Justin James: Man fined over speeding charge in his ‘absence’ after failing to identify himself in court

A 51-year-old man was handed a hefty speeding fine in his “absence” after failing to properly identify himself to the court. Justin James was due to appear in the Bunbury Magistrate’s Court on Thursday where he faced a charge of reckless driving by exceeding the speed limit by 45km/h or more. When the matter was called before Magistrate Benjamin Tyers, a man attempted to identify himself solely by the first name Justin. However, Mr Tyers told the man that because he failed to identify himself as Justin James, he was asked to leave. Despite the man making several attempts to tell the court he had further charges pending in the court and would not be able to attend those hearings, Mr Tyers reiterated that he failed to identify himself as Justin James, ordering him to leave the courtroom. The man was escorted from the courtroom by the orderly and James was convicted in his absence. The court was told James was driving south on South Western Highway in the Kirup area on March 21 when he was sighted by police travelling in excess of the posted 100km/h speed limit. James was estimated to have been travelling at a speed of 155km/h and when he was stopped by police he explained that he was overtaking another vehicle. James was fined $1400, ordered to pay more than $250 in court costs and had his licence disqualified for six months.