Court etiquette questions

[trefor]

My younger brother (21) was caught on the M3 at 106mph recently. Clean license, new car to him (J reg''d Corolla Gti), clear sunny day, empty road, ''blind'' bend ... nicked. It really shook him up and the cops will definitely have noticed it (I could tell by his voice when he called me afterwards). Anyway, he''s got his court case in a few weeks and is wondering what to do. As I''ve never been in this situation (or to court) I was hoping someone here might have some advice. I told him to go in his best suit and confess "I know I was speeding, but really didn''t think I was going that fast guv etc. It''s a new car and I wasn''t used to it. It was a clear sunny day, empty road. I''ve really learn''t my lesson and I won''t do it again". Does he really need legal backing? It''s a pretty clear cut case. He''s on at 10AM (first sitting?) in Woking. Does the time of the day make them better/worse at dishing out punishment? I will probably go with him to drive him home ;-) Any tips gratefully received. Trefor/.

[sparks]

I got hauled up in front of the magistrates, and thought like you, that I did not need legal advice. 60 seconds with the duty 'brief' changed my mind. Get there early and talk to him, he will do all the talking once in court(it is his job!). Plead guilty and that you need a license or will loose your job (as long as it is not grossly untrue) and hopefully the 'cost' will be a *BIG* fine and alot more than 3 points. Our resident police officer (Mr Robson) will elaborate on/correct what I have said. Good luck. Edited by sparks on Friday 1st June 14:41 Edited by sparks on Friday 1st June 14:42

[craigw]

Have a look at http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/2195/speedtrap_bible.html Info on court there Good luck, I'm there the week after!

[Nightmare]

things I would do : go with him - make the magistrates realise that he is well aware its a banning offence and how serious it all is make sure he is good and scared....cos they know the difference between someone who cares and someone who thinks its all a bit of a laugh agree about the job thing, but remember...in theory you can only have mitigating on job if someone else suffers as a result (for example he drives a work collegue in who doesnt have a license). things I wouldnt do : the 'I didnt know the car' - as a magistrate, that just says to me.."well then, you shouldnt have bought it and its dangerous and you could have killed someone" dont try and be clever and dont get legal to go with you, cos it suggests that a) you have lots of money (will get bigger fine) and b)you think you can wriggle out of it.... he will be very very lucky if he doesnt get a ban, but it totally depends on the magistrates on the day and what they think of him I suppose...good luck Night

[HECTOR]

For what its worth a mate from work got done doing 101 in a 60,hired a solicitor who made things worse by advising to go not guilty(trying to get it down to 99 I think).Ended up with 4 month ban and 400 quid fine - North East Scotland.

[john robson]

Some good advice posted already, (plead guilty that is). If you are going to use 'special reasons' as a means to avoiding a ban then you really need to be able to back it up, that means that you ideally take your boss to court and he confirms that you would loose your job. If not it's up to you to provide a convincing explanation, the other alternative they can consider is a short ban. Magistrates after all are human, don't insult their intelligence with daft, or unrealistic excuses, it's amazing what some people do come out with. Solicitors are OK sometimes for this type of offence but despite all the stories of people getting off on technical points etc as a general rule speeding is a fairly easy offence to prove and it can sometimes come over better straight from the horses mouth, but speak to the 'duty' on the day for tips. P.S. You are under oath if you give evidence, perjury is a serious criminal offence, speeding is just points P.P.S. once used the 'special reasons' cannot be used again for 3 years. Edited by john robson on Monday 4th June 13:57

[trefor]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm planning on booking him on a driving course (one of those on-road 'how to drive safely' courses are an early b-day pressie). These guys do lots of company car drivers. The intstructor I know does a lot of this stuff and said he'd write him a letter on completion which might help. D-day is 22/6, I'll let you know the result. Poor bro won't exceed the speed limit anywhere at the moment, paranoid would be an understatement. Trefor/.