Driver Acquitted After Mail Carrier's Confusion Over Identical Names

A Haifa man, Pozi Nadaf, was fully acquitted of driving with a suspended license after a postal worker's confusion over three residents with the same name living on the same street led to improper notification of his license suspension. Nadaf was stopped on July 11, 2024, by police who noticed an irregular license plate. They discovered his license had been suspended for three months on June 2, 2024, due to a prior traffic offense. Nadaf, who works as a courier, claimed he was unaware of the suspension, stating his lawyer had informed him the hearing was postponed and his license was still valid.

Crucially, the state's own witness, postal worker Samer Nadaf, testified that he could not recall exactly who received the suspension notice. He described a situation where three individuals named Pozi live in close proximity. The postal worker admitted to delivering the notice to a young woman, approximately 25-30 years old, who identified herself as the recipient's sister, without requesting any identification. He also expressed doubt that the document presented in court was the original delivery confirmation he remembered.

The prosecution failed to produce a complete delivery confirmation from the postal service, relying instead on a shortened version that lacked the recipient's full name and identity number. Judge Avishai Kaufman criticized the prosecution for not obtaining the full confirmation, stating they could have proven proper delivery to an identified relative but did not. The judge also dismissed the prosecution's alternative argument that Nadaf acted with "willful blindness" to his license status, noting the short time between the prior ruling and his offense, and his immediate call to his lawyer upon being stopped, which suggested good faith.

Judge Kaufman concluded that the evidence showed the notice was not delivered to the defendant, undermining the charge. He also found that the prosecution's own evidence contradicted the claim that Nadaf should have known about his suspension, as the notification was sent to a location different from his home. Consequently, Nadaf received a full acquittal.