I’m American (not always proud of that) but do you think I hold a grudge towards foreigners who come to my country and don’t need citizenship to have everything given to them for free: free University education, free healthcare, free cell phones, free cell phone plans, free computers with free Wi-Fi Internet, decreased housing costs, food, the demand for civil liberty…basically a full strain on my tax dollars to pay for their costs. I was not privileged. My father came here from Italy and my mom from Ireland. There were no hand-me-outs. Do you think I’m pissed off at these expats or the slime running our government and “upholding” US laws??
The fines are chump change. Hook the fine to the offenders income.