a little trip to court today,
Discussion
as some of you may know I had an encounter with Police Scotlands Road traffic team last May. lets just say they thought I was going faster than I should be along the M8 motorway and they were under the impression their vascar showed a reading of 87mph, in a 50 section. so I engaged the services of a certain Mr Lyon from Glasgow.
fast forward to through summons pleading diet which my lawyer attended on my behalf and then onto Trial today. Now having had a chat with my Lawyer last week it transpired that the crowns case against me wasn't exactly a open and shut one for various reasons that he explained in detail, detection method being one, officers lack of time using the system and various other avenues of approach. He was quite confident of getting a result if it came down to it but obviously not a guaranteed result, the speed I was detected at holds the opportunity for the court to disqualify if they chose to after an unsuccessful (for me) trial. I had a chat with the Lawyer regards the options for a bit of horse trading with the PF and this was taken as instruction.
fast forward to this morning, Deal on the table cop to a reduced speed of 65mph 3 points £100 fine, very very happy with the outcome. granted I could have went ahead and chanced a trial but the option of what is effectively a minor slap on the wrists with minimal impact on insurance etc was the safe option.
cool story bro etc etc but the moral of the story i'll leave you with is always seek professional representation, my lawyer made it all happen and I was in and out of court in 30 minutes with a very good result from my side.
fast forward to through summons pleading diet which my lawyer attended on my behalf and then onto Trial today. Now having had a chat with my Lawyer last week it transpired that the crowns case against me wasn't exactly a open and shut one for various reasons that he explained in detail, detection method being one, officers lack of time using the system and various other avenues of approach. He was quite confident of getting a result if it came down to it but obviously not a guaranteed result, the speed I was detected at holds the opportunity for the court to disqualify if they chose to after an unsuccessful (for me) trial. I had a chat with the Lawyer regards the options for a bit of horse trading with the PF and this was taken as instruction.
fast forward to this morning, Deal on the table cop to a reduced speed of 65mph 3 points £100 fine, very very happy with the outcome. granted I could have went ahead and chanced a trial but the option of what is effectively a minor slap on the wrists with minimal impact on insurance etc was the safe option.
cool story bro etc etc but the moral of the story i'll leave you with is always seek professional representation, my lawyer made it all happen and I was in and out of court in 30 minutes with a very good result from my side.
The prosecution's case was not as strong as it might have been, albeit the OP didn't want to put it to the test.
The OP nonetheless used the shortcomings as a bargaining tool, ultimately to reduce the likely sentence.
OP is happy with the outcome, prosecution guarantees a conviction for considerably less work than might have been required.
Not seeing any problems here.
The OP nonetheless used the shortcomings as a bargaining tool, ultimately to reduce the likely sentence.
OP is happy with the outcome, prosecution guarantees a conviction for considerably less work than might have been required.
Not seeing any problems here.
ghe13rte said:
The court accepting 65 from a reading of 87 for no apparent reasonable evidence of error. Outrageous.
Thee needs to be a technical update sent to the PF.
Thee needs to be a technical update sent to the PF.
My thoughts exactly. Technical update to the PF on how inaccurate the equipment is, for future reference in bogus speeding claims.
Glasgowrob said:
but the moral of the story i'll leave you with is always seek professional representation, my lawyer made it all happen and I was in and out of court in 30 minutes with a very good result from my side.
The UK legal system is based on how much money you have in the bank to fight a case.This is not fair to people on low incomes whom probably no longer qualify for free legal advice?
Nothing new to see here then.
(I can afford legal advice but hopefully will not need it to defend a minor motoring offence reported by a vigilante with a dashcam)
lbc said:
The UK legal system is based on how much money you have in the bank to fight a case.
Let's be honest... The OP did it. Caught, fair and square, 75% above the limit. He knows he was bang-to-rights, and we all know it. From that point on, it's a simple numbers game - is his livelihood worth the investment?Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff